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The town of
Kapit is the capital of the Kapit District in the Kapit Division,
Sarawak,
east Malaysia on the south bank of the Rajang River. The district
comprises 15,595.6 square kilometers and as of 2002 has a population of
60,200.
Rajah Charles Brooke founded Fort Kapit in 1880 as a garrison town,
primarily to prevent the Iban from migrating up-river and attacking Orang
Ulu settlements. The fort was later renamed Fort Sylvia, after the wife of
Rajah Vyner Brooke, Rani Sylvia Brooke, but the town retained the name of
Kapit. Initially settled by Hoklo (Hokkien) Chinese in 1880, additional Ka
Chinese immigrants arrived in 1906, and Fuzhou Chinese in 1919.
The
Chinese grew rubber and pepper and traded treated rubber sheet and forest
products. In 1941, at the time of the Japanese occupation, Kapit only had
two rows of 37 shophouses. The town was completely destroyed by allied
bombing during the war. Kapit today remains as a busy but compact town
with a few streets running parallel to the river.
Although accessible only by boat (slightly more than 2 hours from
Sibu by
express boat) or light aircraft, it is the vibrant commercial and social
center for the middle Rajang River catering to the longhouse communities
and timber camps. It is an excellent base for exploring nearby longhouses
or for arranging trips to the Upper Rejang and Balleh Rivers.
Landmarks
in Kapit:
-
Fort Sylvia
- Kapit Museum - houses a fine collection of ethnic arts, handicrafts and
sketches and water colors of life along the mighty rivers.
- Hock Leong Tieng Temple
- Pasar Teresang – Wet Market
- Regency Pelagus Resort
- Church of Mary Immaculate Conception - Roman Catholic Church
Sources:
Wikipedia
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