History of Sabah
Encyclopedia
The history of Sabah can be traced back to about 20,000–30,000 years ago when evidence suggests the earliest human settlement in the region existed. The history is interwoven with the history of Brunei
and the history of Malaysia
, to which Sabah
was previously part of and is currently part of respectively. The earliest recorded history of Sabah being part of any organised civilisation began in the early 16th century during the thriving era of the Sultanate of Brunei. Prior to this, early inhabitants of the land lived in predominantly tribal
societies, although such tribal societies have continued to exist until the 20th century. Sabah became a protectorate of the United Kingdom in 1888 and subsequently became a crown colony until 1963, during which time Sabah was widely known as North Borneo
. On September 16, 1963, Sabah merged with Malaya, Sarawak
and Singapore
(left in 1965) to form the Federation of Malaysia.
about 20,000 years ago, Sabah and the rest of Borneo
island was connected to mainland Asia in a landmass known as the Sundaland
. Subsequent deglaciation, which caused global sea level to rise, resulted in the Sundaland being submerged, separating Borneo from the rest of Asia.
Earliest human migration and settlement into the region is believed to have dated back about 20,000–30,000 years ago. These early humans are believed to be Australoid
or Negrito
people. Stone tools and artifacts have been found in Madai and Baturong caves and in the archeological site in Lake Tingkayu near the district of Kunak
which were estimated to date back from 28,000–17,000 years ago. The tools found there were considered advanced for its period. There was evidence of human cave-dwellings around 15,000–6,000 years ago. The next wave of human migration, believed to be Austronesian Mongoloids, occurred around 3000 BC. This wave of migration is believed to represent the time when the indigenous hill people
of present day Sabah had first arrived, namely the Murut
followed by the Brunei
, the Dusun
, and other related ethnic groups. It is believed that some Australoid or Negrito people have interbred with later Mongoloid migrants and remained in Borneo, while others have migrated to other places such as Melanesia
, the Lesser Sunda Islands
or Australia
.
The theory that Austronesians in Southeast Asia arrived from China through Taiwan has been challenged by Stephen Oppenheimer
who suggested that many cultures including the people of China and India might have actually originated from Sundaland. A new finding based on DNA research in 2008 supported Oppenheimer's theory that migration flow might have been radiated out from Sundaland sometime around 15,000 to 7,000 years ago following the submergence of Sundaland due to rise in sea level.
has been either ruled or claimed as part of various Hindu communities or kingdoms from around Southeast Asia. However it is uncertain whether the influence of these kingdoms had ever reached the coasts of present-day Sabah.
During the 7th century CE, a settled community known as Vijayapura, a tributary to the Srivijaya
empire, was thought to have been the earliest beneficiary to the Bruneian Empire
existing around the northeast coast of Borneo.
Another kingdom which was suspected to have existed according to Chinese records beginning the 9th century was P'o-ni. It was believed that Po-ni existed at the mouth of Brunei River
and was the predecessor to the Sultanate of Brunei.
The Brunei Annals in 1410 mentioned about a Chinese settlement or province centering in the Kinabatangan
Valley in the east coast surrounding Kinabatangan River
founded by a man known as Huang Senping
. This is consistent with the recent discovery of timber coffin
s in the Agop Batu Tulug cave in the Kinabatangan Valley. The coffins, adorned with carvings believed to resemble similar cultural practices in China and Vietnam
, are believed to date back from around 700 to 1,000 years ago (11th to 14th century).
From the 14th to the 16th century, the Majapahit empire expanded its influence towards Brunei and most of the coastal region of Borneo. Sometime around the late 15th to 18th century, the seafaring
Bajau-Suluk people arrived from the Sulu archipelago and had settled on the coasts of Sabah. It is believed that they were fleeing from the oppression of the Spanish colonist in that region.
. Some sources indicate that this had occurred around 1365 CE after the ruler, Awang Alak Betatar, converted into Islam and became known as Muhammad Shah
. Other sources suggests that the conversion occurred much later around 1514 to 1521 CE, albeit, under the same person. During the same period, trade relations flourished, and intermarriages among the natives and Chinese, Japanese, Arab, and Hindu peoples became commonplace. The intermixing of blood resulted in a distinct breed of Palaweños, both in physical stature and features.
During the reign of the fifth sultan known as Bolkiah
between 1473–1524, the Sultanate's thalassocracy
extended over Sabah, Sulu Archipelago
and Manila
in the north, and Sarawak
until Banjarmasin
in the south. This was during the period when the Sultanate was in its 'golden era'.
In 1658, the Sultan of Brunei ceded the northern and eastern portion of Borneo to the Sultan of Sulu in compensation for the latter's help in settling a civil war
in the Brunei Sultanate. The Sultan of Brunei continued to loosely govern the west coast of Sabah. The Brunei Malays began settling in this region during this period. In 1749, the Sultanate of Borneo ceded southern Palawan to Spain.
, an officer of the British East India Company
, concluded an agreement with the Sultan of Sulu to allow him to set up a trading post in the region. This plan, together with other attempts to build a settlement and a military station centering around Pulau Balambangan, proved to be a failure. A map by Dalrymple of North Borneo is exhibited in the National Museum of Scotland
. There was minimal foreign interest in this region afterward and control over most parts of north Borneo seems to have remained loosely under the Sultanate of Brunei.
In 1846, the island of Labuan
on the west coast of Sabah was ceded to Britain by the Sultan of Brunei and in 1848 it became a British Crown Colony. Labuan became a base for British operations against piracy in the region.
The first recorded ascent of Mount Kinabalu
, the highest mountain in Borneo, was made in 1851 by British Malaya
colonial administrator and naturalist Hugh Low
. The highest peak and the deep gully of the mountain was later named after him.
In 1865 the American Consul General of Brunei, Charles Lee Moses, obtained a 10-year lease over North Borneo from the Sultan of Brunei Abdul Momin
. Ownership was then passed to an American trading company owned by Joseph William Torrey, Thomas Bradley Harris, and some Chinese merchants. They set up a base and settlement in Kimanis
and the Sultan of Brunei appointed Torrey as "The Rajah of Ambong and Marudu". His fortress "Ellena" was located in Kimanis with hundreds of Iban trackers lead by Lingkanad. Torrey returned to America in 1877 and died near Boston, Massachusetts, in March 1884. The rights of the trading company were then sold to Gustavus Baron Von Overbeck the Austria
n Consul in Hong Kong, and he later obtained another 10-year renewal of the lease. The lease was subsequently converted into a cession via a treaty which was signed by the Sultan of Brunei Abdul Momin. In the treaty, the Sultan appointed Overbeck as "Maharajah of Sabah and Rajah of Gaya and Sandakan." The treaty grants Overbeck the right over whole region of Sabah, including parts purporting to be the dominion of the Sulu Sultanate including Sandakan
and Tawau
. The treaty was signed on December 29, 1877 at the Brunei Palace.
