Mausoleum of Sultan Tengah
Makam Sultan Tengah

structure with columns, a dome and elaborate detailing

When visiting the Santubong area near Kuching you should make a pitstop at the Mausoleum of Sultan Tengah and learn about Sarawak's first and last Sultan.

Sarawak Museums Departmentsign reading Makam Sultan Tengah

The plaque at the mausoleum reads as follows:

This is the Mausoleum of Sultan Tengah, the first and last Sultan of Sarawak. The said Sultan was the second son of Sultan Muhammad Hasan Ibn Sultan Sail Rijal Ibn Sultan Abdul Kahar Ibn Sultan Bolkiah Ibn Sultan Suleiman Ibn Sultan Sharif Ali (the third Sultan of Brunei). Sultan Tengah became the Sultan of Sarawak circa 1599 and was also known as Sultan Ibrahim Ali Omar Shah. Before sailing to Johor-Pahang, the Sultan appointed four State Ministers, Dato Patinggi Seri Setia, Dato Shahbandar Indera Wangsa, Dato Amar Seri Diraja and Dato Temenggong Laila Wangsa to administer Sarawak. Upon sailing back to Sarawak from Johore, Sultan Tengah was shipwrecked near the coast of Sukadana. In Sukadana His Majesty married a Princess of the Sukadana Ruler. One of His Majesty's Princes became a Sultan of Sambas, and another Prince became a Sultan of Matan. His Majesty passed away at Batu Buaya on the way back to Sarawak and was laid to rest in Santubong in 1641. The Royal Titles for State Dignitaries in Sarawak remain in use to this day.

After the death of Sultan Tengah the four State Ministers exercised control over Sarawak (which in those days only extended to the area around Kuching, i.e, Kuching Division) under the nominal sovereignty of the Sultan of Brunei. This state of affairs continued up until the arrival on the scene of Rajah James Brooke in the 19th century.

view from the mausoleum overlooking a road and the sea

The tomb became overgrown and was lost for centuries until it was rediscovered in 1993 in its present location on a hillside overlooking the sea near Santubong village. The Sarawak Government then constructed this dignified mausoleum to house the tomb. It was completed in 1995.

yellow coloured tomb with gravestones wrapped in yellow cloth

The grave markers themselves are wrapped in yellow fabric, yellow being the royal colour of Malay Sultans.

Opening Hours & Admission Fee

Open daily from 8am to 5pm.

Entrance is free.

How To Get to Mausoleum of Sultan Tengah

By Bus

This is on bus route Q100-2 and there is a stop nearby.

By Car

Driving towards Damai you cannot really miss the mausoleum, located right next to the road where Jalan Sultan Tengah meets Jalan Kampung Santubong.

The location is marked on this map:

Address
Mausoleum of Sultan Tengah
426, 1101, 93050 Kuching, Sarawak

Nearby

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