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Coordinates: 5°15′N, 117°0′E

States and Territories of Malaysia
Sabah
Flag Coat of arms
State motto: Sabah Maju Jaya
State anthem: Sabah Tanah Airku
Capital	Kota Kinabalu
Ruling party	Barisan Nasional
- Yang di-Pertua Negeri	Ahmadshah Abdullah
- Ketua Menteri	Musa Aman
History
- Brunei Sultanate	16th century
- Sulu Sultanate	1658
- British North Borneo	1882
- Japanese occupation	1941-1945
- British control	1946
- Accession into Malaysia	1963
Area
- Total	76,115 km²
Population
- 2000 estimate	2,449,389
- Density	32.2/km²
HDI  (2000)	0.729 (medium)
National calling code	087a 088b 089c
National postal code	88xxx to 91xxx
License plate prefix	SA1 SB2 SD3 SK4 SS5 ST6 SU7 SG8
Website:	http://www.sabah.gov.my
a For Inner District b For Kota Kinabalu & Kudat c For Lahad Datu, Sandakan & Tawau 1 Kota Kinabalu & Kota Belud 2 Beaufort 3 Lahad Datu 4 Kudat 5 Sandakan 6 Tawau 7 Keningau 8 Sabah State Government vehicle

Sabah is a Malaysian state located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in Malaysia after Sarawak, which it borders with on its south-west. It also share a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south. Sabah used to be a British crown colony known as North Borneo prior to partnership with Federation of Malaya, Sarawak & Singapore to form the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. Its state capital is Kota Kinabalu, formerly known as Jesselton. Sabah is known as Sabah, negeri di bawah bayu, which means 'Sabah, land below the wind', because of its location being just south of the typhoon prone region around the Philippines.

Contents 1 History 1.1 1500s-1800s 1.2 Second World War and the road to independence 1.3 Philippine claim 2 Geography 3 Government 3.1 State government structure 3.2 The political climate 3.3 Chief Ministers of Sabah 3.4 Administrative divisions 4 Demographics 5 Economy 6 Urban centers and ports 7 Tourism 7.1 National Parks 7.2 Other popular tourist destinations 8 Notable Sabahans 9 Arts and entertainment 10 References 10.1 Footnotes 11 External links

Sabah or North Borneo was part of the Sultanate of Brunei around the early 16th century. This was during the period when the Sultanate's influence was at its peak. In 1658 the Sultanate of Brunei was purported to have given the north-east portion of Borneo to the Sultan of Sulu as a "gift" in return for the latter's help in settling a civil war in the Brunei Sultanate. In 1761 an officer of the British East India Company, Alexander Dalrymple, concluded an agreement with the Sultan of Sulu to allow him to set up a trading post in the region. This together with other attempts to build a settlement and a military station centering around Pulau Balambangan proved to be a failure. There was minimal foreign interest in this region after this failure and control over most parts of north Borneo seem to have remained under the Sultanate of Brunei.

In 1865 the American Consul of Brunei, Claude Lee Moses, obtained a 10-year lease over North Borneo from the Sultan of Brunei. Ownership was then passed to an American trading company owned by J.W. Torrey, T.B. Harris and some Chinese merchants. They had set up a base and settlement in Kimanis but this too turned out to be a failure due to financial reasons. The rights of the trading company was then sold to Baron Von Overbeck, the Austrian Consul in Hong Kong, and he later obtained another 10-year renewal of the lease. The rights was subsequently transferred to Alfred Dent, whom in 1881 formed the British North Borneo Provisional Association Ltd.

