Mount Singai

On 12 July 1981, during the 100th celebration of the Catholic Church in Sarawak, a parish-level celebration was held at the Bukit Singai mission place.^[4] This was anticipated by an Austrian priest, Josef Schmolzer who is credited with pioneering the establishment of the Catholic Memorial and Pilgrimage Centre.^[5] The center was built with cooperation of the parishioners and blessed by Archbishop Chung on November 21, 1999.^[6] During the 2000 Jubilee program, this site was dedicated to Christ the King.^[6][5]

In the centre, there is a Stations of the Cross that starts from the crest of the mountain and each station is marked by a wooden cross.^[4][7]

The statue, erected at the entrance of Mount Singai, is an iconic symbol of faith for Christians in Sarawak.^[8] The statue was blessed by Archbishop Simon Poh during a Mass on January 1, 2024.^[9]

Research conducted by the University of Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) has discovered at least 30 species of amphibians and 19 species of reptiles.^[10] The mountain also contains 1,178 plant species belonging to 69 families, 123 genera, and about 200 species.^[11] The 'spike moss' family (Selaginellaceae - 16.6 percent) dominates this area while the Begoniaceae (8.2 percent) and 'Candlenut trees' or 'Indian Walnut' families (Euphorbiaceae - 6.4 percent) are a distant second and third, respectively. These plants include fruit trees, ferns, medicinal herbs, shrubs, palms, bamboos, and epiphytes.^[12]

Of the 1,178 plant species collected on the hill, a total of 254 fruit trees from 12 different families were recorded. Many of these fruit trees are found in foothills and abandoned village sites. The most common is langsat (Lansium domesticum) followed by durian (Durio zibethinus), tampoi (Baccaurea macrocarpa), mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) and rambai (Baccaurea motleyana).^[13]