Order of the Star of Sarawak


The Most Excellent Order of the Star of Sarawak was established by Charles Vyner Brooke, The Rajah of Sarawak, on 26 September 1928 as the highest order of chivalry within the Raj of Sarawak. The motto of the order was "Haraplah Sa-lagi Bernafas", which was also the Sarawak state motto, a translation of the Latin phrase Dum Spiro Spero, which literally means "As long as I breathe, I hope".
When instituted the order had a dual status as a dynastic order of knighthood as well as a state order with the Rajah as the Sovereign of the order. It had a bright yellow ribbon with a black line down the centre. When Sarawak became of a British colony in 1946 the Rajah stopped making appointments and with the death of the last known recipient, Elizabeth Choy in 2006, the order became dormant.
In 1964, the post-independence government of Sarawak created a new order with a simpler name The Most Illustrious Order of the Star of Sarawak, and in 1988, they renamed it as the Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak, or Darjah Utama Yang Amat Mulia Bintang Sarawak in Malay. However, the revived order has no connection whatsoever with the previous order except for the name.

Composition

The Order consisted of:
The three ordinary ranks of members are:
RankAppointedRecipients NameNotes
Sovereign26-Jun-1929Charles Vyner Brooke
Grand Master21-Sep-1941Sylvia Brooke
Master31-Mar-1941Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah A Malay leader in Kuching, and also in Sarawak, renowned for his non-violent struggle against the cession of Sarawak to Britain.
Master31-Mar-1941John Beville Archer, CMG
Master21-Sep-1941Cyril Drummond Le Gros ClarkChief Secretary of Sarawak
Companions26-Sep-1928Ong Tiang Swee, OBE A renowned Chinese leader in Kuching. His grandson, Late Tan Sri Datuk Amar Ong Kee Hui is a renowned politician.
Companions31-Mar-1941Abang Suleiman
Companions31-Mar-1941Inche Haji Mohamed Zin
Companions31-Mar-1941John Gordon Anderson
Companions31-Mar-1941Thomas Corson
Companions31-Mar-1941Cecil Pitt-Hardacre, OBE
Companions31-Mar-1941Kenelm Hubert Digby
Companions21-Sep-1941Leonora Margaret BrookeDaughter of Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke
Companions21-Sep-1941Gerald Trueman MacGill MacBryan
Companions20-Jun-1946Thomas Edward Eastick, DSO, EDMilitary Governor of Sarawak from 10 September 1945 to December 1945
Companions20-Jun-1946Tan Bak Lim
Companions20-Jun-1946Aloysius HopfgartnerFormer Principal of St. Joseph School Kuching
Companions27-Jun-1946John Alfred Smith, OBE
Companions27-Jun-1946Wee Kheng ChiangFounder of United Overseas Bank
Officers31-Mar-1941Barbara Pitt-Hardacre
Officers20-Jun-1946Khan Ah Chong, MBE
Officers20-Jun-1946Lau Chai Lim
Officers20-Jun-1946Mangu Ah Kui
Officers20-Jun-1946Charles Stephen Were
Officers20-Jun-1946Thomas Crocker
Officers20-Jun-1946Thomas Attenborough
Officers20-Jun-1946William Geicke
Officers20-Jun-1946Ethel Annie Henderson, MBE
Officers20-Jun-1946Murugasu Sockalingham
Officers20-Jun-1946Denis Charles White
Officers20-Jun-1946John Coleraine Hanbury Barcroft
Officers20-Jun-1946Kho Soon Ewe
Officers20-Jun-1946Chin Shin Sen
Officers20-Jun-1946George Edward Bacon
Officers27-Jun-1946Helen Chan
Officers27-Jun-1946Elizabeth Choy Borneo-born Singaporean war heroine. Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke presented her with the Order in recognition of her work of assisting the British POWs during the Japanese occupation.
Officers27-Jun-1946Lim Song Kee
Officers27-Jun-1946Edwin William Howell