On the east coast of North Borneo near Sandakan, Overbeck and William Cowie, on behalf of Dent's company, negotiated and obtained a lease
in perpetuity from the Sultan of Sulu over its holdings in this region in 1878. This lease was signed on January 22, 1878 in the palace of the Sultan of Sulu. The lease would later be the subject of dispute by the modern republic of Philippines regarding the sovereignty of the state of Sabah. The rights were subsequently transferred to Alfred Dent, whom in 1881 formed the British North Borneo Provisional Association Ltd. In 1881, the British government granted the British North Borneo Company a royal charter. William Hood Treacher was appointed the first British Governor of North Borneo.
In the following year, the British North Borneo Company
was formed and Kudat
was made its capital. Beginning 1882, the Company brought in Chinese people mainly Hakkas
from Guangdong province to work as labourers in plantation farms. Most of the migrants settled in Kudat
and Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu
).
In 1883 the capital was moved to Sandakan
to capitalise on its potential of vast timber
resources. In 1885, United Kingdom, Spain and Germany signed the Madrid Protocol of 1885
. The purpose of the protocol was to recognise the sovereignty of Spain in the Sulu Archipelago
and also for Spain to relinquish all claims it may have over North Borneo.
In 1888 North Borneo became a protectorate
of the United Kingdom. Administration and control over North Borneo remained in the hands of the Company despite being a protectorate and they effectively ruled until 1942. Their rule had been generally peaceful except for some rebellions, including one led by the Bajau
-Suluk leader Mat Salleh from 1894 to 1900, and another led by Antanum
of the Murut
s known as the Rundum resistance in 1915. Beginning 1920, more Chinese migrants arrived from the provinces of Guangdong, Fujian
and even Hebei
after the British changed its immigration policy to stimulate the stagnant economy during that period. There was also Javanese migration into Sabah beginning 1891 and subsequent recruitment of laborers by the British from 1907 onwards. Other significant migrants from present-day Indonesia
into Sabah consists of the Bugis
people beginning mid-19th century and the Florenese people from Flores
beginning early 1950s.
The First Natives Paramount Leader was Pehin Orang Kaya-Kaya Koroh bin Santulan of Keningau
"The father of former Sabah State Minister Tan Sri Stephen (Suffian) Koroh, and Sabah's fifth State Governor Tun Thomas (Ahmad) Koroh (the elder brother of Suffian)". Santulan which also a Pengeran, the father to Pehin Orang Kaya-Kaya Koroh was a Murut descendant of Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin
, the 25th Sultan of Brunei.
on January 1, 1942, and continued to invade the rest of North Borneo. From 1942 to 1945, Japanese
forces occupied North Borneo
, along with most of the island. Bombings by the allied forces
devastated of most towns including Sandakan, which was razed to the ground. Resistance against Japanese occupation were concentrated on the west and north coast of North Borneo. The resistance in Jesselton was led by Albert Kwok and Jules Stephens of the Kinabalu Guerillas. Another resistance was led by Panglima Alli from Sulug Island, off the coast of Jesselton. In Kudat
, there was also some resistance led by Tun Datu Mustapha
. On October 10, 1943, the Kinabalu Guerrillas together with followers of Panglima Alli staged a surprise attack on the Japanese. The attack however was foiled. The 324 local residents who participated in the attacks, including Albert Kwok and Panglima Alli, were detained in Petagas and later executed on January 21, 1944. The site of the execution is today known as the Petagas War Memorial
.
In Keningau
during World War II, Korom was a rebel and some said he was a Sergeant with the North Borneo Armed Constabulary. It was claimed that he spied for the Allied Forces by pretending to be working for the Japanese. He provided intelligence on Japanese positions and some credited him with the escape of 500 Allied POWs. Fighting alongside with Korom in his platoon was Garukon, Lumanib, Kingan, Mikat, Pensyl, Gampak, Abdullah Hashim, Ariff Salleh, Langkab, Polos, Nuing, Ambutit, Lakai and many more including the Chinese.
In Sandakan
there was once a brutal POW camp run by the Japanese for British and Australian POWs from North Borneo. The prisoners suffered in agony in their first year of captivity under notoriously inhuman conditions, but much worse was to come through the forced marches of January, March and June 1945 (refer to Sandakan Memorial Park WWII POW Museum Records). Allied bombardments caused the Japanese to relocate the POW camp to inland Ranau
, 260 km away. All the prisoners, who by then were reduced to 2504 in number, were to be moved, but instead of transport, were forced to march the infamous Sandakan Death March. Sickness, disease, exhaustion, thirst, hunger, whipping, and shooting killed most of the prisoners, except for six Australians who successfully escaped, were never caught, and survived to tell the horrific story of the death march. The fallen of this march are commemorated each year on Anzac Day (Memorial Day) in Australia and in Sandakan, at the original POW campsite where a POW hut style museum and a black marble memorial obelisk monument are nestled in a peaceful park setting with a lily pond.
The war ended with the official surrender by Lieutenant-General Baba Masao
of the 37th Japanese Army in Labuan on September 10, 1945. After the surrender, North Borneo was administered by the British Military Administration and in 1946 it became a British Crown Colony. Jesselton replaced Sandakan as the capital and the Crown continued to rule North Borneo until 1963.
, but was supported by the British. There was a call for complete independence on that date by it was denied by the British Governor who remained in power until Malaysia Day
. In 1962, the Cobbold Commission
was set up to determine whether the people of Sabah and Sarawak favoured the proposed union. The Commission had found that the union was generally favoured by the people but wanted certain terms and conditions incorporated to safeguard the interest of the people. The Commission had also noted some opposition from the people but decided that such opposition were minor. The Commission published its report on August 1, 1962 and had made several recommendations. Unlike in Singapore, however, no referendum
was ever conducted in Sabah.
Most ethnic community leaders of Sabah, namely, Tun Mustapha representing the Muslims, Tun Fuad Stephens
representing the non-Muslim natives, and Khoo Siak Chew representing the Chinese, would eventually support the formation. An agreement was signed by Tunku Abdul Rahman, Harold MacMillan
, the British Prime Minister, and William Goode
, the last Governor of North Borneo
, signed on behalf of the territory on August 1, 1962 putting to paper the agreement to form the union.
The intention had been to form Malaysia on 31 August 1963 but due to objections from the Philippines and Indonesia, the formation had to be postponed to 16 September 1963. At that point North Borneo, as Sabah, was united with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore, to form the independent the Federation of Malaysia. To safeguard the interest of North Borneo in the new federation, a 20-point agreement
was entered into between the federal and the state government.
Around the same time, there were proposals from certain parties, particularly by the Brunei People's Party
, for the formation of a North Borneo Federation
consisting of Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei
. The proposal culminated in rebel attacks in Brunei and some parts of Sabah and Sarawak. The rebellion was foiled by the Bruneian Army
with the help of the British colonials in December 1962.
became the first chief minister of Sabah. The first Governor (Yang di-Pertuan Negeri) was Tun Mustapha. Sabah held its first state election in 1967. Until 2008, a total of 11 state elections has been held. Sabah has had 13 different chief ministers and 9 different Yang di-Pertua Negeri
as of 2009.
