| 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) |
| 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 |
| Head Title: | Rajah |
| Head: | Charles Vyner Brooke |
| Grades: | Master(MSS) Companion(CSS) Officer(OSS) |
| Date: | 1928 - 1946 |
| First Induction: | 26 September 1928 |
| Last Induction: | 1946 |
The Most Excellent Order of the Star of Sarawak (lit: '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.[1] The motto of the order was "Haraplah Sa-lagi Bernafas", which was also the Sarawak state motto, a translation of the Latin phrase Dum Spiro Spero, which literally means "As long as I breathe, I hope". When instituted the order had a dual status as a dynastic order of knighthood as well as a state order with the Rajah as the Sovereign of the order. It had a bright yellow ribbon with a black line down the centre.[2] When Sarawak became of a British colony in 1946 the Rajah stopped making appointments and with the death of the last known recipient, Elizabeth Choy in 2006, the order became dormant. In 1964, the post-independence government of Sarawak created a new order with a simpler name The Most Illustrious Order of the Star of Sarawak (Darjah Yang Amat Mulia Bintang Sarawak), and in 1988, they renamed it as the Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak, or Darjah Utama Yang Amat Mulia Bintang Sarawak in Malay. However, the revived order has no connection whatsoever with the previous order except for the name.
The Order consisted of:
The three ordinary ranks of members are:
| 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 | |
| Gerald Trueman MacGill MacBryan | |||
| 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) | ||
| 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 |