Order of the Star of Sarawak

The Most Excellent Order of the Star of Sarawak (Malay: Darjah Yang Amat Gemilang Bintang Sarawak) was established by Charles Vyner Brooke, The Rajah of Sarawak, on 26 September 1928 as the highest order of chivalry within the Raj of Sarawak. The motto of the Order was "Haraplah Sa-lagi Bernafas", the Sarawak state motto, a translation of the Latin phrase Dum Spiro Spero, which literally means "As long as I breathe, I hope".

Order of the Star of Sarawak
Awarded by The Rajah of Sarawak
Type	Order
Motto	HARAPLAH SA-LAGI BERNAFAS (As long as i breathe,i hope)
Awarded for	to recognise exceptional services by the Sarawak subjects and Foreigners alike to the State of Sarawak
Status	Not Awarded since 1946 Dormant order since 2006
Rajah	Charles Vyner Brooke
Grades	Master(MSS) Companion(CSS) Officer(OSS)
Statistics
First induction	26 September 1928
Last induction	1946
Ribbon of the Order

When instituted, the Order held dual status as a dynastic order of knighthood as well as a state order, with the Rajah as its Sovereign. It had a bright yellow ribbon with a black line down the centre. When Sarawak became a British colony in 1946, the Rajah stopped making appointments, and in 2006 the Order became dormant upon the death of the last-known recipient, Elizabeth Choy.

In 1964, the post-independence government of Sarawak constituted The Most Illustrious Order of the Star of Sarawak (Darjah Yang Amat Mulia Bintang Sarawak), and in 1988, renamed it The Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak (Darjah Utama Yang Amat Mulia Bintang Sarawak). This current Order has no connection whatsoever with the previous one except in name.

Composition

The Order consisted of:

• Sovereign
• Grand Master

The three ordinary ranks of members are:

• Master (MSS)-consists of breast star, sash, and sash badge.
• Companion (CSS)-a badge worn from a necklet.
• Officer (OSS)-a badge worn from a medal ribbon on the left breast.

Rank	Appointed	Recipients Name	Notes
Sovereign	26-Jun-1929	Charles Vyner Brooke
Grand Master	21-Sep-1941	Sylvia Brooke
Master	31-Mar-1941	Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah (1862–1946)	A Malay leader in Kuching, and also in Sarawak, renowned for his non-violent struggle against the cession of Sarawak to Britain.
		John Beville Archer, CMG
	21-Sep-1941	Cyril Drummond Le Gros Clark	Chief Secretary of Sarawak
Companions	26-Sep-1928	Ong Tiang Swee, OBE (1864–1950)	A renowned Chinese leader in Kuching. His grandson, Late Tan Sri Datuk Amar Ong Kee Hui is a renowned politician.
	31-Mar-1941	Abang Suleiman
		Inche Haji Mohamed Zin
		John Gordon Anderson
		Thomas Corson
		Cecil Pitt-Hardacre, OBE
		Kenelm Hubert Digby
	21-Sep-1941	Leonora Margaret Brooke	Daughter of Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke
	20-Jun-1946	Thomas Edward Eastick, DSO, ED	Military Governor of Sarawak from 10 September 1945 to December 1945
		Tan Bak Lim
		Aloysius Hopfgartner	Former Principal of St. Joseph School Kuching (August 1931 – 1934)
	27-Jun-1946	John Alfred Smith, OBE
		Wee Kheng Chiang	Founder of United Overseas Bank (UOB)
	22-Jul-1941	Gerald Trueman MacGill MacBryan	Private Secretary to Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke
Officers	31-Mar-1941	Barbara Pitt-Hardacre
	20-Jun-1946	Khan Ah Chong, MBE
		Lau Chai Lim
		Mangu Ah Kui
		Charles Stephen Were
		Thomas Crocker
		Thomas Attenborough
		William Geikie
		Ethel Annie Henderson, MBE	Nursing Sister, Kuching General Hospital 1935–1942; interned by Japanese
		Murugasu Sockalingham
		Denis Charles White
		John Coleraine Hanbury Barcroft
		Kho Soon Ewe
		Chin Shin Sen
		George Edward Bacon
	27-Jun-1946	Helen Chan
		Elizabeth Choy (1910–2006)	North Borneo-born Singaporean war heroine. Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke presented her with the Order in recognition of her work of assisting the British POWs during the Japanese occupation.
		Lim Song Kee
		Edwin William Howell