Tun Mustapha became the 3rd chief minister following the first state election. Beginning 1970, Filipino refugees from the Mindanao
began arriving in Sabah as a result of the Moro insurgency taking place in that region.
On June 6, 1976, after only 44 days being elected for the second time as chief minister, Tun Fuad Stephens together with other state cabinet ministers died in a fatal plane crash known as the Double Six Tragedy
. He was replaced by Harris Salleh
. On June 14, 1976, the government of Sabah signed an agreement with Petronas
, the federal government-owned oil and gas company, granting it the right to extract and earn revenue from petroleum found in the territorial waters of Sabah in exchange for 5% in annual revenue as royalties
.
Under the leadership of Harris Salleh, the state government of Sabah ceded
the island of Labuan
and its 6 smaller islands to the Malaysian federal government and it was declared a federal territory on April 16, 1984.
In 1985, following the state elections
, Pairin Kitingan of Parti Bersatu Sabah
(PBS) became the seventh chief minister and this marked the second time in Malaysia where a party not affiliated with the nation ruling coalition Barisan Nasional
(BN) or its predecessor, the Alliance Party
, formed government in any state (preceded by Gerakan
in Penang
in 1969 and followed by PAS in Kelantan
in 1990). In 1986, opponents of the newly elected PBS government started riots around the state
, mainly in the cities of Kota Kinabalu
, Tawau
and Sandakan
, resulting in bombings and five fatalities. Peace was gradually restored following a snap election
in 1986 which consolidated PBS' position as the ruling state government.
From 1990 to 1991, several PBS politicians were arrested under the Internal Security Act
for allegedly being involved in plans to secede
Sabah from the Malaysian Federation and detained for two years. Among those arrested were Jeffrey Kitingan
and Maximus Ongkili
. Other politicians, including Pairin, were hit with corruption charges
. The arrests and charges were suspected to be politically motivated.
Following the 1994 state election
, Barisan Nasional regained control of the state via the creation of the Sabah chapter of the United Malays National Organisation
(UMNO) party and other parties. The rotation system was introduced by the then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad in which the chief ministerial post would be rotated every two years among the three main communities in Sabah, namely, the Muslim Bumiputeras, non-Muslim Bumiputeras and the Chinese. Sakaran Dandai became the first chief minister under this system in 1994. The rotation system was finally abolished in 2005 with current chief minister Musa Aman
at the helm.
On December 26, 1996, Sabah was hit by one of the worst tropical storm known as Tropical Storm Greg. The storm hit the western coast of the state resulting in over 200 deaths and thousands of home destroyed.
In 2000, the state capital Kota Kinabalu
was granted city status, making it the 6th city in Malaysia and the first city in the state. Also this year, Kinabalu National Park
was officially designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site
, making it the first site in the country to be given such designation.
On May 3, 2000, the Abu Sayyaf
militant group from southern Philippines arrived on the resort island of Sipadan
and kidnapped 21 people consisting of tourists and resort workers for ransom. Most hostages were rescued on September 16, 2000 following an offensive by the Philippine army.
In 2002, the International Court of Justice
ruled that the islands of Sipadan
and Ligitan
, claimed by Indonesia
, are part of Sabah
and Malaysia.
History of Brunei
The Sultanate of Brunei ruled during the fourteenth to the sixteenth century CE. Its territory covered the northern part of Borneo and the southern Philippines. European influence gradually brought an end to this regional power. Later, there was a brief war with Spain, in which Brunei was victorious...
and the history of Malaysia
History of Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in South East Asia whose strategic sea-lane position brought trade and foreign influences that fundamentally influenced its history. Hindu and Buddhist cultures imported from India dominated early Malaysian history...
, to which Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
was previously part of and is currently part of respectively. The earliest recorded history of Sabah being part of any organised civilisation began in the early 16th century during the thriving era of the Sultanate of Brunei. Prior to this, early inhabitants of the land lived in predominantly tribal
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
societies, although such tribal societies have continued to exist until the 20th century. Sabah became a protectorate of the United Kingdom in 1888 and subsequently became a crown colony until 1963, during which time Sabah was widely known as North Borneo
North Borneo
North Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered Company from 1882 to 1946. After the war it became a crown colony of Great Britain from 1946 to 1963, known in this time as British North Borneo. It is located on the northeastern end of the island of Borneo. It is...
. On September 16, 1963, Sabah merged with Malaya, Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
(left in 1965) to form the Federation of Malaysia.
Prehistoric Sabah
During the Last Glacial MaximumLast Glacial Maximum
The Last Glacial Maximum refers to a period in the Earth's climate history when ice sheets were at their maximum extension, between 26,500 and 19,000–20,000 years ago, marking the peak of the last glacial period. During this time, vast ice sheets covered much of North America, northern Europe and...
about 20,000 years ago, Sabah and the rest of Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
island was connected to mainland Asia in a landmass known as the Sundaland
Sundaland
Sundaland is a biogeographical region of Southeastern Asia which encompasses the areas of the Asian continental shelf that was exposed during the last ice age. It included the Malay Peninsula on the Asian mainland, as well as the large islands of Borneo, Java, and Sumatra and their surrounding...
. Subsequent deglaciation, which caused global sea level to rise, resulted in the Sundaland being submerged, separating Borneo from the rest of Asia.
Earliest human migration and settlement into the region is believed to have dated back about 20,000–30,000 years ago. These early humans are believed to be Australoid
Australoid
The Australoid race is a broad racial classification. The concept originated with a typological method of racial classification. They were described as having dark skin with wavy hair, in the case of Veddoids from South Asia and Aboriginal Australians, or hair ranging from straight to kinky in the...
or Negrito
Negrito
The Negrito are a class of several ethnic groups who inhabit isolated parts of Southeast Asia.Their current populations include 12 Andamanese peoples of the Andaman Islands, six Semang peoples of Malaysia, the Mani of Thailand, and the Aeta, Agta, Ati, and 30 other peoples of the Philippines....
people. Stone tools and artifacts have been found in Madai and Baturong caves and in the archeological site in Lake Tingkayu near the district of Kunak
Kunak
Kunak is a small town located in Tawau Division, east coast of Sabah in Malaysia. It was formerly a sub-district administered under the Lahad Datu District Office, but achieved its status as a full district on 1 June, 1981....
which were estimated to date back from 28,000–17,000 years ago. The tools found there were considered advanced for its period. There was evidence of human cave-dwellings around 15,000–6,000 years ago. The next wave of human migration, believed to be Austronesian Mongoloids, occurred around 3000 BC. This wave of migration is believed to represent the time when the indigenous hill people
Hill people
Hill people live in the hills and mountains. There are hill people around the world, many of whom live in stone houses and herd goats, sheep or camelids or have small farms. Musical instruments of the hill people, such as various forms of bagpipe and horn are notable for their ability to be heard...
of present day Sabah had first arrived, namely the Murut
Murut
Murut may refer to:* Murut people, an ethnic group of the northern inland regions of Borneo* Murutic languages or Murut languages, spoken by those people* Tagol Murut language, the most widely spoken of the Murutic languages* Murut, Azerbaijan, a village...
followed by the Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
, the Dusun
Dusun
Dusun is the collective name of a tribe or ethnic and linguistic group in the Malaysian state of Sabah of North Borneo. Due to similarities in culture and language with the Kadazan ethnic group, a new unified term called "Kadazan-Dusun" was created. Collectively, they form the largest ethnic group...
