Sabah
Sabah is one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Situated on the north-east of the island, Sabah is smaller than its sister state, Sarawak. The southern part of the island called Kalimantan belongs to neighbour country Indonesia. The state capital is Kota Kinabalu.
It was taken over by the British North Borneo Company in 1881, and became a protectorate of the British Empire with internal affairs still administered by the company in 1888. In 1946 the Company's rule ended and it became the colony of British North Borneo until it was admitted into the Malaysian federation in 1963.
See Demographics of Malaysia for some details about the population.
Tourism
Sabah is a frequent tourist destination. Its most popular tourist destinations are:
- several huge caves, populated with millions of swallows and/or bats, such as the Gomantong cave
- Southeast Asia's highest mountain, Kinabalu.
- a large number of excellent locations for scuba diving, including the famous island of Sipadan.
- Another famous city of the state is Sandakan, the City of Nature. Major attractions include the Orang Utan sanctuary Sepilok, the Labuk Probocis Centre, and the largest crocodile farm of Borneo.
Philippine Claim
The Philippines claims the whole of Sabah as part of the country's territory. This claim is legally based upon a gift bestowed by the Sultanate of Brunei to the Sultanate of Sulu in 1704, because of military assitance given by the latter to the former.
On Jan. 22, 1878, Baron Gustavus de Overdeck, the Austrian consul in Hong Kong, and Alfred Dent formed the British North Borneo Co. that leased Sabah from the Sultanate of Sulu for 5,000 Malaysian dollars a year.
The company was granted the British Royal Charter on Nov. 1, 1881 and regularly paid the lease to the Sultanate of Sulu, which the Malaysian government continues to pay up until the present — a clear indication that they recognized the rights of ownership of the Sultanate of Sulu over Sabah. The Sultanate of Sulu then granted to the Philippine Government the title of sovereignty to the territory in 1962.
Arts and Entertainment
Sabah is not known for producing many well-known media figures, but the few it has produced have made their mark. Noteworthy mentions and household names include filmmaker Tony Francis Gitom; Malaysian National Service blogger Kim; and Malaysian Idol participant Nicolette Palikat.
Some films and shows filmed in Sabah include the first season of reality show Survivor, Bat*21, and Sacred Planet. Sabah's first homegrown film was Orang Kita, starring Abu Bakar Ellah.
Sabah's first established newspaper was the New Sabah Times. The newspaper was founded by Donald Stephens, who later became the First Chief Minister of Sabah.
