Sabah (pop. 3,206,742) is the second largest state in Malaysia. It lies on the northeastern part of the island of Borneo. Sabah is mainly rural, with large areas of forests and mountains. Most people live in towns and in small villages. Sabah covers an area of 28,429 square miles (73,631 square kilometers). Its capital is Kota Kinabalu.
There are 30 separate ethnic groups of people in Sabah. The largest are the Kadazans, Bajaus, and Muruts. Smaller groups include the Bisayah, Orang Sungei, Kedayan, Idahan, Rangus, Tidong, Suluk, and Brunei. Each group lives in specific districts and has its own religion, language, and dress.
Political instability in the southern Philippines in the early 1970’s brought many refugees to the state. Large numbers of Indonesian and Filipino workers entered the state in search of employment. They make up a considerable proportion of the population.
Economy.
The mining and timber industries form the basis of Sabah’s economy. Agriculture is of less importance, and manufacturing is still relatively unimportant. Sabah is one of the most important producers of petroleum and natural gas in Malaysia. The state operates the largest copper mine in the country. The state is rich in timber resources and produces logs, plywood, lumber, and veneer. The agricultural products in Sabah are cocoa, palm oil, and rubber. The main industrial products include iron, methanol, and consumer goods.
Land.
Sabah’s eastern and northeastern coastlines face the Philippine islands in the Sulu Sea. The northwest coast is on the South China Sea. To the west is the Malaysian state of Sarawak, and to the south is the Indonesian territory of Kalimantan, which occupies about two-thirds of the island of Borneo. Sabah consists of three distinct zones: the coastal swamps, the plains, and the uplands and mountains. Sabah is dominated by a series of mountain ranges and highlands, and mountains and steep slopes cover nearly half the land area.
The Crocker Range runs parallel to the west coast, from the Sarawak border to the north. It forms a barrier to movement to the interior and to the east coast. Mount Kinabalu (13,500 feet, or 4,100 meters above sea level) in the range is the highest peak in Southeast Asia. A few other peaks exceed 6,600 feet (2,000 meters). The rugged western foothills of the Crocker Range restrict the coastal lowland to a few isolated pockets. To the east of the Crocker Range is a series of plains where the towns of Ranau, Tambunan, Keningau, and Tenom are located. On the southeastern flank of Mount Kinabalu is the Pinosuk Plateau, a deeply grooved, sloping plain about 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) above sea level.
The rugged Trus Madi Range, with a maximum height of 8,530 feet (2,600 meters), flanks the eastern side of the Tambunan and Keningau Plains. The Witti Range forms the eastern flank of Tenom Plain. Between these ranges is the Sook Plain. The Central Uplands comprise the highlands of Labuk, Kuamut, Segama, and Tawau. The Kuamut Highlands are among the most remote, inaccessible, unexplored, and uninhabited areas of Sabah. The region consists of a series of ridges that rise to 5,250 feet (1,600 meters). The Segama Highlands are moderately high, and the Tawau Highlands to the south rise to over 4,300 feet (1,300 meters) at Mount Magdalene.
The Pegalau and Tenom rivers drain Tambunan and Keningau plains. The Pegalan and Tomani rivers join at Tenom town and become the Padas. The Padas River turns northwestward, cutting a gorge through the Crocker Range. The gorge provided, until recent years, the only route through which overland transportation could pass between the coast and the interior. The Liwagu River is a tributary of the Labuk, one of the major rivers in the east of Sabah.
History.
Brunei gave the east coast of Sabah to the sultans of Sulu in 1704 in return for favors in a succession dispute. Sabah, which was known as North Borneo until 1963, was visited by several western adventurers in the late 1800’s. Joseph William Torrey, an American trader, obtained from the Brunei sultanate a lease over the greater part of the territory. This lease was later transferred to Gustavus de Overbeck, an Austrian baron, and finally to Alfred Dent, an English businessman. Dent signed treaties with both the sultans of Brunei and Sulu, gaining complete control of the territory. In 1881, he succeeded in establishing the Chartered Company of British North Borneo to manage the territory. The region fell to the Japanese in 1941, during World War II. After the war ended in 1945, the territory became a British crown colony. It became a state of independent Malaysia in 1963.
