Sabah

Discover Sabah (4 May 2022)


B. Melayu

Map of Towns in Sabah

Categories of sights in Sabah

Map of sights in Sabah

Major sights in Sabah

National Parks in Sabah

Marine Parks in Sabah

Divisions of Sabah

Forest Reserves, Wildlife Sanctuaries & Natural Sites in Sabah

Island Off in Sabah

Introducing Sabah

Sabah is the second largest state in Malaysia. It shares a border with East Kalimantan, Indonesia, in the south, and with the state of Sarawak to the southwest. The state is 72,500 sq km (28,000 sq mi), making it the second largest state in the country. It has a population of 3.54 million people.

History of Sabah

Sabah was originally part of the Sultanate of Borneo since the 16th century. In 1658, the Sultan of Brunei ceded northeast Borneo to the Sultanate of Sulu as compensation for helping to put down a civil war. In the 18th century, the land that was to become Sabah passed from the Sultan of Sulu into private hands. Various individuals attempted to set up a trading post in Sabah but failed.

Kudat was made the capital of Sabah by the British North Borneo Company. Then in 1883, the capital shifted to Sandakan, which was rich in timber. Even after Sabah - then known as British North Borneo - was made a British protectorate, administration and control remains with the British North Borneo Company until 1942. Apart from the rebellion staged by the Suluk-Bajau leader Mat Salleh from 1894 to 1900, the administration was largely peaceful.

Sabah was occupied by the Japanese during the Second World War. The Japanese landed in Sabah through Labuan, on 1 January, 1942, and proceeded to invade the whole of Sabah. Allied bombing devastated many towns, with Sandakan totally razed to the ground. Two unsuccessful resistance to Japanese Occupation was led by Albert Kwok and Panglima Alli, who were both detained and executed. The Petagas War Memorial is build at the site of the execution.

After Second World War, the British returned to Sabah and made it a British Crown Colony. Jesselton was chosen as the capital in place of Sandakan. The British continued to rule Sabah until 1963. The original intention was for Sabah to join a newly formed Malaysia on 31 August, but due to objections from the Philippines and Indonesia, the formation of Malaysia was delayed to 16 September, 1963.


Kudat, Sabah
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Kudat#mediaviewer/File:Kudat_Sabah_PusatBandar-08.jpg
Uwe Aranas

Getting there

By Plane
Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) is the second largest airport in Malaysia and the gateway to East Malaysia. It is served by Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Dragonair, Silkair, Royal Brunei Airlines, Asiana and MASWings.

By Road
You can enter Sabah from Sarawak through the border crossing at Merapok. All non-citizens of Sabah and Sarawak have to go through immigration check, including West Malaysians. There is presently no official land crossing from Indonesia.

By Sea
There are regular passenger boats from Labuan to Kota Kinabalu and Sipitang. Vehicular ferries connect Labuan with Menumbok in southern Sabah. There are also boats between Zamboanga in the Philippines and Sandakan, and between Nunukan in Kalimantan with Tawau.


Forest canopy at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Sepilok_Orangutan_Rehabilitation_Centre#mediaviewer/File:JigsawCanopy.jpg
Mark J. Fisher

List of States in Malaysia

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Discover with Timothy videos on Sabah

What to see when in Sabah? Here are some suggestions from my videos.

Kota Kinabalu Central Market

Kota Kinabalu City Centre Tour

Shangri-La Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu

Rasa Ria Reserve Nature Walk

Dalit Bay Golf & Country Club

Oceano Buffet at Shangri-La Rasa Ria

Sabah's Stingless Bees

Pantai Dalit, Sabah at sunset

Pantai Dalit, Sabah at noon

Garden Wing at Rasa Ria Resort

Ocean Wing at Rasa Ria Resort

Disclaimer

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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