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Saratok is a town, and the capital of the Saratok District (1,586.9 square kilometres) in Betong Division, Sarawak, East Malaysia in the island of Borneo. The last recorded district population was 54,400 (year 2020 census). It is located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Betong. Iban forms the majority of the population (51%) with Malay (40%), Chinese (7%), Bidayuh and Melanau minorities.
Saratok
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|---|---|
Town and district capital
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Seal | |
  Saratok Location in Malaysia | |
| Coordinates: 1°44′24″N 111°20′13.2″E / 1.74000°N 111.337000°E / 1.74000; 111.337000 | |
| Country | Malaysia |
| State | Sarawak |
| Division | Betong |
| District | Saratok |
| Elevation | 10 m (32.8 ft) |
| Population
(2020)[1]
| |
| • Total | 54,400 |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+8 (Not observed) |
A majority of the Iban people live in longhouses in rural areas, planting paddy, pepper and tapping rubber to earn a living. Some of the Ibans in Saratok either work on or own an palm oil plantations. Generally, the Malay community live near rivers, fishing and planting pineapples, cocoa and coconut. A majority of the shopkeepers in Saratok town are Chinese.
A main annual event in Saratok is the Saratok Regatta or Pesta Air Sungai Krian, a boat-racing event. This event usually takes place during one weekend in July. Many stalls selling things ranging from food to souvenirs are set up in the car park between Saratok Wet Market and a nearby Buddhist temple to capitalise on the number of people who throng to this event every year.
There are three secondary schools and three primary schools in Saratok town and a number of rural primary schools. Saratok also have a pre-university college (Kolej Tingkatan Enam).
There are also Saratok Community Hospital, Klinik Welcare, Klinik PMG, Keluarga Supermarket, Nam Leong Supermarket, Everwin Supermarket, Eco Shop Supermarket, and more other facilities within the town.
There are also four banks in Saratok town (Maybank, Agro Bank, CIMB Bank, & RHB Bank).
| Route No. | Operating Route | Operator | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Sarikei-Saratok | Borneo Bus |
Saratok has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.
| Climate data for Saratok | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.1 (86.2) |
30.3 (86.5) |
31.3 (88.3) |
32.1 (89.8) |
32.5 (90.5) |
32.3 (90.1) |
32.2 (90.0) |
32.0 (89.6) |
31.9 (89.4) |
31.7 (89.1) |
31.5 (88.7) |
30.8 (87.4) |
31.6 (88.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.2 (79.2) |
26.3 (79.3) |
27.0 (80.6) |
27.4 (81.3) |
27.8 (82.0) |
27.5 (81.5) |
27.2 (81.0) |
27.1 (80.8) |
27.2 (81.0) |
27.1 (80.8) |
27.0 (80.6) |
26.5 (79.7) |
27.0 (80.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.4 (72.3) |
22.4 (72.3) |
22.7 (72.9) |
22.8 (73.0) |
23.1 (73.6) |
22.7 (72.9) |
22.3 (72.1) |
22.3 (72.1) |
22.5 (72.5) |
22.6 (72.7) |
22.5 (72.5) |
22.3 (72.1) |
22.6 (72.6) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 364 (14.3) |
283 (11.1) |
276 (10.9) |
253 (10.0) |
264 (10.4) |
169 (6.7) |
171 (6.7) |
277 (10.9) |
262 (10.3) |
279 (11.0) |
303 (11.9) |
405 (15.9) |
3,306 (130.1) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org[2] | |||||||||||||
Notable people from Saratok include: