Brooke & Badrudin

Tragically, the little I know of the history of Sarawak comes from the brief mention made in the pages of our secondary history textbooks. Where the name James Brooke figures quite prominently. Who can forget the iconic figure of the dashing young British explorer who bravely sailed up the treacherous crocodile-infested rivers of Sarawak in his ship, the Royalist to lend aid to the ruling Sultan of Brunei.

And later being granted the entire kingdom of Sarawak in an expression of gratitude from the Sultan, thus beginning the reign of the White Rajahs. Not bad for an intrepid adventurer of little means with a nifty gunboat! No doubt the relieved Sultan of Brunei was only too glad to be rid of a wild pirate-headhunter-infested, trouble-making region in Borneo.


Exploring the virgin jungles!
That's the little I remember from my history lessons so I figured it was a time for a refresher. To my surprise in my ten-year hiatus from the textbooks, James Brooke has actually turned gay.

Seriously.

Yup, that virile, handsome daredevil seems to have had a thing for men, the comely dark-eyed local boys - particularly a certain Pangiran Badrudin, a native prince of whom he wrote 'my love for him was deeper than anyone I knew'. A harrowing romance worthy of a Brokeback Mountain - by way of Santubong - blockbuster.

Much later James Brooke even embarked on what seems to be a courtship with a younger male associate, Charles T.C. Grant. Coupled with a patent disinterest in women, it seems historians have painted James Brooke as a homosexual. Makes me wonder if they had any male Sleeping Dictionaries back then.

Kinda explains the relative tolerance for alternative sexualities in these parts. What with the much-publicized wedding of Jessie Chung and Joshua Beh being held here.

After all, what's good for the Rajah...

Really, the things you learn on the internet these days.