[Illustration: SKETCH MAP OF SARAWAK] MY LIFE IN SARAWAK [Illustration: H.H. THE RAJAH OF SARAWAK] MY LIFE IN SARAWAK BY THE RANEE OF SARAWAK PREFACE BY SIR FRANK SWETTENHAM, G.C.M.G. GOVERNOR OF THE STRAITS COLONY HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES AND LATE CONSUL-GENERAL FOR BORNEO WITH TWENTY-SEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS AND A MAP METHUEN & CO. LTD. 36 ESSEX STREET W.C. LONDON _First Published in 1913_ PREFACE It is well for the Malay races of Sarawak that they should find an advocate in their Ranee, for she loves them. To know Ranee Brooke is to know that, and those who read her _Life in Sarawak_ will realize this fact to the full, and will feel that, in the years she spent with these simple people, she must have proved it to them and won their confidence by her sympathy. That is the only way to get at the hearts of a Malay people, and though the native population of this section of Borneo is divided into at least two sections,--Malays and Dyaks,--differing widely in religion, customs, and language, they are still members of the great Malay family which is spread over the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, the islands of the Archipelago, and farther afield. It is well for any of the Malay race that they should find a sympathetic writer to tell the world something of their little lives, for they are a silent and exclusive people. They do not understand publicity, they do not want it, so long as they are fairly and justly treated; indeed, superficial observers might think that Malays do not really care how they are governed, and that it is a matter of indifference to them whether they are treated well or ill. Those who take the trouble to win his regard know that the Malay is as keenly interested in his own and his country’s affairs as are those of other nationalities. He is humble about his own capacity, and that of his fellow-countrymen, to organize and endeavour, to frame a scheme of righteous government and to ensue it. He will, if properly approached and considerately handled by Europeans, be the first to admit that they understand the business better, that they are more trustworthy in matters of justice and money, and that they have a conception of duty, of method, and especially a power of continuous application to work, which is foreign and irksome--indeed well-nigh impossible--to him. Treat him fairly, reasonably, justly, remember that he represents the people of the country for whose benefit, as Lord Curzon of Kedleston