In the following year, the British North Borneo Company was formed and Kudat was made its capital. In 1883 the capital was moved to Sandakan to capitalise on its potential of vast timber resources. In 1888 North Borneo became a protectorate of Great Britain. 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 Suluk-Bajau leader Mat Salleh from 1894 to 1900,^[1] and another led by the Muruts which is known as the 'Rundum resistance' in 1915.^[2]

From 1942 to 1945 the occupation and control over North Borneo was taken over by the Japanese forces in the Second World War. The Japanese forces landed in Labuan on January 1, 1942 and assumed control over North Borneo. Bombings during the war resulted in the devastation of most towns in North Borneo, including Sandakan, which was totally destroyed. When Japan lost the war North Borneo was administered by the British Military Administration and in 1946 it became a British Crown Colony. Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu) was chosen to replace Sandakan as the capital of British North Borneo. The Crown continued to rule North Borneo until 1963. On August 31, 1963 North Borneo attained self-government. On September 16, 1963, North Borneo together with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore formed the Federation of Malaysia and from then on it became known as Sabah, and declared independent from British sovereignty.^[2][3]

On the 31st of August, 1963, Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak were strictly granted self-rule. Many Sabahans had called for Sabah's complete independence without forming Malaysia on that date but was clearly denied by the British Governor who remained in control until the 16th of September, 1963.^[4] This was recorded in local newspapers of North Borneo. Sabahans were told that Sabah never joined Malaysia but actually formed Malaysia together with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore but this is clearly not the intention of the Malayan leaders. This is documented by the 20-point agreement (Sabah).

Brunei only declared its independence at a much later date. The intention had been to form Malaysia on the 31st of August but due to the Brunei Revolt, it was postponed to the 16th of September, 1963.

The Malaysian government does not place any emphasis on the date at which Malaysia was formed, probably due to their beliefs that for all purposes, Malaysia is only a renamed Malaya. Only the independence of Malaya was given prominence to the point that many Sabahans celebrate and quote the independence date for Sabah to be on the 31st of August, in 1963, and some even more erroneously, in 1957.^[5][6]

Malayan leaders went to great lengths to justify that Sabah was independent on the 31st of August. One is recorded here, that Sabah was independent the day it was granted self-rule. Despite the wishes of the Malayan leaders, the British Governor postponed the date at which he relinguished command to the 16th of September, 1963. The second one, mentioned by the Malaysian National newspaper, the Star ^[7]was that the Sabahan leaders unilaterally declare the independence of Sabah, despite what the British Governor ordered.

Main article: Sabah dispute

The Philippines claims the eastern part of Sabah as part of its territory, based upon the Sultanate of Brunei's cession of its north-east territories to the Sultanate of Sulu in 1703, because of military assistance given by the latter to the former. However, as the Philippines government itself does not currently acknowledge and recognize the sovereignty of the Sultanate of Sulu, their claim has been drastically weakened. Today quite a significant number of the population are Filipinos, but most of them are refugees who arrived in Sabah in the 70s, and the others are recent migrants seeking a better life. Some Filipino residents have assimilated into Sabahan society. At one point President Ferdinand E. Marcos ordered that all Philippine maps should include Sabah, but this may have been a mere political statement.^{[citation needed]}

See also: History of Malaysia and History of Brunei

The western part of Sabah is generally mountainous, containing the three highest mountains in Malaysia. The most prominent range is the Crocker Range which houses several mountains of varying height from about 1,000 metres to 4,000 metres. At the height of 4,095 metres, Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain in Malaysia and the second highest in Southeast Asia after Puncak Jaya in Indonesia. While the government of Malaysia officially considers it the highest mountain in Southeast Asia, there are counterclaims that Puncak Jaya is the highest mountain. The argument centres around whether New Guinea could be considered a part of Southeast Asia. So far there is no precise consensus on this, and the view that Mount Kinabalu is indeed the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia is more prevalent. The jungles of Sabah are classified as rainforests and host a diverse array of plant and animal species. Kinabalu National Park was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2000 because of its richness in plant diversity combined with its unique geological, topographical, and climatic conditions.^[8]

Lying nearby Mount Kinabalu is Mount Tambuyukon. At a height of 2,579 metres, it is the third highest peak in the country. Adjacent to the Crocker Range is the Trus Madi Range which houses the second highest peak in the country, Mount Trus Madi, at a height of 2,642 metres. There are lower ranges of hills extending towards the western coasts, southern plains, and the interior or central part of Sabah. These mountains and hills are traversed by an extensive network of river valleys and are in most cases covered with dense rainforest.

