The Beluran District ( ms, Daerah Beluran) is an

administrative district Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

in the

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n state of

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

, part of the

Sandakan Division Sandakan Division ( ms, Bahagian Sandakan) is an administrative division of Sabah, Malaysia. It stretches diagonally from the northeastern coast of Sabah to the state's central region. With an area of 28,205 square kilometres, it occupies 38.3% o ...

which includes the districts of Beluran,

Kinabatangan Kinabatangan ( ms, Pekan Kinabatangan) is the capital of the Kinabatangan District in the Sandakan Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 10,256 in 2010. Kinabatangan is mostly populated with the Orang Sungai ...

Sandakan Sandakan (, Jawi: , ) formerly known at various times as Elopura, is the capital of the Sandakan District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second largest city in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu. It is located on the Sandakan Peninsula and east coast of ...

Telupid Telupid ( ms, Pekan Telupid) is the capital of the Telupid District in the Sandakan Division of Sabah, Malaysia. History Telupid was first settled around 1940s and became the major route for the Sandakan Death Marches during World War II. At ...

and Tongod. The capital of the district is in Beluran Town.

Etymology

The name Beluran was taken after the name of a hill in the district. In the languages of Labuk Dusun, Sungai and

Tidong The Tidung, Tidong ( Jawi: تيدوڠ) are a native group originating from northeastern part of Borneo and surrounding small islands. They live on both sides of the border of Malaysia and Indonesia. Tidung speak Tidong language, a North Borne ...

, it is called as "Buludan". Several changes occurred during the British administration as a result of

misnomer A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the name ...

ation by British colonial officials who does not speak fluent local languages causing the name "Buludan" became "Beluran" which later maintained until this day.

History

The district is formerly known as the Labuk-Sugut District and has existed since the

North Borneo Chartered Company The North Borneo Chartered Company (NBCC), also known as the British North Borneo Company (BNBC) was a British chartered company formed on 1 November 1881 to administer and exploit the resources of North Borneo (present-day Sabah in Malaysia). ...

administration. It is one of the earliest districts in

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, which is present day Sabah. The territory of North Borneo ...

. The Beluran District Administration Office was established as early as 1916 but all records and data of the district were destroyed in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. According to some old sources, B.S Willie was appointed as Beluran District Officer in 1945 with Klagan became the first administrative district of Labuk-Sugut District, but as the area was often flooded, the British authorities transferred the administrative centre to the foothills of present-day Beluran.

Demographics

According to the latest census in 2010, the population of the district is estimated to be around 104,484 inhabitants. The population consists of a mixture of various indigenous ethnic groups, such as

Kadazan-Dusun Kadazan-Dusun (also written as Kadazandusun or Mamasok Kadazan-Dusun) also less-known as "Mamasok Sabah" are two indigenous peoples of Sabah, Malaysia—the ethnic groups Kadazan and Dusun. The Kadazandusun is the largest native group of Bumip ...

Bajau The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the exonym ...

, Suluk,

Orang Sungai The Orang Sungei (Malay word for "River People") are a group of indigenous people native to the state of Sabah, Malaysia. Groups of communities live along the rivers of Kinabatangan, Paitan, Labuk, Kudat, Membakut and Lahad Datu. The name "Or ...

as well as a significant presence of

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

. As in other districts of Sabah, there are a significant number of illegal immigrants from the nearby southern

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, mainly from the Sulu Archipelago and

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

of whom are not included in the population statistics.

Gallery

File:DistrictBeluran-MosqueAtHighway-A1-01.jpg, Beluran District Mosque. File:Kg Bouto Sabah GerejaKatolikStPeter-01.jpg, St. Peter Catholic Church. File:DistrictBeluran-VirginJungle-01.jpg, Beluran virgin jungle.

References

External links

*
Beluran District Council
{{Sabah-geo-stub