History of Sabah Borneo is made of three different countries; Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. On the Northeastern peninsula, tribal communities occupied the rivers and coastline, frequently battling and giving rise to the island’s famed headhunters. Politically united civilization began in the 15th Century, with the Sultanate of Brunei as the ruling faction. Power was given over to the Sultan of Sulu, centered in the southern Philippines, until the late 18th century when enterprising British sailors arrived on Sabah’s shores and saw the vast opportunities provided by the region’s natural resources.
In 1882, the British North Borneo Company was established and led the peninsula forward into the 20th century. The colony was ruled as a British Protectorate until 1942, when World War II spilled into the forests of Sabah. The Japanese Imperial Army led a series of Death Marches from the eastern port city of Sandakan, over the mountains to the western foothills of Mount Kinabalu ending at the town of Renau. Over the course of Japan’s two-year occupation, 2,345 Allied Australian and British soldiers died, with only 6 survivors living to tell the story of their escape. There are incredible memorials built in both Sandakan and Renau, ask a Trip Planner about adding a day tour from Kota Kinabalu to learn more about Sabah’s WWII history.
Following Japan’s defeat, Britain established North Borneo as a Royal Crown Colony, moving the capital from Sandakan to present-day Kota Kinabalu. British rule was maintained until 1963, when North Borneo joined with Malaya, Sarawak, and Singapore to form the Federation of Malaysia. Two years later, Singapore was expelled from the Federation and the newly united country became, simply, Malaysia. In recent decades, Sabah has been the center of tension between native peoples and mainland Malaysia. The Sabah United Party, a movement of the Kadazan indigenous group, gained footing in 1985 and joined Malaysia’s ruling coalition, Barisan National. Combining forces against the mandates of the federal government, Sabah was poised to take a leading role in the country. Unfortunately, only days before the general election, Barisan National abandoned the alliance and left Sabah United to bear the consequences. Today, only a small fraction of the revenue from Sabah’s timber and other resource industries make it back to the state, the vast majority going to Kuala Lumpur’s mainland endeavors. This has left Sabah the poorest of Malaysia’s 13 states, despite its substantial wealth of resources.
Eco-tourism is by far Sabah’s most profitable industry, creating jobs, providing resources and incentive for higher education, and bringing a steady source of income to locals. While the road ahead will not be easy for the people of Sabah, supporting tourism in this region is an excellent way to promote its continued development.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
1 day ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