The central and eastern portion of Sabah are generally lower mountain ranges and plains with occasional hills. Kinabatangan River begins from the western ranges and snakes its way through the central region towards the east coast out into the Sulu Sea. It is the second longest river in Malaysia after Rejang River at a length of 560 kilometres. The forests surrounding the river valley also contains an array of wildlife habitats, and is the largest forest-covered floodplain in Malaysia.^[9]

Other important wildlife regions in Sabah include Maliau Basin, Danum Valley, Tabin, and Sepilok. These places are either designated as national parks, wildlife reserves, virgin jungle reserves, or protection forest reserve.

Over three quarters of the human population inhabit the coastal plains. Major towns and urban centers have sprouted along the coasts of Sabah. The interior region remain sparsely populated with only villages, and the occasional small towns or townships.

Beyond the coasts of Sabah lies a number of islands and coral reefs, including the largest island in Malaysia, Pulau Banggi. Other larger islands include, Pulau Jambongan, Pulau Balambangan, Pulau Timbun Mata, Pulau Bumbun, and Pulau Sebatik. Other popular island mainly for tourism are, Pulau Sipadan, Pulau Selingan, Pulau Gaya, Pulau Tiga, Pulau Layang-Layang, and many more.

Sabah has a democratic political system with universal suffrage. The Yang di-Pertua Negeri sits at the top of the hierarchy followed by the State Legislative assembly and the State Cabinet. A general election for State and Federal level officials is held every five years. The state parliament or the state legislative assembly meets at the state capital, Kota Kinabalu. The state is divided into 25 parliamentary constituencies and 60 state assembly districts where each is represented by an elected Member of Parliament (MP) and Member of the State Legislative Assembly respectively.

The present elected State and Federal Government posts are held by Barisan Nasional (BN), a coalition of parties which includes United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (UPKO), Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA).^{[citation needed]}

The last state election was in 2004 and as of 2006, the state legislature has 60 members. It comprises 59 BN State Legislature Members (Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri) and a single independent. Of this, 32 are from UMNO, 13 from PBS. 5 from UPKO, 4 from the SAPP, 3 from LDP, and one each from MCA and PBRS.^[10]

Prior to the formation of Malaysia in 1963, the then North Borneo interim government submitted a 20-point agreement to the Malayan government as conditions before Sabah would join the Federation. Sabah entered Malaysia as an autonomous state with a Christian Kadazan-Dusun chief minister, but soon succumbed to Kuala Lumpur's vision of a one-party unitary Islamic state dominated by the indigenous Muslim Bajau and Brunei Malay people. This has created considerable friction and even occasional calls for secession. These tensions are further inflamed by Kuala Lumpur's colonial mentality towards Sabah, wherein 95% of the profits from Sabah's immense natural resources are taken by the federal government, leaving the state government with only 5%. Aside from nominally separate immigration controls, little evidence remains of Sabah's theoretical autonomy.

Sabah, along with the states of Kelantan and Terengganu, are the only three states in Malaysia that had ever been ruled by opposition parties not part of the ruling BN coalition. Led by Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, PBS formed government after winning the 1985 elections and ruled Sabah until 1994. Due to certain internal troubles, BN took over the government in 1994 despite PBS winning the elections. PBS subsequently joined the BN coalition in 2002.

A unique feature of Sabah politics was a policy initiated by the BN in 1994 whereby the Chief Minister's post is rotated among the coalition parties every 2 years regardless of the party in power at the time, thus theoretically giving an equal amount of time for each major ethnic group to rule the State. This extremely weakens the executive branch of the State government, which was formerly much at odds with the federal government in Kuala Lumpur. It also serves to give a disproportionate power to the indigenous Muslim Bajau ethnic group, at the expense of the mainly Christian indigenous Kadazan-Dusun, the largest ethnic group. This practice has since stopped with power now held by majority in the state assembly by the UMNO party, which also holds a majority in the national Parliament.

