History and the War in Borneo (Sabah)
Part of the Borneo (Sabah) travel guide — see every topic in All Borneo (Sabah) Guides.
Sabah's modern history is short and unusually stark. It was administered from 1881 by the British North Borneo Chartered Company, a private commercial venture governing a territory the size of Ireland. Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945 devastated it: Sandakan and Jesselton were destroyed, and the Sandakan prisoner-of-war camp produced one of the worst atrocities of the Pacific war. Sabah joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, and the state's relationship with the peninsula has been a live political question ever since.
The Chartered Company
North Borneo was administered from 1881 by the British North Borneo Chartered Company — a private company with a royal charter, governing, taxing and policing a territory of 74,000 square kilometres. It developed tobacco, rubber and timber, built the railway from 1896, and brought in Chinese labour. Resistance included the six-year rebellion led by Mat Salleh, who destroyed the company's settlement on Gaya island in 1897 and was killed in 1900. The company governed until the Japanese invasion in 1942 and never resumed; the territory became a Crown Colony in 1946.
The Sandakan death marches
Between 1942 and 1945 the Japanese held some 2,400 Australian and British prisoners of war at Sandakan, forced to build an airfield in appalling conditions. As Allied forces advanced, the prisoners were marched 260 kilometres inland to Ranau in three groups through jungle and swamp. Those who could not continue were killed. Of 2,434 prisoners, six Australians survived, all of them escapees. It is the single worst atrocity committed against Australian servicemen in the war. Memorials stand at the Sandakan camp site and at Ranau, and the march route is commemorated.
Destruction and rebuilding
Allied bombing and a Japanese scorched-earth withdrawal destroyed both Sandakan and Jesselton almost completely; three buildings survived in Jesselton, including the Atkinson Clock Tower of 1905. The capital was moved from Sandakan to Jesselton, which was rebuilt and renamed Kota Kinabalu in 1968. That is why Sabah has so little historic architecture: it was flattened within three years, and everything you see is post-war.
Federation and after
North Borneo joined Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore to form Malaysia in 1963, under terms set out in the Twenty Points, a list of conditions covering religion, language, immigration control and autonomy. Sabah retains its own immigration controls to this day, which is why arriving from peninsular Malaysia involves a passport check. The Philippines has maintained a dormant claim to eastern Sabah since 1962. Questions about the state's autonomy, its share of oil revenue and the implementation of the 1963 agreement remain politically central in Sabah.
History and the War at a glance
| Administered | By the British North Borneo Chartered Company from 1881 |
|---|---|
| Rebellion | Mat Salleh, 1894–1900 — destroyed the Gaya settlement in 1897 |
| Sandakan death marches | 2,434 prisoners; six survivors |
| Destroyed | Sandakan and Jesselton flattened by 1945 |
| Renamed | Jesselton became Kota Kinabalu in 1968 |
| Federation | Joined Malaysia 1963; retains its own immigration control |