Kota Samarahan

For the federal constituency represented in the Dewan Rakyat, see Kota Samarahan (federal constituency).
Kota Samarahan
Town
Nickname(s): "Town of Knowledge"
Kota Samarahan

Location in Borneo

Coordinates: 1°27′34″N 110°29′56″E / 1.45944°N 110.49889°E / 1.45944; 110.49889Coordinates: 1°27′34″N 110°29′56″E / 1.45944°N 110.49889°E / 1.45944; 110.49889
Country Malaysia
State Sarawak
Division Samarahan Division
District Samarahan District
First settled Circa AD 600s (7th century)[1]
Incorporation (Municipality) 24 July 1986[2]
Government
 • Type District Council
 • Chairman (Walikota) Datuk Frederick Bayoi Maggie
Area
 • Kota Samarahan 508 km2 (196 sq mi)
Elevation 27 m (89 ft)
Highest elevation 810.2 m (2,658.1 ft)
Lowest elevation 0 m (0 ft)
Population (2015)[3]
 • Kota Samarahan 157,792
 • Estimate (2014) 800,760
 • Density 1,201.9/km2 (3,113/sq mi)
  Sourced from the Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2015. Census 2014 is currently in progress.
Demonym(s) (none)
Time zone MST (UTC+8)
 • Summer (DST) Not observed (UTC+8)
Postal code 94300
International dialling code prefix +6082 (landline only)
Vehicle registration plate prefix QC (for all vehicles except taxis)
HQ (for taxis only)
Website samarahandc.sarawak.gov.my

Kota Samarahan is the administrative seat of the Samarahan District (508.1 square kilometres) in Samarahan Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is located about 30 kilometers from Kuching. The district population (year 2014 census) was 157,792 . Kota Samarahan is the main education hub for Sarawak State and officially known as "Town of Knowledge". The District Officer of this city is Datuk Patinggi Puan Hajah Affidatul.

History

Kota Samarahan was once known as Muara Tuang which was at that time a small trading village in the area. The village was linked to Kuching via a road only in the early 1970s. Before that, the only means of transport to the village was via the river. Development in the small village accelerated with the construction of a 25-kilometre road linking Kota Samarahan to Kuching.[4]

Geography

Kota Samarahan is almost a suburb of the greater metropolitan area of Kuching, in the Kuching Division. It is located about 30 km south east of Kuching. The lands in Samarahan are mostly non-hilly, flat and low-lying. Most of the soils are peat soils which are ideal for coconut, oil palm and pineapples plantation. Most of the development in the Samarahan Division is concentrated in Kota Samarahan.

Economy

Agriculture is still the main economic activity in Kota Samarahan but light industries are slowly moving in. The service sector, especially the in education related-sector, is increasingly becoming significant in Samarahan. Commercial centres are slowly mushrooming to cater for the increasing population.[4]

Shopping Malls

Education

Kota Samarahan has a concentration of universities and educational facilities and thus forms the educational hub for Sarawak. Institutions of higher learning in the area includes Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Universiti Teknologi MARA Kota Samarahan Campus (2 campuses), Institute of Teacher Education (Tun Abdul Razak Campus, Kota Samarahan Industrial Training Institute (ILPKS) and AAA Zenith Services (English language service provider).

Medical Facilities

Heart Centre, Sarawak General Hospital (SGH Heart Centre) is located in Kota Samarahan. The RM400 million centre, formerly known as Sarawak International Medical Centre (SIMC) equipped with highly skilled cardiac specialist, modern and latest technology. Other than that, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) has proposed to build a teaching hospital for its Medicine and Health Sciences Faculty under the 10th Malaysia Plan.

Shopping

The Summer Shopping Mall - Located at Kota Samarahan, this mall is a 3 storey shopping mall with an underground car park. The adjacent Summer Lagoon Water Theme Park is on schedule to be open later in this year. Its main tenants are Servay Hypermarket, Parkwell Departmental Store and Lotus Five Star, the region largest Lotus Five Star Cineplex with 12 comfortable hall consist of 9 elegant Cinema hall, two 3D Movie Hall and one classy theatre room.

Transportation

Prior to the 1990s, the shortest means of access into Samarahan from Kuching was via the ferry at Sungai Kuap other than direct road access via Jalan Datuk Muhamad Musa which takes more distance to travel through. The construction of a bridge has further shortened the road distance from between Kuching-Kota Samarahan to 11 kilometers. This new road, Kuching-Kota Samarahan Expressway, links Kota Samarahan with the major industrial areas of Pending, Demak Laut and Sama Jaya. This new road currently undergoing expansion in anticipation of increased traffic between Kuching-Samarahan due to the increasing population in Samarahan.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Sejarah Bahagian Samarahan". Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  2. ↑ Sarawak Government Almanac, PNMB Kuching, 2010, Samarahan District is launched as a new Division.
  3. ↑ "World Gazetter: Malaysia – largest cities (per geographical entity)". Archived from the original on 17 December 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Sarawak Property Bulletin" (PDF). C H Williams Talhar Wong & Yeo Sdn Bhd. June 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
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