There have been conspiracy theory that the Chief Minister post rotation system was implemented to allow UMNO to control the post permanently by abolishing the whole system once it was UMNO's turn to hold the post. It has never been proven but it is considered impossible for UMNO to get a hold of the post through any other method. The conspiracy theory was brought up once again when a division from UMNO proposed to implement the same rotation system in Penang, one of the two states which is currently not controlled by UMNO but is under BN rule - the other state being Sarawak. The proposal was raised even though UMNO abolished the system in Sabah by declaring it a failure.^{[citation needed]}

UMNO had a quick rise to power since its entry into Sabah in 1991 where before that both eastern Malaysian states were not penetrated by the party, whose president is the de facto leader of the ruling coalition BN and automatically the Prime Minister of Malaysia. This has given rise to dissent as the Chief Minister rotation system was halted just as UMNO was holding the post. Thus the 2004 general elections saw widespread disillusionment, coupled with an ineffectual opposition. The state assembly is now dominated by the ruling party BN with only one seat held by an opposition politician who is an independent candidate. This was caused by a general sentiment where a number of voters were reluctant to cast votes for BN whose victory was almost assured but did not trust the opposition parties, most of which were not vigorously active before the election. Therefore many cast votes for independent candidates.

Sabah politics, as are Malaysia's is very much based upon party lines. An effort by PBS, a component party of BN, to hatch a co-operation with the one opposition candidate within the state assembly, whom conversely was a former UMNO member competing independently because he was not nominated for the constituency by his party, in an unprecedented attempt at bipartisanship, was harshly criticized by UPKO, another component party of BN.

Year	Chief Minister	Party
1963-1964	Tun Fuad Stephens	United National Kadazan Organization (UNKO) - BN
1965-1967	Datuk Peter Lo Sui Yin	Sabah Chinese Association (SCA) - BN
1967-1975	Tun Mustapha Datu Harun	United Sabah National Organization (USNO) - BN
1975-1976	Tun Said Keruak	USNO - BN
1976 (44 days)	Tun Fuad Stephens	Berjaya - BN
1976-1985	Datuk Harris Mohd Salleh	Berjaya - BN
1985-1994	Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan	PBS - Opposition
1994-1995	Tun Sakaran Dandai	UMNO - BN
1995-1996	Datuk Salleh Mohd Said	UMNO - BN
1996-1998	Datuk Yong Teck Lee	SAPP - BN
1998	Tan Sri Bernard Dompok (now UPKO)	Parti Demokratik Sabah (PDS) - BN
1999	Datuk Seri Osu Haji Sukam	UMNO - BN
2001	Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat	LDP - BN
2003-present	Datuk Seri Musa Aman	UMNO - BN

Sabah consists of 5 administrative divisions, which are in turn divided into 24 districts.

These administrative divisions for all purposes just for reference. During the British rule until the transition period when Malaysia was formed, a Resident was appointed to govern each division and provided with a palace (Istana). This means that the British consider each of this division equivalent to a Malayan state. The post of the Resident was abolished in favour of district officers for each of the district.

