PERKHIDMATAN PERUBATAN DAN KESIHATAN DI KEM BALAK BAWAH SELIAAN BRITISH BORNEO TIMBER COMPANY

Medical and Health Services at the Logging Camp under the Supervision of the British Borneo Timber Company

Abstract

Perkembangan industri pembalakan di Borneo Utara telah melonjak disebabkan permintaannya yang tinggi dan telah menyumbang kepada pembangunan ekonomi di Borneo Utara. Perkembangan ekonomi ini adalah atas sumbangan tenaga kerja daripada buruh yang dibawa oleh British daripada negara luar. Objektif artikel ini adalah untuk mengenal pasti perkhidmatan perubatan dan kesihatan di kem balak di Borneo Utara semasa pentadbiran Syarikat Borneo Utara British. Kajian ini akan menggunakan kaedah analisis data melalui pendekatan sejarah dengan menggunakan sumber primer di arkib yang terdiri daripada dokumen-dokumen kolonial seperti fail sekretariat, fail pejabat kolonial, laporan tahunan perubatan Borneo Utara, surat-surat rasmi, memorandum dan akhbar. Melalui penelitian ke atas sumber, pengkaji telah mendapati bahawa perkhidmatan kesihatan yang diberikan serta ordinan yang telah digubal oleh pihak British menunjukkan bahawa pihak mereka memberikan perhatian kepada keadaan kesihatan para buruh. Hal ini demikian kerana kadar kematian yang tinggi daripada kalangan buruh akan menjejaskan sektor ekonomi British di Borneo Utara khususnya dalam industri pembalakan. Diharapkan agar penulisan ini dapat dijadikan sebagai sumber rujukan untuk mengkaji sejarah pembangunan industri pembalakan Borneo Utara dalam bidang perubatan dan kesihatan.

The development of the logging industry in North Borneo has boosted its high demand and has contributed to economic development in North Borneo. This economic development is due to the contribution of labor from coolies brought by the British from foreign countries. The objective of this article is to identify the medical and health services at logging camp in North Borneo during the administration of the British North Borneo Company. This study will use the method of data analysis through a historical approach by using primary sources in the archives consisting of colonial documents such as secretariat files, colonial office files, North Borneo Medical Annual Reports, official letters, memoranda and newspapers. Through research on sources, researchers have found that the health services provided as well as the regulations that have been enacted by the British government shows that they pay attention to the health conditions of the coolies. This is because the high death rate from the coolies will affect the British economic gain in North Borneo, especially in the logging industry. It is hoped that this writing can be used as a reference source to study the history of the development of the North Borneo logging industry in the field of medical and health.