While the British steadily took control of Sarawak as a Crown Colony, it also led to the rise of young heroes like Sibu-born Rosli Dhobi, who fought vigilantly for Sarawak’s independence.

In fact, Rosli played a key role in Sarawak’s revolt against the British with one heroic exploit that would cement him forever as a Malaysian legend.

Up until 1946, Sarawak had been ruled by a dynastic monarchy of sorts, known as the White Rajas and under their rule, many Sarawakians remained obedient even though they longed for independence.

However, chaos erupted when word spread that the White Rajas were handing over Sarawak to the British Crown after suffering heavy losses amounting to some 23 million dollars during the Japanese occupation.

This decision was made because the White Rajas did not have the financial means to rebuild Sarawak after its oil fields, airstrips, and rubber plantations were decimated by the Japanese army.

The handover was conducted on July 1, 1946 without the consent of the indigenous Sarawakians and thus, protests erupted throughout the state.

As members of the anti-cession movement frantically wrote letters of objection to the Colonial Office in London, hundreds of protestors, mainly civil servants, took to the streets with anti-cession posters.

In a bid to halt the protestors, the British threatened to take away their jobs but vigilant Sarawakians had other plans. On April 2, 1947, more than 338 civil servants quit their jobs and with most of them being teachers, it led to the closure of 22 schools.

Rosli himself was one of the teachers who resigned. Prior to teaching, he worked for Utusan Sarawak, a local newspaper, where he published nationalist poems under the pen name Lidros.

Rosli’s love for his nation didn’t go unnoticed as an old friend, Awang Rambli introduced him to Rukun 13, a secret nationalist organisation, in 1947.

Meanwhile, Sarawak braced itself for the arrival of its first governor, Sir Charles Arden Clarke, who took office in July 1947. With chaos as the order of the day, the 13 members of Rukun 13 plotted to eliminate their newly-appointed governor.

Although Rukun 13 schemed to do away with Clarke, their plans to assassinate the governor only took flight when Sir Duncan George Stewart assumed the role in 1949. After a few weeks in charge, Stewart finally made his first public appearance in Sibu on Dec 3.

Naturally, the governor received a thunderous reception from locals but unbeknown to him, lightning was about to strike from the hundreds in attendance.

As Stewart strutted through the crowds, he stopped to inspect an honour guard and was approached by a seemingly innocent group of students. Among them was one Morshidi Sidek, a member of Rukun 13, who politely requested to take a photograph of Stewart, to which the governor obliged.

It was in those few moments when the daring Rosli leaped from the background and plunged his knife deep into the distracted governor’s chest. As the governor’s white jacket slowly turned crimson with blood, Rosli and Morshidi were instantly detained.

As for Stewart, he died a few days later at the General Hospital in Singapore.

Despite the successful assassination, Rosli’s fight for nationalism led him to the hangman’s noose in March 1950, where he and his compatriots – Awang, Morshidi and two other Rukun 13 members were hanged for their crimes.

With the rest of the Rukun 13 members behind bars, the British took the assassination as a warning that Sarawakians were a hardy and zealous lot. Even so, by February 1951, the anti-cession movement was nothing more than a distant memory.

The significance of Rosli’s actions however, were remembered when in 1975, then education minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad honoured the young man by renaming SMK Bandar Sibu to SMK Rosli Dhobi.

Although Rosli and Rukun 13’s members didn’t live to see this tribute, they will always be remembered as the front runners of Sarawak’s independence, heroes who stood up against their colonisers and fought bravely for their beloved land.

Just like Rosli said in his poem, Panggilan-Mu yang Suci:

“O youth with good intentions,
Protect Sarawak, our Motherland,
Despite how the threat occurs,
We shall live and die together.” – Rosli Dhobi.

And that he did.