	Division Name	Districts	Area (km²)	Population (2006)[11]
1	West Coast Division	Kota Belud, Kota Kinabalu, Papar, Penampang, Ranau, Tuaran	7,588	953,900
2	Interior Division	Beaufort, Nabawan, Keningau, Kuala Penyu, Sipitang, Tambunan, Tenom	18,298	420,800
3	Kudat Division	Kota Marudu, Kudat, Pitas	4,623	189,500
4	Sandakan Division	Beluran, Kinabatangan, Sandakan, Tongod	28,205	676,000
5	Tawau Division	Kunak, Lahad Datu, Semporna, Tawau	14,905	756,800

See also: Politics of Malaysia

The population of Sabah was 2,449,389 in 2000^[12] and was the third most populous state in Malaysia after Selangor and Johor. It is estimated that Sabah's population has exceeded that of Johor with an estimated population of 3,400,000 in 2007.^[13] Sabah indeed has one of the highest population growth rate in the country. This is mainly due to immigration policy favoring Muslims, which has resulted in an influx of immigrants from Philippines and Indonesia, both legally and illegally. It is widely believed that these privileges were implemented to subvert the indigenous Kadazan-Dusun minority, by importing large numbers of Muslims and hence a powerbase for the Islamic-dominated UMNO. ^[14] Today, non-Malaysian citizens make up one-quarter of the total population. The official population estimate for the year 2006 is put at 2,997,000.^[11] The composition of the population are^[11]:

• Kadazan-dusun: 17.8%
• Bajau: 13.4%
• Malay: 11.5%
• Murut: 3.3%
• Other bumiputra: 14.6%
• Chinese: 9.6%
• Other non-bumiputra: 4.8%
• Non-Malaysian citizen: 25%

The people of Sabah are divided into 32 officially recognized ethnic groups. The largest non-indigenous ethnic group is the Chinese. Most Chinese people in Sabah are concentrated primarily at Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, and Tawau. Kota Kinabalu has the highest concentration of Chinese people in Sabah, followed by Sandakan (second highest) and Tawau (third highest). The largest indigenous ethnic group is Kadazan-Dusun, followed by Bajau, and Murut. There is a very small number and proportion of Indians and other South Asians in Sabah compared to other parts of Malaysia. Collectively, all persons coming from Sabah are known as Sabahans, and also identify themselves as such.

Malay is the national language spoken across ethnicities, although the spoken Sabahan dialect of Malay differs much in inflection and intonation from the West Malaysian version, having more similarity in pronunciation to Indonesian. English, Chinese Mandarin as well as the Chinese dialects of Hakka and Cantonese are widely understood. In addition, Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Murut and other minor races also have distinct ethnic languages.

The federal government of Malaysia officially recognizes 28 ethnic groups as being indigenous or bumiputra in Sabah:

Kadazan-Dusun Malay Kwijau Murut Bajau Illanun[15] Lotud Rungus Tambanuo Dumpas Mangka'ak Suluk/Tausug [15] Ilocano[citation needed] Orang Sungai Brunei

Kedayan Bisaya Beaufort[citation needed] Tidong Maragang Orang Cocos Paitan Ida'an Minokok Rumanau Yakan[15] Chinese of mixed bumiputra parentage Other inhabitants: Filipino Sarawak indigenous groups Serani Chabacano[15]

See also: Demographics of Malaysia

Sabah's economy was traditionally heavily lumber dependent, based on export of tropical timber, but with increasing depletion of the natural forests and ecological efforts to save remaining natural rainforest areas, palm oil has emerged as a more sustainable resource. Other agricultural products important in the Sabah economy include rubber and cacao. Tourism is currently the second largest contributor to the economy. There are other exports; like seafood & vegetable.

In 1970, Sabah ranked as one of the richest states in the federation, with a per capita GDP second only to Selangor (which then included Kuala Lumpur).^[16] However, despite its vast wealth of natural resources, Sabah is currently the poorest of Malaysia's states. Average incomes are now among the lowest in Malaysia, and with a considerably higher cost of living than in West Malaysia. In 2000, Sabah had an unemployment rate of 5.6 per cent - the highest of any Malaysian state and almost twice the national average of 3.1 per cent. The state has the highest poverty level in the country at 16 per cent, more than three times the national average. Part of the problem is the inequitable distribution of wealth between the State and the Federal government, and large numbers of illegal immigrants from Indonesia, Philippines, even East Timor, whose population was estimated to be in the region of half a million people.

