 During World War II , Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke ordered the construction of airstrips in Kuching , Oya , Mukah , Bintulu , and Miri . Construction of the Bintulu airstrip was started in 1934 under the direction of C. W. Bailey , a Works and Building Inspector for the British Royal Air Force ( RAF ) . All the airstrips were completed except for the Bintulu airstrip , where construction was discontinued in October 1938 due to financial reasons . Japanese forces landed in Miri on 16 December 1941 . Sarawak fell into Japanese hands when they conquered Kuching on 24 December 1941 . When the Japanese invaded Sarawak , Charles Vyner Brooke already left for Sydney ( Australia ) before the attack while his officers were captured by the Japanese and interned at the Batu Lintang camp . During the Japanese occupation , the Japanese used the airstrip for military purposes . However , the airstrip was heavily bombed by Allied forces . The British began reconstruction of the airstrip after the war ; during the project many unexploded bombs were unearthed . 
