Dateline 2019-01-22, Sarawak Tribune:
The first oil well in Sarawak was drilled here in 1910 and led to the town’s initial development by Royal Dutch Shell and became an administrative centre in 1929.
During the Second World War, the Japanese came here for its oil. The fighting and air raids left much of it destroyed.
The presence of the oil industry, of course, ensured that Miri town was rebuilt.
To those who have not been here, Miri being an oil town might conjure up some elements of a place overflowing with wealth, magnificent infrastructure and plentiful of everything for all its citizens.
…
Wata - Malaysian Oil and Gas Engineer 