The recent tabling of Ninth Malaysia Plan has allocated RM16.908 billion for Sabah, the second highest state allocation after Sarawak's. The funds is pledged to improve the state's rural areas, improving the state's transportation and utilities infrastructures and boosting the economy of Sabah. The government has placed its focus on three major areas of the economy which have the potential to be Sabah's growth engine. These are agriculture, manufacturing and tourism.

There are currently 7 ports in Sabah: Kota Kinabalu Port, Sepanggar Bay Container Port, Sandakan Port, Tawau Port, Kudat Port, Kunak Port, and Lahad Datu Port. These ports are operated and maintained by Sabah Ports Authority.^[17] The major towns and city are:

Rank	City	Population [18]
1	Kota Kinabalu	532,129
2	Sandakan	448,074
3	Tawau	349,962
4	Lahad Datu	119,938
5	Keningau	97,152
6	Semporna	71,157
7	Kudat	34,481

Tourism, particularly eco-tourism, is a major contributor to the economy of Sabah. In 2006, 2 million tourists visited Sabah^[19] and it is estimated that the number will continue to rise following rigorous promotional activities by the state and national tourism boards and also better stability and security in the region. Sabah currently has 6 national parks. One of it, the Kinabalu National Park, was designated as a World Heritage Site in 2000. It is the first of two sites in Malaysia to obtain the status, the other being the Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak. These parks are maintained and controlled by Sabah Parks as under the Parks Enactment 1984. Sabah Wildlife Department also has conservation, utilization, and management responsibility.^[20]

• Mount Kinabalu National Park - the second highest mountain in Southeast Asia with an altitude of 4,101 metres (13,455 ft). It is only lower than Puncak Jaya in Irian Jaya on the island of New Guinea, Indonesia at 4,884 metres.
• Turtle Islands Park - conservation efforts for endangered sea turtles
• Tunku Abdul Rahman Park - A National Park consisting of five islands off the coast of Kota Kinabalu
• Pulau Tiga National Park
• Crocker Range National Park
• Tawau Hills Park

• Poring Hot Springs
• Semporna Floating Restaurant and Hotel - Floating above the sea on stilts right next to Semporna town with a cage of huge Garoupe fishes(called Karatang locally)
• Mabul Island - Restaurant and Hotel floating above the sea on stilts near Sipadan island.
• Kota Kinabalu Handicraft Market [1] - Located at Kota Kinabalu city. Formerly known as "Pasar Filipina", it is always synonym with pearls, local handicrafts, home decorations, crystals and also souvenirs such as keychains, t-shirts printed on Sabah's name, carved wood, sarong batiks, rattan mattresses, Islamic Caligraphies, brooches and some were imported from Austria and the other Asian countries such as Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Korea.
• Tanjung Aru Beach - Located at Kota Kinabalu. 5km from the City-centre and has a Yacht Club, Restaurant, Economy Food-centre and Golf-course.
• Pulau Sipadan - a popular island for scuba diving.
• Danum Valley Conservation Area - wilderness rainforest.
• Gomantong Caves - populated with millions of swifts and bats
• Tanjung Simpang Mengayau - Also known as The Tip of Borneo. It is the northernmost point of the island of Borneo where the South China Sea meets with the Sulu sea. Similar to Cape Point(Indian and Atlantic) and Cape Horn(Pacific and Atlantic).
• Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary
• North Borneo Railway
• Maliau Basin Conservation Area - The area is said to be one of the oldest rainforest jungle in the world. Also known as Sabah's Lost World.
• Kinabatangan River - Many wildlife including the rare proboscis monkey can be found in the Lower Kinabatangan near Sukau. It is also the second longest river in Malaysia after Rejang River in Sarawak.
• Kampung Bavanggazo (Rungus Longhouse) - Experience the communal lifestyle of the Rungus people, near Kudat.
• Tabin Wildlife Reserve - The Borneo Pygmy Elephant and the Sumatran Rhinoceros can be found here.
• Tun Sakaran Marine Park (Semporna Island Park) - A recent conservation project off the coast of Semporna. Park includes the island of Bodgaya, Boheydulang, and other smaller islands and reefs.^[21]
• @mosphere revolving restaurant, located on 18th floor of Borneo's tallest building, Menara Tun Mustapha (Yayasan Sabah Foundation).
• Anjung Samudera - Located at Kota Kinabalu city. A waterfront eating place full of high-class restaurants.
• Anjung Senja - Located at Kota Kinabalu city. A waterfront economy food-centre.
• Anjung Selera - Located at Likas bay, Kota Kinabalu. A waterfront economy food-centre.
• Kudat Esplanade - Located at Kudat. A waterfront economy food-centre and restaurant.
• Tun Fuad Park - Located at Bukit Padang, Kota Kinabalu. Has a medium-class water recreation facility, hill jogging track and on-the-lake restaurant.
• Perkasa Kundasang Hotel - Located on a hill at Kundasang town. With a hotel equipped with a children playground, watching platform, hanging bridge and jungle tracks that are open to the public.
• Kelambu beach - Located at Kudat to the south of the Tip of Borneo. A unique beach joined to an island.

