![Sabah-KudatDivision](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Sabah-KudatDivision.png)
Kudat Division ( ms, Bahagian Kudat) is an administrative division in the 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 ...
,
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 ...
. It occupies the northern tip of Sabah. Its total area of 4,623 square kilometres (6.3% of Sabah's total territory) makes it the smallest of the five divisions of Sabah.
The division covers the districts of
Kudat
Kudat ( ms, Pekan Kudat) is the capital of the Kudat District in the Kudat Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 29,025 in 2010. It is located on the Kudat Peninsula, about north of Kota Kinabalu, the state cap ...
,
Pitas and
Kota Marudu
Kota Marudu ( ms, Pekan Kota Marudu) is the capital of the Kota Marudu District in the Kudat Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 8,716 in 2010. It is located 130 kilometres north of the state capital, Kot ...
, as well as the islands of
Balak,
Balambangan,
Banggi
Banggi Island ( ms, Pulau Banggi) is located within the Kudat Division of Sabah in Malaysia. With an area of 440.7 square kilometres, it is the largest island in Malaysia followed by Bruit Island, Langkawi Island and Penang Island. It is locate ...
,
Bankawan,
Guhuan Utara (North Guhuan),
Kalampunian and
Malawali.
As of 2010, the division had 186,516 inhabitants, making up approximately 6% of Sabah's total population. It is mostly inhabited by the
Rungus people
The Momogun Rungus are an ethnic group of Borneo, residing primarily in northern Sabah in the area surrounding Kudat Peninsular, Kota Marudu, Pitas Bengkoka Peninsular and Beluran. A sub-group of the Dayak, they have a distinctive language, d ...
. Kudat is the largest town and main transport hub within the division. Commodities are transported to the division via the town's port, and its
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
is the only one in the division.
Districts
Kudat Division is subdivided into the following administrative districts:
*
Kota Marudu District
The Kota Marudu District ( ms, Daerah Kota Marudu) is an administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the Kudat Division which includes the districts of Kota Marudu, Kudat and Pitas. The capital of the district is in Kota ...
(1,917 km
2) (
Kota Marudu Town)
*
Kudat District
The Kudat District ( ms, Daerah Kudat) is an administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the Kudat Division which includes the districts of Kota Marudu, Kudat and Pitas. The capital of the district is in Kudat Town.
E ...
(1,287 km
2) (
Kudat Town)
*
Pitas District (1,419 km
2) (
Pitas Town)
Member of Parliament (Dewan Rakyat)
History
The present divisions of Sabah is largely inherited from the division of 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). ...
. Following the acquisition of
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 ...
under the
royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
issued in 1881, the administrative division introduced by
Baron von Overbeck
Gustav Overbeck (from 1867 von Overbeck, in 1873 Baron von Overbeck, in 1877 Maharaja of Sabah and Rajah of Gaya and Sandakan; born 4 March 1830 in Lemgo; died 8 April 1894 in London) was a German businessman, adventurer and diplomat.
Biograph ...
was continued by the establishment of two residences comprising West Coast Residency and East Coast Residency. Seat of the two residents was in
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 ...
, where the governor was based. Each resident, in turn, was divided into several provinces managed by a district officer.
[The original position was initially Magistrates-in-charge.]
As North Borneo progresses, the number of residencies has increased to five including: Tawau Residency (also known as East Coast Residency), Sandakan Residency, West Coast Residency, Kudat Residency, and Interior Residency; the provinces were initially named after the members of the board: Alcock, Cunlife, Dewhurst, Keppel, Dent, Martin, Elphinstone, Myburgh and Mayne. The senior residents occupied Sandakan and the West Coast, while the other three resident with the second class residencies occupied Interior, East Coast and Kudat. The residents of Sandakan and West Coast were members of the Legislative Council, the Legislative Assembly of the Company.
The division into residencies was maintained when
North Borneo became a Crown Colony after
World War II
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 ...
. On 16 September 1963, with the
formation of Malaysia
The Malaysia Agreement or the Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore (MA63) was the agreement which combined North Borneo, Sarawak, ...
, North Borneo which subsequently became the state of Sabah took over the administrative structure through the Ordinance on Administrative Units. At the same time, the
Yang di-Pertua Negeri
In Malaysia, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri ( in Malay) is a constitutional title given to the head of state in states without a Ruler, namely: Penang, Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak. This is in constrast to a Ruler () which is a constitutional title giv ...
, the head of state of Sabah, was authorised by proclamation to divide the state into divisions and districts.
[The most recent such proclamation dates from 2009]
Administrative Divisions Proclamation 2009
. The abolition of the residency term was in favour of the division term that took place in 1976.
Today, the division has only formal significance and no longer constitutes its own administrative level. The resident's post was also abolished, as Sabah's municipal administration is in the hands of the district officers.
See also
*
Divisions of Malaysia Divisions ( ms, bahagian) are the primary subdivisions of Sabah and Sarawak, the states in East Malaysia. Each division is subdivided into districts () — this is different in Peninsular Malaysia whereby districts are generally the primary subdiv ...
Notes
Literature
*
References
Further reading
* State of Sabah
Administrative Divisions Ordinance – Sabah Cap. 167(PDF) of 1 November 1954; last amended on 16 September 1963, as amended in August 2010; Accessed on 3 November 2017
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