, and other related ethnic groups. It is believed that some Australoid or Negrito people have interbred with later Mongoloid migrants and remained in Borneo, while others have migrated to other places such as Melanesia
Melanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
, the Lesser Sunda Islands
Lesser Sunda Islands
The Lesser Sunda Islands or Nusa Tenggara are a group of islands in the southern Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands...
or Australia
Australia (continent)
Australia is the world's smallest continent, comprising the mainland of Australia and proximate islands including Tasmania, New Guinea, the Aru Islands and Raja Ampat Islands...
.
The theory that Austronesians in Southeast Asia arrived from China through Taiwan has been challenged by Stephen Oppenheimer
Stephen Oppenheimer
Stephen Oppenheimer is a British paediatrician, geneticist, and writer. He is a member of Green Templeton College, Oxford and an honorary fellow of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and carries out and publishes research in the fields of genetics and human prehistory.-Career:Oppenheimer...
who suggested that many cultures including the people of China and India might have actually originated from Sundaland. A new finding based on DNA research in 2008 supported Oppenheimer's theory that migration flow might have been radiated out from Sundaland sometime around 15,000 to 7,000 years ago following the submergence of Sundaland due to rise in sea level.
Pre-16th century
Prior to the expansion of the Sultanate of Brunei most of the coastal region of BorneoBorneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
has been either ruled or claimed as part of various Hindu communities or kingdoms from around Southeast Asia. However it is uncertain whether the influence of these kingdoms had ever reached the coasts of present-day Sabah.
During the 7th century CE, a settled community known as Vijayapura, a tributary to the Srivijaya
Srivijaya
Srivijaya was a powerful ancient thalassocratic Malay empire based on the island of Sumatra, modern day Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. The earliest solid proof of its existence dates from the 7th century; a Chinese monk, I-Tsing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 for 6...
empire, was thought to have been the earliest beneficiary to the Bruneian Empire
Bruneian Empire
The Bruneian Empire was founded in the early 7th century on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. The empire was ruled by pagan or Hindu kings converted into Muslims by Indian, Arab and merchants from the other parts of the Malay Archipelago who came to trade and spread Islam...
existing around the northeast coast of Borneo.
Another kingdom which was suspected to have existed according to Chinese records beginning the 9th century was P'o-ni. It was believed that Po-ni existed at the mouth of Brunei River
Brunei River
The Brunei River is a river which flows through Brunei and empties into Brunei Bay towards the North-east direction. The Istana Nurul Iman, the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei, stands on its banks. The Brunei River is the shortest major river in Brunei Darussalam. Brunei Darussalam's...
and was the predecessor to the Sultanate of Brunei.
The Brunei Annals in 1410 mentioned about a Chinese settlement or province centering in the Kinabatangan
Kinabatangan
Kinabatangan is a district located in Sandakan Division, in the east of Sabah, Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Its population was estimated to be around 86,783 in 2000. Kinabatangan is mostly populated with Sungei Race, one of the Indigenous Group in Sabah...
Valley in the east coast surrounding Kinabatangan River
Kinabatangan River
The Kinabatangan River is located in Sabah, eastern Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It is the second longest river in Malaysia, with a length of 560 kilometers from its headwaters in the mountains of southwest Sabah, to its outlet at the Sulu Sea, east of Sandakan.Kinabatangan is known for its...
founded by a man known as Huang Senping
Huang Senping
Huang Senping , Pengiran Maharaja Lela of Brunei. He is better known by his Hokkien name Ong Sum Ping to Bruneians. The Hokkien name implies that Huang Senping was a native of Fujian, China...
. This is consistent with the recent discovery of timber coffin
Coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
s in the Agop Batu Tulug cave in the Kinabatangan Valley. The coffins, adorned with carvings believed to resemble similar cultural practices in China and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, are believed to date back from around 700 to 1,000 years ago (11th to 14th century).
From the 14th to the 16th century, the Majapahit empire expanded its influence towards Brunei and most of the coastal region of Borneo. Sometime around the late 15th to 18th century, the seafaring
Seafarers
Seafarers can refer to ethnic groups living by the sea in Southeast Asia, and also other sea-living ethnic groups in the world. The ethnic group name refers to a large distribution area, reaching from the islands of Indonesia to Burma...
Bajau-Suluk people arrived from the Sulu archipelago and had settled on the coasts of Sabah. It is believed that they were fleeing from the oppression of the Spanish colonist in that region.
Sultanate of Brunei
The Sultanate of Brunei began after the ruler of Brunei embraced IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. Some sources indicate that this had occurred around 1365 CE after the ruler, Awang Alak Betatar, converted into Islam and became known as Muhammad Shah
Muhammad Shah of Brunei
Sultan Muhammad Shah was the first Sultan of Brunei. He ruled Brunei from 1363 to 1402. He was the first Muslim ruler of Brunei as a result of his conversion to Islam in 1363 for his marriage to a Johorean-Temasik princess. Prior to conversion to Islam, he was known as Awang Alak Betatar...
. Other sources suggests that the conversion occurred much later around 1514 to 1521 CE, albeit, under the same person. During the same period, trade relations flourished, and intermarriages among the natives and Chinese, Japanese, Arab, and Hindu peoples became commonplace. The intermixing of blood resulted in a distinct breed of Palaweños, both in physical stature and features.
During the reign of the fifth sultan known as Bolkiah
Bolkiah
Sultan Bolkiah was the fifth Sultan of Brunei. He ascended the throne of Brunei upon the abdication of his father, Sultan Sulaiman. He ruled Brunei from 1485 to 1524. His reign was known as the Golden Age because Brunei became the superpower of the Malay archipelago...
between 1473–1524, the Sultanate's thalassocracy
Thalassocracy
The term thalassocracy refers to a state with primarily maritime realms—an empire at sea, such as Athens or the Phoenician network of merchant cities...
extended over Sabah, Sulu Archipelago
Sulu Archipelago
The Sulu Archipelago is a chain of islands in the southwestern Philippines. This archipelago is considered to be part of the Moroland by the local rebel independence movement. This island group forms the northern limit of the Celebes Sea....
and Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
in the north, and Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
until Banjarmasin
Banjarmasin
Banjarmasin is the capital of South Kalimantan, Indonesia. It is located on a delta island near the junction of the Barito and Martapura rivers. As a result, Banjarmasin is sometimes called the "River City"...
in the south. This was during the period when the Sultanate was in its 'golden era'.
