Sarawak Malay Attitudes Towards Education During the Period of Brooke Rule, 1841–1946

A government's education policy reflects its attitudes towards the people it rules. The response of the people towards this education policy in turn is determined by their needs. The Brooke Rajahs ruled Sarawak for slightly more than a century, a personal rule characterized by strong adherence to the principle that the cultures of the local inhabitants should be respected and accepted as essentially natural. There was little interference with the customs and traditions of the people and only gradual change took place under this paternalistic totalitarian administration.