Mat Salleh was a leader of the rebellion against British North Borneo Company administration in North Borneo. Under his leadership, the rebellion lasted from 1894 to 1900.

Another notable Sabahan is Donald Stephens who helped form the state of Sabah under the UN appointed Cobbold commission. He was an initial opponent of Malaysia but was persuaded by Lee Kuan Yew with an offer of 8 University places for Sabahan students at the University of Malaya, Singapore. Subsequently Sabah was an Independent nation(self-rule under British protection) on the 31st August 1963 and on the September 16, 1963, Sabah formed the Malaysian Federation with the approval of a British Governor. So Sabah celebrates Malaysia Day on the 16th September but officially called the birthday of the Head of State of Sabah. Donald Stephens was also the first Huguan Siou or paramount leader of the Kadazan-dusun and Murut people.

Tun Datu Mustapha was a political leader in Sabah through the United Sabah National Organisation (USNO) party. He was the most vocal supporter of Malaysia but was finally abandoned by Malayan leaders despite forming UMNO branches in Sabah, when USNO was deregistered and efforts to reregister USNO had not been allowed, unlike UMNO that was allowed to be reregisered under the same name. He paid the price for being so impatient in getting his personal glory and riches and blind trust in fellow Muslims, i.e. UMNO leaders.^{[citation needed]}

Former Chief Minister, Joseph Pairin Kitingan is the current Huguan Siou and the President of Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS). Pairin, the longest serving Chief Minister of the State and one of the first Kadazandusun lawyers, was known for his defiance to the federal government in the 1980s and 90s in promoting the rights of Sabah and speaking out against the illegal immigrant problems. Sabah was at the time one of only 2 states with opposition governments in power, the other being Kelantan. PBS has since rejoined BN and Datuk Pairin is currently the Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah.

The 8th and current Attorney General of Malaysia, Abdul Gani Patail, comes from Sabah.

In 2006, Tuaran born Richard Malanjum was appointed Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak and became the first Kadazandusun to hold such a post.

Sabah has produced a fair number of well-known media figures. Noteworthy mentions include filmmaker Tony Francis Gitom, television presenter Daphne Iking, Guess model Amber Chia, actresses Fung Bo Bo, Chung Shuk Wai and musicians Pete Teo, Jerome Kugan, Mia Palencia, Yan Qing, Gary Cao & John Paul Lee (a.k.a.John Boy)