In 1658, the Sultan of Brunei ceded the northern and eastern portion of Borneo to the Sultan of Sulu in compensation for the latter's help in settling a civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
in the Brunei Sultanate. The Sultan of Brunei continued to loosely govern the west coast of Sabah. The Brunei Malays began settling in this region during this period. In 1749, the Sultanate of Borneo ceded southern Palawan to Spain.
North Borneo
In 1761, Alexander DalrympleAlexander Dalrymple
Alexander Dalrymple was a Scottish geographer and the first Hydrographer of the British Admiralty. He was the main proponent of the theory that there existed a vast undiscovered continent in the South Pacific, Terra Australis Incognita...
, an officer of the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, concluded an agreement with the Sultan of Sulu to allow him to set up a trading post in the region. This plan, together with other attempts to build a settlement and a military station centering around Pulau Balambangan, proved to be a failure. A map by Dalrymple of North Borneo is exhibited in the National Museum of Scotland
National Museum of Scotland
The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the Royal Museum next door, with collections covering science and technology, natural history, and world...
. There was minimal foreign interest in this region afterward and control over most parts of north Borneo seems to have remained loosely under the Sultanate of Brunei.
In 1846, the island of Labuan
Labuan
Labuan is a federal territory in East Malaysia. It is an island off the coast of the state of Sabah. Labuan's capital is Victoria and is best known as an offshore financial centre offering international financial and business services via Labuan IBFC since 1990 as well as being an offshore support...
on the west coast of Sabah was ceded to Britain by the Sultan of Brunei and in 1848 it became a British Crown Colony. Labuan became a base for British operations against piracy in the region.
The first recorded ascent of Mount Kinabalu
Mount Kinabalu
Mount Kinabalu is a prominent mountain on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is located in the East Malaysian state of Sabah and is protected as Kinabalu National Park, a World Heritage Site. Kinabalu is the tallest peak in Borneo's Crocker Range and is the tallest mountain in the Malay...
, the highest mountain in Borneo, was made in 1851 by British Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
colonial administrator and naturalist Hugh Low
Hugh Low
Sir Hugh Low, GCMG was a British colonial administrator and naturalist. After a long residence in various colonial roles in Labuan, he became the first successful British administrator in the Malay Peninsula. His methods became models for future administrators. He made the first documented ascent...
. The highest peak and the deep gully of the mountain was later named after him.
In 1865 the American Consul General of Brunei, Charles Lee Moses, obtained a 10-year lease over North Borneo from the Sultan of Brunei Abdul Momin
Abdul Momin
Abdul Momin was the sultan of Brunei from 1852 until his death. He was the son of a nobleman named Pengiran Shahbandar Pengiran Anak Abdul Wahab. Pengiran Anak Abdul Momin succeeded his father in law Omar Ali Saifuddin II as sultan upon the latter's death, having previously served as regent for...
. Ownership was then passed to an American trading company owned by Joseph William Torrey, Thomas Bradley Harris, and some Chinese merchants. They set up a base and settlement in Kimanis
Kimanis
Kimanis is a fully integrated township and also a parliamentary constituency in the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. It is located approximately 45 kilometres south of the city of Kota Kinabalu. Kimanis used to be the base for the American company which obtained a lease over North Borneo...
and the Sultan of Brunei appointed Torrey as "The Rajah of Ambong and Marudu". His fortress "Ellena" was located in Kimanis with hundreds of Iban trackers lead by Lingkanad. Torrey returned to America in 1877 and died near Boston, Massachusetts, in March 1884. The rights of the trading company were then sold to Gustavus Baron Von Overbeck the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n Consul in Hong Kong, and he later obtained another 10-year renewal of the lease. The lease was subsequently converted into a cession via a treaty which was signed by the Sultan of Brunei Abdul Momin. In the treaty, the Sultan appointed Overbeck as "Maharajah of Sabah and Rajah of Gaya and Sandakan." The treaty grants Overbeck the right over whole region of Sabah, including parts purporting to be the dominion of the Sulu Sultanate including Sandakan
Sandakan
Sandakan is the second-largest city in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the north-eastern coast of Borneo. It is located on the east coast of the island and it is the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo...
and Tawau
Tawau
Tawau is the administrative center of Tawau Division, Malaysia and the third largest town of Sabah after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan.-Geography:...
. The treaty was signed on December 29, 1877 at the Brunei Palace.
On the east coast of North Borneo near Sandakan, Overbeck and William Cowie, on behalf of Dent's company, negotiated and obtained a lease
Concession (territory)
In international law, a concession is a territory within a country that is administered by an entity other than the state which holds sovereignty over it. This is usually a colonizing power, or at least mandated by one, as in the case of colonial chartered companies.Usually, it is conceded, that...
in perpetuity from the Sultan of Sulu over its holdings in this region in 1878. This lease was signed on January 22, 1878 in the palace of the Sultan of Sulu. The lease would later be the subject of dispute by the modern republic of Philippines regarding the sovereignty of the state of Sabah. The rights were subsequently transferred to Alfred Dent, whom in 1881 formed the British North Borneo Provisional Association Ltd. In 1881, the British government granted the British North Borneo Company a royal charter. William Hood Treacher was appointed the first British Governor of North Borneo.
In the following year, the British North Borneo Company
British North Borneo Company
The North Borneo Chartered Company or British North Borneo Company was a chartered company assigned to administer North Borneo in August 1881. North Borneo became a protectorate of the British Empire with internal affairs administered by the company until 1946 when it became the colony of British...
was formed and Kudat
Kudat
Kudat is a town in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the northern tip of Borneo island. It serves as the administrative center for the Kudat Division, which includes the towns of Kudat, Pitas, Kota Marudu, and some offshore islands....
was made its capital. Beginning 1882, the Company brought in Chinese people mainly Hakkas
Hakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
from Guangdong province to work as labourers in plantation farms. Most of the migrants settled in Kudat
Kudat
Kudat is a town in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the northern tip of Borneo island. It serves as the administrative center for the Kudat Division, which includes the towns of Kudat, Pitas, Kota Marudu, and some offshore islands....
and Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu , formerly known as Jesselton, is the capital of Sabah state in East Malaysia. It is also the capital of the West Coast Division of Sabah. The city is located on the northwest coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. The Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park lies on one side and Mount...
).
In 1883 the capital was moved to Sandakan
Sandakan
Sandakan is the second-largest city in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the north-eastern coast of Borneo. It is located on the east coast of the island and it is the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo...
to capitalise on its potential of vast timber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
resources. In 1885, United Kingdom, Spain and Germany signed the Madrid Protocol of 1885
Madrid Protocol of 1885
The Madrid Protocol of 1885 is an agreement between Great Britain, Germany and Spain to recognize the sovereignty of Spain over the Sulu Archipelago as well as the limit of Spanish influence in the region...
