which a reply had been sent giving an assurance that it was implicit the Eighth of the Cardinal Principles that Her Majesty's Government would not surrender final responsibility for the development of Sarawak until they were satisfied that the people as a whole were able to play their full part in the government of the country, and that in pursuing this goal sight would not be lost of the best interests and desires of the indigenous communities.
69 There were 7,200 Kedayans in Sarawak at the time of the 1960 census and they live in the Fourth and Fifth Divisions. The majority are Muslims and their attitude towards Malaysia differed little from that of the Malays. They were concerned that local customs should be safeguarded.
70 There were only 5,200 Muruts in Sarawak at the 1960 census. They live in the Fifih Division (there are much larger numbers over the border in Indonesia and in North Borneo). Their attitude to Malaysia was that they were very happy and peaceful as they were and, although they could see the advantage of belonging to a larger and stronger unit, they felt that they needed more time to think the matter over in view of its very great importance for their future. They very much feared the effects of the British leaving Sarawak. A large proportion of the Muruts in Sarawak are fervent Evangelical Christians and emphasis was laid on the importance not only of freedom of workship but of freedom to propagate their faith.
71. There are approximately 2,800 Bisayahs living in the Firth Division. Few representatives were seen by the Commission. Some were members of S.U.P.P., some of a Malay youth organisation, and no clear racial attitude towards the Malaysia proposals was apparent.
72. There are rather over 2,000 Kelabits living in the uplands in the extreme interior of the Fourth and Fifth Divisions. Until an air strip was put in last year, the journey up river to reach them took two to three weeks. Their representatives paid tribute to the great progress which had been made since the cession of Sarawak to Britain in 1946. They had discussed the Malaysia proposals fully and had reached the conclusion that they were not yet ready for them. Their attitude was identical with that of the Kenyahs and Kayans.
73. No groups representing the Punans, a nomadic race in the far interior, appeared before the Commission, although one or two Punans appeared as individual members of other groups.
74. The Chinese are the next largest community in Sarawak after the Ibans and it is probable that within a few years they will become the largest. At the time of the 1960 census, the quite remarkable figure of over 50 per cent of the Chinese population was under the age of fifteen and this is bound to create an acute employment problem in a few years' time, particularly among those whose education has been solely in Chinese-medium schools. The Chinese live largely in the towns where they are shopkeepers, artisans, clerks and labourers, and in the environs of towns where they are market gardeners and small holders. A number are growers of rubber and pepper. About 80 per cent of the total number of Chinese in the country were born in Sarawak and, of the remaining 20 per cent a high proportion have been settled in Sarawak for many years.
