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Under
the
Bintulu
Development Authority (BDA)
Ordinance, 1978, the BDA
was established to serve as the government instrument to
take charge of planning and development in Bintulu, an
area declared to be a designated area of the BDA.
The BDA was created in the aftermath of
the discovery of huge reserves of natural gas and oil
off the coast of Bintulu. The development of this
natural resource in a small community warranted a
central body that not only co-ordinates the
development projects but a body which can also
implement projects on its own. Hence, on July 8, 1978,
the BDA was created.
 In the early days,
Bintulu was a small settlement. Bintulu was acquired by
the Brooke's Family from Brunei Sultanate in 1861. The
unknown and unexplored ew territory attracted the first
scientific visitor, an Italian botanist, Odoardo
Beccari. Beccari was dropped off at the estuary of the
Kemena River by the 'Heartease', a vessel which had
conveyed 6,000 dollars which the White Rajah of Sarawak
then had to pay annually to the Sultan of Brunei for the
cession of the Mukah and the Bintulu districts.
"The wooden fort of Bintulu was in ruinous
condition," was Beccari's first remarks. At that time,
Bintulu consisted of shops of a few daring Chinese who
settled in the shelter of the new fort built by the
Brookes government. Beyond the shops were the houses
of the Melanaus on both sides of the river where
Kampung Bintulu and
Kampung
Jepak were located. Before 1861 the Melanaus had
lived at Kuala Segan, Kuala Spadok and Kuala Silas. In
1867, Beccari spotted some remains of the houses at
these tributaries of the Kemena River. When the fort
was built the people moved 10 kilometres downriver to
the sites of the present kampungs, "a thing they would
never have dared to do in the former days for fear of
attacks of the Ilanun pirates and the incursions of
the sea Dayaks.
"The houses resemble those of the Dayaks, and are
disposed in long rows....". "Outside each house,
projecting from the main edifice, corresponding to the
entrance on the river, is a kind of shed operations",
described Beccari. Connect the present sago-marketing
huts by a longhouse along their landside, and you have
Bintulu as it was seen by Beccari more than 120 years
ago.
At Bintulu in 1867, the first ever Council
Negeri Meeting (the equivalent of the Dewan Undangan
Negeri of today) met. The meeting was sanctioned by
the ailing James Brooke and convened by Charles Brooke
at Bintulu on the northern fringe of the newly
acquired territory. At this little and at last
peaceful place Charles Brooke with five of his British
officers and 16 Malay and Melanau members met and a
new era in the concoct of the affairs of State began,
not only for Sarawak but for all the territories of
Borneo. (Borneo Literature Bureau, Council Negeri
Centenary, 1867-1967 p.4).
 Like the rest of
Sarawak, Bintulu was ruled by the Brookes family for
about 100 years. In January 1941, Sarawak became a
colony of Great Britain. Late in that year, the Japanese
attacked Sarawak. The Bintulu airfield was sprayed with
bombs. Within several days, Sarawak was overran by the
Japanese. The Australian forces liberated Sarawak from
the Japanese in 1945. Sarawak remained a British
protectorate until 1963 when she joined Malaysia.
The onset of the timber extraction
industry in the 1950's brought some life to Bintulu.
Timber workers worked alongside with local fishermen
and sago collectors. In the 1960's, Bintulu celebrated
two centenaries. In 1961, it celebrated 100 years of
the First Council Negeri Meeting. No one in Bintulu
knew then, that in the waters off the Bintulu coast
are large reserves of natural gas was
discovered.
Nothing was done to this bubbling gold until 1974,
when the natural Oil Company- PETRONAS- was formed in
the aftermath of the 1973 oil embargo which resulted in
the oil price shock . It became very attractive to
harness the bubbling gold from the waters of the once
pirate-infested waters off the Bintulu coast. Meanwhile,
the government had engaged an international consultant
to prepare a development master plan. One of the
recommendations was to build a deepwater port at Tanjung
Kidurong.
When the
Malaysia
LNG Sdn Bhd a joint-venture company - was
established on 14th June 1978, Bintulu awaited the
implementation of the multi-billion dollar gas plant.
Less than a month later after the gas company was
formed, the BDA was created to co-ordinate and
implement development activities in Bintulu. The onset
of the gigantic projects required upgrading of the
services and facilities of Bintulu. As such, within a
period of ten years, some $11 billion have been spent
in Bintulu. That kind of money has transformed Bintulu
from its kampung and "belacan" image into a growing
industrial centre in this part of the world. A new era
has begun.
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