Sabah is a state of Malaysia located on the northern portion of Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalimantan province to the south. The Federal Territory of Labuan is an island just off the Sabah coast. Sabah shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the west and the Philippines to the north and east. Kota Kinabalu is the state capital city, the economic centre of the state, and the seat of the Sabah state government. Other major towns in Sabah include Sandakan and Tawau. The 2015 census recorded a population of 3,543,500 in the state, and in 2019 it was estimated to have grown to over 3.9 million. Sabah has an equatorial climate with tropical rainforests and abundant animal and plant species. The state has long mountain ranges on the west side which forms part of the Crocker Range National Park. Kinabatangan River, the second longest river in Malaysia runs through Sabah, and Mount Kinabalu is the highest point of Sabah as well as of Malaysia.
Sabah Parks is a conservation-based statutory body established in 1964 with the purpose of conserving the scenic, scientific and historic heritage of the state of Sabah, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. The organisation is also responsible for the management and promotion of the various protected reserves in Sabah, in particular those designated as national parks. It is also mandated to develop tourism-friendly facilities to accommodate tourist arrivals to these reserves and ensure that the state of the reserves is not compromised. The first choice for inclusion in a park system was Mount Kinabalu. As a result, Kinabalu Park was gazetted in 1964, and today it is designated as a World Heritage Site.
Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising 600 metres (2,000 ft) from the seabed. It is located in the Celebes Sea off the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia. It was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcanic cone that took thousands of years to develop. Sipadan is located at the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin, the centre of one of the richest marine habitats in the world. More than 400 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this ecosystem. Sipadan Island was at the top of Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine Gold List for 'The Top Dive Destination in the World'. In fact it shared its top spot with 2 other destinations known for the diversity of their marine life — the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador and Truk in Micronesia. Further more, one of the dive operators; Scuba Junkie was voted by the public the "Best Dive Resort in the World 2020" at DiveMagazine's annual Dive Travel Awards.
Tawau Division is one of the five administrative sub-divisions of Sabah, Malaysia. It occupies a total of 14,905 square kilometres or 20% of Sabah's territory. The main towns include the capital of Tawau, Lahad Datu, Kunak and Semporna. Tawau division has 26% of Sabah's total population, with the main indigenous groups consisting of the Bajau, Suluk, Ida'an, Tidong, Cocos, Murut, Lun Bawang/Lun Dayeh as well as a minority of mixed ethnic groups. Large numbers of both legal and illegal immigrants from Indonesia such as the Buginese and Torajans, from East Timor the Timorese, from the Philippines the Tausūg and Visayans as well South and West Asian immigrants such as Pakistanis, Indians and Arabs can be found in this area. As with the rest of Sabah, the division also has large numbers of ethnic Chinese.
Semporna is the capital of the Semporna District in the Tawau Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 35,301 in 2010.
The Sama-Bajau refers to several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah ; or are known by the exonym Bajau. They usually live a seaborne lifestyle and use small wooden sailing vessels such as the perahu, djenging (balutu), lepa, and vinta (pilang). Some Sama-Bajau groups native to Sabah are also known for their traditional horse culture.
Tawau Airport is an airport located 15 nautical miles north east of Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia. It is one of two airports in Sabah with immigration counters for international flights, the other being Kota Kinabalu International Airport. Tawau Airport serves the districts of Tawau, Kunak and Semporna and is the nearest airport to the diving islands of Sipadan, Mabul and Kapalai, all of which are located in the latter district.
Sabah State Mosque or Masjid Negeri Sabah is the state mosque of Sabah, located at Sembulan roundabout between Jalan Mat Salleh and Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd. Shafie bin Apdal is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Semporna since April 1995 and Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Senallang since May 2018. He served as the 15th Chief Minister and the State Minister of Finance of Sabah from May 2018 to September 2020, Minister of Rural and Regional Development from April 2009 to July 2015 and Vice-President of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. He has served as the 1st and founding President of WARISAN, the opposition party of Sabah that is allied with the Pakatan Harapan (PH) opposition coalition, since October 2016. He lost the power as Chief Minister of Sabah following the defeat of his coalition, Sabah Heritage Party + in the 2020 state election.
The history of Sabah can be traced back to about 23–30,000 years ago when evidence suggests the earliest human settlement in the region existed. The history is interwoven with the history of Brunei and the history of Malaysia, which Sabah was previously part of and is currently part of respectively. The earliest recorded history of Sabah being part of any organised civilisation began in the early 15th century during the thriving era of the Sultanate of Brunei. Prior to this, early inhabitants of the land lived in predominantly tribal societies, although such tribal societies had continued to exist until the 1900s. The eastern part of Sabah was ceded to the Sultan of Sulu by the Sultan of Brunei in 1658 for the former helping a victory over Brunei enemies, but many sources stated it had not been ceded at all. By the late 19th century, both territories previously owned by Sultan of Brunei and Sultan of Sulu was granted to British syndicate and later emerged as British North Borneo under the management of the North Borneo Chartered Company. Sabah became a protectorate of the United Kingdom in 1888 and subsequently became a Crown colony from 1946 until 1963, during which time it was known as Crown Colony of North Borneo. On 16 September 1963, Sabah merged with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore to form Malaysia.
Bodgaya Island is located off the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia. It is the largest island in and forms part of the Tun Sakaran Marine Park just off the town of Semporna. The island has an area of 7.96 km2. Bodgaya, together with Boheydulang Island and the surrounding reefs, are remnants of an extinct volcano.
The Semporna Peninsula is a peninsula in southeastern of Sabah, Malaysia. It consists of coastal areas and numerous isolated hills and mountains rising to over 305 metres (1,001 ft). The Peninsula is also considered as a volcanic arc of the region with several volcanoes active during the Holocene period is located on the area.
Pom Pom Island is a small coral reef island in the Celebes Sea approximately 30 kilometres north east of Semporna town, Sabah, East Malaysia.
The Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZONE) is a security zone in the Malaysian state of Sabah that was launched by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on 25 March 2013 following persistent attacks by pirates and militants from the southern Philippines that occurred in the eastern part of Sabah especially after the 2013 Lahad Datu standoff. It includes the districts of Kudat, Kota Marudu, Pitas, Beluran, Sandakan, Kinabatangan, Lahad Datu, Kunak, Semporna and Tawau.
Tun Mustapha Marine Park is a marine park located off the north coast of the state of Sabah, Malaysia. It comprises an area of 898,762.76 hectares with more than 50 islands and islets located across Kudat, Pitas and Kota Marudu districts.
Tun Datuk Seri Panglima Sakaran Mohd Hashim bin Dandai was a Malaysian politician.
Tun Sakaran Museum is a museum in Semporna of Sabah, Malaysia. It is named after the 8th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah, Sakaran Dandai.
