The Birthplace of the Land Below the Wind

It all happened a long time ago since Sabah or was known as North Borneo, became part of the Sultanate of Brunei in the 16th century while the north-eastern coast of the state turned out to be part of the Sultanate of Sulu which was centered in the southern islands of the Philippines. In 1888, North Borneo became a colony of Great Britain and British failed to take control over the region until 1942 when the Japanese invaded.



When Sabah was left in a disaster by the Allied bombings during World War II, it was extradited over to the British administration after the war ended. The British political masters were assigned to reconstruct the basic frames, facilities, educational system and medical conveniences for the welfare of the locals who had barely endured the Japanese brutal actions. British faced bankruptcy as the war had costed them a lot of money to battle with the Japanese. Therefore, they initiated a project to make Sabah and Sarawak stand on their own feet, as part of a pact with the US which was to let go of their protectorate after World War II, on term that the states would be ready before they were awarded with independence.

 During this phase, the British put three development policies into effect in order to improve Sabah to become a state capable of self-governance. It began with the First North Borneo Development Plan (1948-1955) followed by the Second North Borneo Development (1955-1960) and the Third North Borneo Development Plan (1959-1964). North Borneo together with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore formed the Federation of Malaysia and from then on it became known as Sabah.

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sabah history