. The purpose of the protocol was to recognise the sovereignty of Spain in the Sulu Archipelago
Sulu Archipelago
The Sulu Archipelago is a chain of islands in the southwestern Philippines. This archipelago is considered to be part of the Moroland by the local rebel independence movement. This island group forms the northern limit of the Celebes Sea....
and also for Spain to relinquish all claims it may have over North Borneo.
In 1888 North Borneo became a protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
of the United Kingdom. Administration and control over North Borneo remained in the hands of the Company despite being a protectorate and they effectively ruled until 1942. Their rule had been generally peaceful except for some rebellions, including one led by the Bajau
Bajau
The Bajau or Bajaw , also spelled Bajao, Badjau, Badjaw, or Badjao, are an indigenous ethnic group of Maritime Southeast Asia...
-Suluk leader Mat Salleh from 1894 to 1900, and another led by Antanum
Antanum
Antanum or Antanom was a famous and influential Murut warrior from North Borneo , Malaysia who according to local oral history claimed to have supernatural powers...
of the Murut
Murut
Murut may refer to:* Murut people, an ethnic group of the northern inland regions of Borneo* Murutic languages or Murut languages, spoken by those people* Tagol Murut language, the most widely spoken of the Murutic languages* Murut, Azerbaijan, a village...
s known as the Rundum resistance in 1915. Beginning 1920, more Chinese migrants arrived from the provinces of Guangdong, Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
and even Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
after the British changed its immigration policy to stimulate the stagnant economy during that period. There was also Javanese migration into Sabah beginning 1891 and subsequent recruitment of laborers by the British from 1907 onwards. Other significant migrants from present-day Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
into Sabah consists of the Bugis
Bugis of Sabah
The Bugis people are one of the ethnic groups of Sabah, Malaysia. The population is mainly concentrated on the east coast of Sabah, especially the districts within the Tawau Division...
people beginning mid-19th century and the Florenese people from Flores
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...
beginning early 1950s.
The First Natives Paramount Leader was Pehin Orang Kaya-Kaya Koroh bin Santulan of Keningau
Keningau
Keningau is a sprawling timber and agricultural town and district located in the Interior Division of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo...
"The father of former Sabah State Minister Tan Sri Stephen (Suffian) Koroh, and Sabah's fifth State Governor Tun Thomas (Ahmad) Koroh (the elder brother of Suffian)". Santulan which also a Pengeran, the father to Pehin Orang Kaya-Kaya Koroh was a Murut descendant of Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin
Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin
Sultan Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin was the 25th Sultan of Brunei. He ruled Brunei from 1885 to 1906. Sultan Hashim was either the son of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin II or the son of his mother's lover. Before he became the Sultan, he was one of the four Wazirs in Brunei and was known as Pengiran...
, the 25th Sultan of Brunei.
World War II
As part of the Second World War Japanese forces landed in LabuanLabuan
Labuan is a federal territory in East Malaysia. It is an island off the coast of the state of Sabah. Labuan's capital is Victoria and is best known as an offshore financial centre offering international financial and business services via Labuan IBFC since 1990 as well as being an offshore support...
on January 1, 1942, and continued to invade the rest of North Borneo. From 1942 to 1945, Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
forces occupied North Borneo
Japanese occupation of Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak
Throughout much of World War II, British Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak were under Japanese occupation.The Japanese Empire commenced the Pacific War with the invasion of Kota Bahru in Kelantan on 8 December 1941 at 00:25, about 90 minutes before the Attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii at 07:48 on 7...
, along with most of the island. Bombings by the allied forces
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
devastated of most towns including Sandakan, which was razed to the ground. Resistance against Japanese occupation were concentrated on the west and north coast of North Borneo. The resistance in Jesselton was led by Albert Kwok and Jules Stephens of the Kinabalu Guerillas. Another resistance was led by Panglima Alli from Sulug Island, off the coast of Jesselton. In Kudat
Kudat
Kudat is a town in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the northern tip of Borneo island. It serves as the administrative center for the Kudat Division, which includes the towns of Kudat, Pitas, Kota Marudu, and some offshore islands....
, there was also some resistance led by Tun Datu Mustapha
Tun Datu Mustapha
Tun Datu Haji Mustapha bin Datu Harun or Tun Mustapha for short, was the first governor of the Malaysian state of Sabah. He was also the third Chief Minister of the state from 1967 to 1975, and was the president for the political party United Sabah National Organization...
. On October 10, 1943, the Kinabalu Guerrillas together with followers of Panglima Alli staged a surprise attack on the Japanese. The attack however was foiled. The 324 local residents who participated in the attacks, including Albert Kwok and Panglima Alli, were detained in Petagas and later executed on January 21, 1944. The site of the execution is today known as the Petagas War Memorial
Petagas War Memorial
The Petagas War Memorial is a poignant reminder of all those who lost their lives defending Sabah against the Japanese Occupation during World War II, particularly those of the ill fated Kinabalu Guerillas....
.
In Keningau
Keningau
Keningau is a sprawling timber and agricultural town and district located in the Interior Division of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo...
during World War II, Korom was a rebel and some said he was a Sergeant with the North Borneo Armed Constabulary. It was claimed that he spied for the Allied Forces by pretending to be working for the Japanese. He provided intelligence on Japanese positions and some credited him with the escape of 500 Allied POWs. Fighting alongside with Korom in his platoon was Garukon, Lumanib, Kingan, Mikat, Pensyl, Gampak, Abdullah Hashim, Ariff Salleh, Langkab, Polos, Nuing, Ambutit, Lakai and many more including the Chinese.
In Sandakan
Sandakan
Sandakan is the second-largest city in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the north-eastern coast of Borneo. It is located on the east coast of the island and it is the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo...
there was once a brutal POW camp run by the Japanese for British and Australian POWs from North Borneo. The prisoners suffered in agony in their first year of captivity under notoriously inhuman conditions, but much worse was to come through the forced marches of January, March and June 1945 (refer to Sandakan Memorial Park WWII POW Museum Records). Allied bombardments caused the Japanese to relocate the POW camp to inland Ranau
Ranau
Ranau is a district as well as a town in the East Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo and it is situated in the West Coast Division of Sabah...
, 260 km away. All the prisoners, who by then were reduced to 2504 in number, were to be moved, but instead of transport, were forced to march the infamous Sandakan Death March. Sickness, disease, exhaustion, thirst, hunger, whipping, and shooting killed most of the prisoners, except for six Australians who successfully escaped, were never caught, and survived to tell the horrific story of the death march. The fallen of this march are commemorated each year on Anzac Day (Memorial Day) in Australia and in Sandakan, at the original POW campsite where a POW hut style museum and a black marble memorial obelisk monument are nestled in a peaceful park setting with a lily pond.