Matlan Marjan is a former player for Malaysia. He scored two goals against England in an international friendly on June 12, 1991. England brought their best players which included Stuart Pearce, David Batty, David Platt, Nigel Clough, Gary Lineker, captained by Bryan Robson & coached by Bobby Robson. No other Malaysian player managed to achieve this. ^[22] In 1995 however, he along with six other Sabah players were arrested on suspicion for match-fixing. Although the charges were dropped,^[23] prevented from playing professional football and was banished to another district.^[24] He was punished under the Internal Security Act (which allows for indefinite detention without any trial, and in this case despite being proven innocent, and even on non-security related issues).^{[citation needed]}

Many Sabahans contestants have attained high-placing results on local shows such as Malaysian Idol, Akademi Fantasia, Gangstarz and Blast-Off. Some notable contestants are Nicolette Palikat, Adam AF2, Velvet, Marsha, Felix Agus, Norlinda Nanuwil, Nora AF4, Rich AF4, Lotter, Evoke, Alvin of Infinatez and the band Jiaja. Sabah's first homegrown film was Orang Kita, starring Abu Bakar Ellah.

Some films and TV shows filmed in Sabah include the first season of reality show Survivor, The Amazing Race, Eco-Challenge Borneo, films Bat*21, and Sacred Planet, as well as a number of Hong Kong production films.

Sabah's first established newspaper was the New Sabah Times. The newspaper was founded by Tun Fuad Stephens, who later became the first Chief Minister of Sabah.

American author Agnes Newton Keith lived in Sandakan between 1934-1952 and wrote several books about Sabah.

In the Earl Mac Rauch novelization of Buckaroo Banzai (Pocket Books, 1984; repr. 2001), and in the DVD commentary, Buckaroo's archenemy Hanoi Xan is said to have his secret base in Sabah, in a "relic city of caves."

• Gudgeon, L. W. W. 1913. British North Borneo. Adam and Charles Black, London.
• Chin, Ung-Ho. 1999. 'Kataks', Kadazan-Dusun Nationalism and Development: The 1999 Sabah State Election (Regime Change And Regime Maintenance In Asia And The Pacific Series No 24, Department Of Political And Social Change, Research School Of Pacific And Asian Studies, Australian National University) (ISBN 0-7315-2678-3)

• Sabah Government
• History of Sabah- Written by C. Buckley, 1968
• Sabah Tourism Board
• Daily Express, the local newspaper with the largest circulation in Sabah
• WWF Heart of Borneo conservation initiative - Information about the Heart of Borneo - 220,000 km² of upland montane tropical rainforest, where endangered species such as the orang-utan, rhinoceros and pygmy elephant cling for survival.

v • d • e Sabah
Divisions	Interior Division • Kudat Division • Sandakan Division • Tawau Division • West Coast Division
Cities	Kota Kinabalu (capital)
Towns	Beaufort • Beluran • Bingkor • Bongawan • Donggongon • Inanam • Kalabakan • Keningau • Kimanis • Kinabatangan • Kinarut • Kota Belud • Kota Marudu • Kuala Penyu • Kudat • Kunak • Kundasang • Lahad Datu • Membakut • Menggatal • Nabawan • Papar • Pensiangan • Pitas • Putatan • Ranau • Sandakan • Sapulut • Semporna • Sepanggar • Sindumin • Sipitang • Tambunan • Tamparuli • Tawau • Telipok • Telupid • Tenom • Tuaran • Weston
Islands	Balambangan Island • Banggi Island • Gaya Island • Jambongan Island • Kapalai Island • Lankayan Island • Layang Layang Island • Libaran Island • Ligitan Island • Mabul Island • Malawali Island • Sebatik Island • Selingan Island • Sipadan Island • Tabawan Island • Tiga Island• Timbun Mata Island

v • d • e States and Federal Territories of Malaysia
States	Johor · Kedah · Kelantan · Malacca · Negeri Sembilan · Pahang · Perak · Perlis · Penang · Sabah · Sarawak · Selangor · Terengganu
Federal Territories	Kuala Lumpur · Labuan · Putrajaya

v • d • e Territorial disputes of the Philippines
Sabah • Scarborough Shoal • Spratly Islands