Sabah Negeri Di Bawah Bayu

The Land Below The Wind

Historical Sabah was truly the stuff that boys´ dreams are made of. There were pirates galore, who did battle with a despotic Sulu King ! There were smugglers who crept onto barren shores in the dead of night and frequently left their murdered friends behind ! There was the fearsome Mongol King who came in search of a precious "Yellow Jade", never found it, and ended up meekly trading for it ! There was even a drug dealer, who had aspirations to become the King of Sabah !! But all that was history, and how things used to be. Sabah is still considered to be the wild east of Malaysia. But not for the same reasons. It is wild in terms of the beautiful plants and animals which live there. It is wild in terms of having some of the best island getaways to be found anywhere in the world. It is wild in the big mountain which stands on the land of Sabah. But the people are wonderful and sweet, a complete contrast to the wild side of Sabah. ( Picture shows the Gunung Kinabalu National Park )

History

Sabah has attracted fortune hunters for a very long time. Kublai Khan is reputed to have visited Sabah way back in 1260, searching for the precious "Golden Jade". Neither he nor his followers ever found the source of this stone, and ended up just trading for it.

Following on from this visit, the Chinese started setting up permanent settlements in the coastal areas of Sabah from around 1400 A.D. On the heels of Magellan´s crews, Europeans started visiting the area in the 16th Century. They, along with the Chinese, were hindered by the hinterland of Sabah and therefore only settled along the coastal areas.

Sabah at this time, was ruled by the Sultan of Brunei who, in turn paid homage to the Sultan of Sulu. Having said that, the Sultan of Sulu himself was engaged in a brutal struggle with the pirates preying on shipping and settlements in the region. In the late 18th Century, the British East India Company gained a foothold in the region by buying a piece of land in Sabah from the Sultan of Sulu. The natives, however, fought ferociously to keep the white man at bay, as they had done with the others who had tried to exploit them. By 1865, however, they appeared to have lost the struggle, when the opium dealer, and Austrian Consul resident in Hong Kong, Baron von Overbeck, bought Sabah from the Sulu Sultan. He immediately awarded himself the title of "Maharaja of Sabah". Unfortunately for him, he did not enjoy the same level of success as did the White Rajahs of Sarawak, and in 1881 he had to sell his stake to the Dent brothers.

Supported by the British Government, the brothers set up the North Borneo Company and started exploiting the State´s resources. Closer relationships with the Straits Settlements led to Sabah becoming a British Protectorate in 1888. To quell opposition to their presence, the British had to put down, very brutally, a rebellion led by Mat Salleh in 1895. Their rule was maintained until 1942, when the British Empire was stunned by the Japanese invasion. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, the British regained control of Sabah and converted it into a Crown Colony. Up until this time, Sandakan was the capital of Sabah. When the concept of Malaysia was floated, the people of Sabah decided that they wanted to join the Federation of Malaya, to form Malaysia. As a result, Sabah achieved Independence from the British in 1963, when it joined Malaysia. ( Picture shows a longhouse )

With independence came a name change for Jesselton. Its´ new name was Kota Kinabalu. Independence however, also brought a whole host of problems for the newly-formed country. The Philippines disputed Sabah´s entry into Malaysia, whilst the Indonesians were convinced that the formation of Malaysia was a neo-colonialist plot. The Indonesians´ fears resulted in the period known as "Confrontation", with the ensuing border war lasting until the end of the Sukarno era.

Geography

The island of Borneo, the third largest island in the world, is home to three countries, Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia. East Malaysia consists of Sabah and Sarawak. Sabah, with an area of 76,115 square kilometres, shares a common border with the Indonesian Province of Kalimantan, the Sultanate of Brunei, and the Malaysian State of Sarawak, and has a coastline over 1,440 kilometres in length. The east coast of Sabah looks out onto the Sulu Sea and the Celebes Sea, whilst the west coast is washed by the South China Sea.

Sabah enjoys an tropical climate for much of its´ area, the exception being the mountainous areas of the State, where temperatures may range from a cool 23 degrees Centigrade, to a positively hot 32 degrees Centigrade.

Sabah´s terrain is dominated by its´ mountainous landscape, which is covered by dense and moist tropical forests. Its´ alluvial and swampy coastal plains are criss-crossed by rivers and valleys. The Kinabatangan River, to the south of Sandakan, is Sabah´s longest river, and travelling upriver affords a spectacular view of the wild life of the State.

There are two seasons - a wet one, and a dry one. The wet months extend from November to February, during the North-east Monsoons, whilst the dry season is not totally dry.

States of Malaysia