The war ended with the official surrender by Lieutenant-General Baba Masao
Baba Masao
was a Lieutenant General of the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II, commanding the Japanese ground forces of the Borneo Campaign of 1945 in the closing months of the war. The campaign would be the last major Allied offensive of the war in the South West Pacific Area...
of the 37th Japanese Army in Labuan on September 10, 1945. After the surrender, North Borneo was administered by the British Military Administration and in 1946 it became a British Crown Colony. Jesselton replaced Sandakan as the capital and the Crown continued to rule North Borneo until 1963.
Independence and formation of Malaysia
On August 31, 1963 North Borneo attained self-government. The idea for the formation of a union of the former British colonies, namely, Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo was mooted by Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul RahmanTunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, AC, CH was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the...
, but was supported by the British. There was a call for complete independence on that date by it was denied by the British Governor who remained in power until Malaysia Day
Malaysia Day
Malaysia Day is held on September 16 every year to commemorate the establishment of the Malaysian federation on the same date in 1963. It marked the joining together of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore to form Malaysia...
. In 1962, the Cobbold Commission
Cobbold Commission
The Cobbold Commission, was a Commission of Enquiry set up to determine whether the people of North Borneo and Sarawak supported the proposal to create the Malaysia consisting of Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo, and Sarawak. It was also responsible for the subsequent drafting of the Constitution...
was set up to determine whether the people of Sabah and Sarawak favoured the proposed union. The Commission had found that the union was generally favoured by the people but wanted certain terms and conditions incorporated to safeguard the interest of the people. The Commission had also noted some opposition from the people but decided that such opposition were minor. The Commission published its report on August 1, 1962 and had made several recommendations. Unlike in Singapore, however, no referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
was ever conducted in Sabah.
Most ethnic community leaders of Sabah, namely, Tun Mustapha representing the Muslims, Tun Fuad Stephens
Tun Fuad Stephens
Tun Haji Mohammad Fuad Stephens, previously known as, Donald Stephens, was the first Chief Minister of the state of Sabah in Malaysia. He played a fundamental role in bringing the state of Sabah into the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. He held the chief minister post until 1964, and again in 1976...
representing the non-Muslim natives, and Khoo Siak Chew representing the Chinese, would eventually support the formation. An agreement was signed by Tunku Abdul Rahman, Harold MacMillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
, the British Prime Minister, and William Goode
William Allmond Codrington Goode
Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode GCMG was a British colonial officer and served as governor to various colonies in the 20th Century...
, the last Governor of North Borneo
Governor of North Borneo
The Governor of North Borneo was the appointed head of the government of North Borneo.Originally the Governor was appointed by the North Borneo Chartered Company, which was responsible for the administration of the protectorate...
, signed on behalf of the territory on August 1, 1962 putting to paper the agreement to form the union.
The intention had been to form Malaysia on 31 August 1963 but due to objections from the Philippines and Indonesia, the formation had to be postponed to 16 September 1963. At that point North Borneo, as Sabah, was united with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore, to form the independent the Federation of Malaysia. To safeguard the interest of North Borneo in the new federation, a 20-point agreement
20-point agreement (Sabah)
The 20-point agreement, or the 20-point memorandum, is a list of 20 points drawn up by North Borneo, proposing terms for its incorporation into the new federation as the State of Sabah, during negotiations prior to the formation of Malaysia...
was entered into between the federal and the state government.
Konfrontasi and the Brunei Revolt
Leading up to the formation of Malaysia until 1966, Indonesia adopted a hostile policy towards Malaya and subsequently Malaysia, which was backed by British forces. This undeclared war stems from what Indonesian President Sukarno perceive as an expansion of British influence in the region and his intention to wrest control over the whole of Borneo under the Indonesian republic. This was one of the factors used and considered in winning the support of the leaders and people of Sabah towards the Malaysia proposal.Around the same time, there were proposals from certain parties, particularly by the Brunei People's Party
Brunei People's Party
The Brunei People's Party is a banned political party in Brunei.PRB was established as a left leaning party in 1956 and aimed to bring Brunei into full independence from the United Kingdom...
, for the formation of a North Borneo Federation
North Borneo Federation
The North Borneo Federation, also known as Kalimantan Utara or North Kalimantan was a proposed political entity which would have comprised the British Colonies of Sarawak, British North Borneo and the protectorate of Brunei.By 1956, the governments of Sarawak, North Borneo, and the State of Brunei...
consisting of Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
. The proposal culminated in rebel attacks in Brunei and some parts of Sabah and Sarawak. The rebellion was foiled by the Bruneian Army
Royal Brunei Land Forces
The Royal Brunei Land Forces is the land component of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces...
with the help of the British colonials in December 1962.
Philippine claim
Philippines maintains a dormant claim over the sovereignty of eastern Sabah based on the claim that in 1658 the Sultan of Brunei had ceded the northeast portion of Borneo to the Sultan of Sulu; and that later in 1878, an agreement was signed by the Sultan of Sulu granting the North Borneo Chartered Company a permanent lease over the territory.Post-independence
Tun Fuad StephensTun Fuad Stephens
Tun Haji Mohammad Fuad Stephens, previously known as, Donald Stephens, was the first Chief Minister of the state of Sabah in Malaysia. He played a fundamental role in bringing the state of Sabah into the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. He held the chief minister post until 1964, and again in 1976...
became the first chief minister of Sabah. The first Governor (Yang di-Pertuan Negeri) was Tun Mustapha. Sabah held its first state election in 1967. Until 2008, a total of 11 state elections has been held. Sabah has had 13 different chief ministers and 9 different Yang di-Pertua Negeri
Yang di-Pertua Negeri
The Yang di-Pertua Negeri is the official title of the ceremonial heads of state of the Malaysian states without hereditary rulers, namely Penang, Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak...
as of 2009.
Tun Mustapha became the 3rd chief minister following the first state election. Beginning 1970, Filipino refugees from the Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
began arriving in Sabah as a result of the Moro insurgency taking place in that region.
On June 6, 1976, after only 44 days being elected for the second time as chief minister, Tun Fuad Stephens together with other state cabinet ministers died in a fatal plane crash known as the Double Six Tragedy
Double Six Tragedy
The Double Six Tragedy, also known as the Double Six Crash, was a plane crash which took place on June 6, 1976 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The plane, operated by Sabah Air, coming from Labuan crashed in the sub-district of Sembulan in Kota Kinabalu upon approaching Kota Kinabalu International Airport...
. He was replaced by Harris Salleh
Harris Salleh
Yang Berhormat Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Harris bin Mohd Salleh, was the 6th Chief Minister of the state of Sabah, in Malaysia. He was also the president for Parti Berjaya. He held the Chief Minister's post from 1976 to 1985...
. On June 14, 1976, the government of Sabah signed an agreement with Petronas
Petronas
PETRONAS, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company that was founded on August 17, 1974. Wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with the entire oil and gas resources in Malaysia and is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and...
