Sabah

Understand

History Sabah, which was known as North Borneo before it joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963, was part of the Sultanate of Brunei in the 16th century while the north-eastern coast of the state became part of the Sultanate of Sulu which was centered in the southern islands of the Philippines. In the mid 18th century, Europeans began making an appearance and the British managed to open a trading post on Pulau Balambangan off the northern tip of Sabah. This post however failed to take off. In 1865, the American Consul for Brunei, Claude Lee Moses obtained a lease over North Borneo. The lease ownership was passed to an American company which tried to set up a post in what is today Kimanis. That also turned out to be a failure and was abandoned. The lease was then sold to Baron von Overbeck, the Austrian Consul in Hong Kong which he then transferred to Alfred Dent who in 1882 formed the British North Borneo Company to develop the colony. The capital was first established in Kudat, then transferred to Sandakan. North Borneo became a protectorate of Great Britain in 1888 but administration and control over the colony remained in the hands of the Company ruled until 1942 when the Japanese invaded. There were of course resistance to the company's rule, including by Mat Salleh in the late 1890s and the Muruts in the early 1900s. The Japanese occupation between 1942 and 1945 was brutal and this was when the infamous Death Marches by British and Allied soldiers forced by the Japanese took place. The British Military Administration took over when the Japanese surrendered and in 1946, North Borneo became a British Crown Colony. Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu), which suffered Allied bombing, was rebuilt and chosen to replace Sandakan as the capital. On September 16, 1963, North Borneo together with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore merged to form the Federation of Malaysia and from then on it became known as Sabah. This was opposed by Indonesia and the Philippines, both of whom

Getting there

Like neighbouring Sarawak, Sabah maintains autonomy on immigration rules, mostly so that non-Sabahans cannot freely immigrate and swamp the state. Malaysians from Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak are subjected to some level of immigration control, such as showing their identity cards, and are restricted to a stay of 90 days at a time. Foreigners need to fill out a second immigration form and show their passport. Nevertheless, for most travellers this is just a formality and an interesting extra stamp in their passport, as anyone who does not need a visa for Malaysia may visit Sabah without a visa under the same terms for visiting Peninsular Malaysia. There is an exception, if you arrive in Sarawak then enter Labuan and on into Sabah there is no need to go through immigration. This can cause problems/delays when exiting Sabah as you have not entered via immigration. To avoid any problems if arriving via Labuan it would be best to voluntarily go via the immigration and have your passport stamped on entering. See Malaysia | Get in for details.

By plane 1 Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI IATA). Abbreviated to 'KKIA' is the second busiest airport in Malaysia and the main international airport in Sabah. KKIA is serviced by the two main Malaysian airlines — Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia — which link Kota Kinabalu to various cities throughout Malaysia as well as several international destinations. (updated Mar 2024) These foreign carriers connect KKIA with the following international destinations:

AirAsia — Bangkok, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen, Singapore, Taipei Air Busan — Busan, Seoul Air Seoul — Seoul Cebu Pacific — Manila Jeju Air — Seoul Jin Air — Busan, Seoul Malaysian Airlines — Taipei, Tokyo Philippines AirAsia — Manila Royal Brunei Airlines — Bandar Seri Begawan Scoot — Singapore Tawau Airport (TWU IATA) is an overburdened domestic airport mainly used by tourists to visit the diving islands of Sipadan, Mabul and Kapalai. Sandakan Airport (SDK

Getting around

By plane Kota Kinabalu International Airport has flights to all other airports in Sabah on the following airlines:

Kudat: MASWings Lahad Datu: MASWings Sandakan: AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines and MASWings Tawau: AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines and MASWings All the above flights (with the exception of Kota Kinabalu-Kudat flights) operate several times a day. Intra-Sabah flights originating at Sandakan Airport go to Kota Kinabalu, Kudat and Tawau, while Tawau Airport's intra-Sabah flights go to Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. Kudat Airport has flights to Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan, while Lahad Datu Airport is only served by flights to Kota Kinabalu. In addition, there are airstrips such as those in Keningau, Semporna and Tomanggong which do not have any commercial air traffic. However, if you wish to visit these places, it is worth checking before your trip to see if flights to these airports have been reinstated.

By car

Sabah's road network is not as developed as that in Peninsular Malaysia and there are large areas of the interior, such as the Kinabatangan River basin, which are not connected by road. Existing roads are not in perfect state with numerous potholes. There is a lot of trucks going very slow on Sabah roads, this can slow down your journey significantly if you are not brave enough to overtake as often as locals do. The main roads most useful to travellers are those running along the West Coast from the Sabah-Sarawak border at Sindumin through Sipitang, Beaufort and Papar to Kota Kinabalu (called Route A2) and northwards from Kota Kinabalu to Kota Belud and ending at Kudat near the northern tip of Sabah (Route A1). The main road into the West Coast interior runs from Kota Kinabalu to Tambunan, Keningau and Tenom. The main road to the East Coast (Route A4) branches off Route A1 near Tuaran, about 30km north of Kota Kinabalu. It passes the foot of Mount Kinabalu and Ranau right through to Sandakan. The main road to Tawau and the southeastern parts of Sabah (

See

Sabah can be said to be one of the best states in Malaysia when it comes to things to see and do. Its attractions range from the breath-taking natural wonders such as mountains, jungles, islands and flora and fauna, to the colourful cultures of its multi-ethnic inhabitants. Most of the attractions have their own pages. The list below provides the links.

Natural attractions Mount Kinabalu - This has to be the top of the list of reasons for visiting Sabah. The 4,095m mountain is the second highest in Southeast Asia (outside Papua, which is regarded as part of Oceania) after Hkakabo Razi in Burma, but is probably one of the easiest to climb as no mountaineering experience is needed, just a lot of stamina. The surrounding National Park is also home to many plants and animals. Sipadan and the other islands - World-class diving. Sepilok - The world-famouns Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary near Sandakan is home to orphaned or captured orang utans where they are slowly readapted to the jungle