Sabah is one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Situated on the north-east of the island, Sabah is smaller than its sister state, Sarawak. The southern part of the island called Kalimantan belongs to neighbour country Indonesia. The state capital is Kota Kinabalu.
It was taken over by the British North Borneo Company in 1881, and became a protectorate of the British Empire with internal affairs still administered by the company in 1888. In 1946 the Company's rule ended and it became the colony of British North Borneo until it was admitted into the Malaysian federation in 1963.
a large number of excellent locations for scuba diving, including the famous island of Sipadan.
Another famous city of the state is Sandakan, the City of Nature. Major attractions include the Orang Utan sanctuary Sepilok, the Labuk Probocis Centre, and the largest crocodile farm of Borneo.
The Philippines claims the whole of Sabah as part of the country's territory. This claim is legally based upon a gift bestowed by the Sultanate of Brunei to the Sultanate of Sulu in 1704, because of military assitance given by the latter to the former. The Sultanate of Sulu then granted to the Philippine Government the title of sovereignty to the territory in 1962.