, the federal government-owned oil and gas company, granting it the right to extract and earn revenue from petroleum found in the territorial waters of Sabah in exchange for 5% in annual revenue as royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
.
Under the leadership of Harris Salleh, the state government of Sabah ceded
Cession
The act of Cession, or to cede, is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty...
the island of Labuan
Labuan
Labuan is a federal territory in East Malaysia. It is an island off the coast of the state of Sabah. Labuan's capital is Victoria and is best known as an offshore financial centre offering international financial and business services via Labuan IBFC since 1990 as well as being an offshore support...
and its 6 smaller islands to the Malaysian federal government and it was declared a federal territory on April 16, 1984.
In 1985, following the state elections
Sabah state election, 1985
The 1985 Sabah state election was held from April 20 to April 21, 1985 in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. This was the fifth state election to take place. Parti Bersatu Sabah won 25 out 48 seats contested, thus forming government with its president Joseph Pairin Kitingan being sworn in as Chief...
, Pairin Kitingan of Parti Bersatu Sabah
Parti Bersatu Sabah
The Parti Bersatu Sabah is a political party in Sabah, east Malaysia. It was registered as a political party on March 5, 1985...
(PBS) became the seventh chief minister and this marked the second time in Malaysia where a party not affiliated with the nation ruling coalition Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...
(BN) or its predecessor, the Alliance Party
Alliance Party (Malaya)
The Alliance Party was a political coalition in Malaysia. Formed in 1951, it successfully gained the majority of seats available for contest in the first election for the Federal Legislative Council held in 1955 in what was then the British protectorate of the Federation of Malaya.The Alliance...
, formed government in any state (preceded by Gerakan
Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia
The Malaysian People's Movement Party is a political party in Malaysia. The party was founded on March 24, 1968, and , it is part of the ruling National Front coalition....
in Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
in 1969 and followed by PAS in Kelantan
Kelantan
Kelantan is a state of Malaysia. The capital and royal seat is Kota Bharu. The Arabic honorific of the state is Darul Naim, ....
in 1990). In 1986, opponents of the newly elected PBS government started riots around the state
1986 Sabah riots
The 1986 Sabah riots occurred between March and May in various locations around the state of Sabah, Malaysia. The riots centered mainly in the capital Kota Kinabalu, as well as in the towns of Tawau and Sandakan. On March 12, seven plastic explosives were detonated in Kota Kinabalu. A bomb was also...
, mainly in the cities of Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu , formerly known as Jesselton, is the capital of Sabah state in East Malaysia. It is also the capital of the West Coast Division of Sabah. The city is located on the northwest coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. The Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park lies on one side and Mount...
, Tawau
Tawau
Tawau is the administrative center of Tawau Division, Malaysia and the third largest town of Sabah after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan.-Geography:...
and Sandakan
Sandakan
Sandakan is the second-largest city in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the north-eastern coast of Borneo. It is located on the east coast of the island and it is the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo...
, resulting in bombings and five fatalities. Peace was gradually restored following a snap election
Snap election
A snap election is an election called earlier than expected. Generally it refers to an election in a parliamentary system called when not required , usually to capitalize on a unique electoral opportunity or to decide a pressing issue...
in 1986 which consolidated PBS' position as the ruling state government.
From 1990 to 1991, several PBS politicians were arrested under the Internal Security Act
Internal Security Act (Malaysia)
The Internal Security Act 1960 is a preventive detention law in force in Malaysia. The legislation was enacted after Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957. The ISA allows for detention without trial or criminal charges under limited, legally defined circumstances...
for allegedly being involved in plans to secede
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
Sabah from the Malaysian Federation and detained for two years. Among those arrested were Jeffrey Kitingan
Jeffrey Kitingan
Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan is a politician from the state of Sabah in Malaysia. He was born in the town of Kota Marudu and graduated from Harvard University...
and Maximus Ongkili
Maximus Ongkili
Datuk Seri Dr. Maximus Johnity Ongkili is a Malaysian politician. He is the Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation and the member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the seat of Kota Marudu in Sabah. He is a member of the United Sabah Party in the governing Barisan Nasional...
. Other politicians, including Pairin, were hit with corruption charges
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
. The arrests and charges were suspected to be politically motivated.
Following the 1994 state election
Sabah state election, 1994
The 1994 Sabah state election was held in February that year in the Malaysian state of Sabah. The election was one of the most controversial election in Sabah's political history. The election was won by the opposition party Parti Bersatu Sabah , winning 25 state electorates against 23 won by the...
, Barisan Nasional regained control of the state via the creation of the Sabah chapter of the United Malays National Organisation
United Malays National Organisation
The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence....
(UMNO) party and other parties. The rotation system was introduced by the then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad in which the chief ministerial post would be rotated every two years among the three main communities in Sabah, namely, the Muslim Bumiputeras, non-Muslim Bumiputeras and the Chinese. Sakaran Dandai became the first chief minister under this system in 1994. The rotation system was finally abolished in 2005 with current chief minister Musa Aman
Musa Aman
Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Musa bin Haji Aman , is the 14th and current Chief Minister of the state of Sabah in Malaysia. He took over the post from Chong Kah Kiat on March 27, 2003...
at the helm.
On December 26, 1996, Sabah was hit by one of the worst tropical storm known as Tropical Storm Greg. The storm hit the western coast of the state resulting in over 200 deaths and thousands of home destroyed.
In 2000, the state capital Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu , formerly known as Jesselton, is the capital of Sabah state in East Malaysia. It is also the capital of the West Coast Division of Sabah. The city is located on the northwest coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. The Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park lies on one side and Mount...
was granted city status, making it the 6th city in Malaysia and the first city in the state. Also this year, Kinabalu National Park
Kinabalu National Park
Kinabalu National Park or Taman Negara Kinabalu in Malay, established as one of the first national parks of Malaysia in 1964, is Malaysia's first World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO in December 2000 for its "outstanding universal values" and the role as one of the most important biological...
was officially designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
, making it the first site in the country to be given such designation.
On May 3, 2000, the Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya is one of several military Islamist separatist groups based in and around the southern Philippines, in Bangsamoro where for almost 30 years various Muslim groups have been engaged in an insurgency for an independent province in the country...
militant group from southern Philippines arrived on the resort island of Sipadan
Sipadan
Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising from the seabed. It is located in the Celebes Sea off the east coast of Sabah, East Malaysia . It was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcanic cone that took thousands of years to develop...
and kidnapped 21 people consisting of tourists and resort workers for ransom. Most hostages were rescued on September 16, 2000 following an offensive by the Philippine army.
In 2002, the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
ruled that the islands of Sipadan
Sipadan
Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising from the seabed. It is located in the Celebes Sea off the east coast of Sabah, East Malaysia . It was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcanic cone that took thousands of years to develop...
and Ligitan
Ligitan
Ligitan is a small island in Tawau, Sabah, located east of the island of Borneo, in the Celebes Sea. In the past, the island was at the centre of a territorial dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia...
, claimed by Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, are part of Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
and Malaysia.