Political will of 2nd Rajah Charles Brooke, 16th December, 1913.
THIS IS THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT of me, CHARLES BROOKE Rajah of Sarawak in the Island of Borneo respecting the State of Sarawak and the public and political affairs thereof.
For many years, I have been Rajah of Sarawak, an independent sovereign recognised as such by H.B.M. Government and the Governments of the Powers, bound only by a treaty into which I entered some years ago with the Government of Her late Majesty Queen Victoria by which the State of Sarawak became and remains a British Protectorate although that treaty does not in any way affect my status as an independent sovereign nor authorise the British Government to control or to interfere in the internal affairs of the State.
It is my urgent hope and direction that my successors to the Raj will to the best of their power uphold the dignity of Rajah of Sarawak, never forgetting the grave responsibility which that position entails and will ever bear in mind that the essence and well-being of Sarawak rule depend on the proper amalgamation of Native and European Communities and that the former ought always to be fully represented in the Councils or other public assemblies as on this properly arranged amalgamation the stability of the State of Sarawak depends.
I urge that the policy and methods of government of Sarawak as hitherto carried out by the first British born Rajah and myself may not be departed from after my death. I cannot help feeling anxiety lest the attractions of Europe may prove too strong a temptation for my successors who may not be prepared to give up the luxury of life in the West in order to live in the East and devote their lives and energies to the good of any Eastern people. If that should prove to be the case, the future of Sarawak after my life is over will remain unstable and uncertain.
Therefore I wish to impress upon each and everyone of my successors the necessity of establishing himself in Sarawak immediately after his succession and carrying on the Government of the Country on the lines laid down and followed by my predecessor and myself and of not allowing Western attractions to separate his mind from the inhabitants and interests of the State.
Let him devote himself to the duties of the Government, let him consult and employ his brothers and other members of our family and the tried and faithful servants of the State to aid and assist him in his task and let him keep the Sarawak Advisory Council in England together as a substantial support to his unique position and great inheritance the duties of which he is in honour bound to fulfil to the best of his ability. Then he may call himself a true Rajah of the Country.
Otherwise he will never make a Rajah of an Eastern people of the same type as his predecessors. Unless my successors are prepared to live and govern on the lines above laid down, I should wish the Sarawak flag to be hauled down for good and all and the era of the British born Rajahs of Sarawak to be brought to an end.
