East Malaysia (), or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of

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 ...

on and near the island of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

, the world's third-largest island. Near the coast of Sabah is a small archipelago called Labuan. East Malaysia lies to the east of

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

(or the States of Malaya), the part of the country on the Malaya. The two are separated by the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

. East Malaysia is less populated and has fewer developed settlements than West Malaysia. While West Malaysia contains the country's major cities (

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru (), colloquially referred to as JB, is the capital city of the state of Johor, Malaysia. It is located at the southern end of Peninsular Malaysia,along the north bank of the Straits of Johor, opposite of the city-state Singapore. T ...

, and Georgetown), East Malaysia is larger and much more abundant in natural resources, particularly oil and gas reserves. In the pan-regional style, city status is reserved for only a few settlements, including

Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River ...

Kota Kinabalu , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...

, and

Miri ) , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = , subdivision_type2 = Division , subdivision_name2 ...

. Various other significant settlements are classified as towns, including many with over 100,000 residents. East Malaysia includes a significant portion of the biodiverse

Borneo lowland rain forests The Borneo lowland rain forests is an ecoregion, within the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, of the large island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It supports approximately 15,000 plant species, 380 bird species and several m ...

and

Borneo montane rain forests The Borneo montane rain forests are an ecoregion, of cloud forest, within the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Location and description This ecoregion consists of tropical moun ...

States and territories

East Malaysia or the Borneo States comprise 2 of the 13 states, and one out of the three federal territories of Malaysia. ''States'':

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 ...

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

''Federal Territories'':

Labuan Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan), is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capit ...

History

Some parts of present-day East Malaysia, especially the coastal regions, were once part of the

thalassocracy A thalassocracy or thalattocracy sometimes also maritime empire, is a state with primarily maritime realms, an empire at sea, or a seaborne empire. Traditional thalassocracies seldom dominate interiors, even in their home territories. Examples ...

of the

Sultanate of Brunei This article includes a list of successive Islamic states and Muslim dynasties beginning with the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632 CE) and the early Muslim conquests that spread Islam outside of the Arabian Peninsula, and continui ...

. However, most parts of the interior region consisted of independent tribal societies. In 1658, the northern and eastern coasts of Sabah were ceded to the

Sultanate of Sulu The Sultanate of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Kasultanan sin Sūg'', كاسولتانن سين سوڬ; malay language, Malay: ''Kesultanan Sulu''; fil, Sultanato ng Sulu; Chavacano: ''Sultanato de Sulu/Joló''; ar, سلطنة سولك) ...

while the west coast of Sabah and most of Sarawak remained part of Brunei. In 1888, Sabah and Sarawak together with Brunei became British protectorates. In 1946, they became separate British colonies.

Federation

Sabah (formerly

British North Borneo (I persevere and I achieve) , national_anthem = , capital = Kudat (1881–1884);Sandakan (1884–1945); Jesselton (1946) , common_languages = English, Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Murut, Sabah Malay, Chinese etc. , gove ...

) and Sarawak were separate

British colonies A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...

from

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

, and did not become part of the

Federation of Malaya The Federation of Malaya ( ms, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Empire, British Straits Settlements, P ...

in 1957. Later on however, the then Federation merged with the self-governing State of Singapore and the British Colonies of North Borneo (now known as

) and

under the

Malaysia Agreement 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, ...

as the States of Malaya, the Borneo States of Sabah and Sarawak, and the State of Singapore of the new Federation called

on 16 September 1963, now known as

Malaysia Day Malaysia Day ( ms, Hari Malaysia) is a public holiday held on 16 September every year to commemorate the establishment of the Malaysian federation on that date in 1963. This event saw Malaya, North Borneo (which was renamed Sabah), Sarawak, ...

. Singapore left the Federation two years later in 1965 after being expelled by then the Prime Minister of Malaysia,

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, ‏تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...

. Previously, there were efforts to unite

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

, Sabah, and Sarawak under the

North Borneo Federation The North Borneo Federation, also known as North Kalimantan or Negara Kesatuan Kalimantan Utara (Unitary State of North Kalimantan) in Malay, was a proposed political entity which would have comprised the British Colonies of Sarawak, British ...

but that failed after the Brunei Revolt occurred. The Borneo States retained a higher degree of local government and legislative autonomy than the States of Malaya. For example, both states have their own immigration controls, requiring Malaysian citizens from West Malaysia to carry passports or identity cards when visiting East Malaysia. The islands of

were once part 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 ...

in 1946 before becoming a

Federal Territory A federal territory is an administrative division under the direct and usually exclusive jurisdiction of a federation's national government. A federal territory is a part of a federation, but not a part of any federated state. The states constit ...

in Malaysia on 16 April 1984. It was used to establish a centre for

offshore finance An offshore financial centre (OFC) is defined as a "country or jurisdiction that provides financial services to nonresidents on a scale that is incommensurate with the size and the financing of its domestic economy." "Offshore" does not refer ...

in 1990. Since 2010, there has been some speculation and discussion, at least on the ground level, about the possibility of secession from the Federation of Malaysia because of allegations of resource mishandling, illegal processing of immigrants, etc.

Administration

The Borneo States of Sabah and Sarawak joined the Federation of Malaysia as equal partners with Malaya and Singapore. Sabah and Sarawak retained their rights covered under the Malaysia Agreement of 1963 and their degree of autonomy compared to the other states in Peninsular Malaysia. For example, the Malaysian Borneo States have separate laws regulating the entry of citizens from other states in Malaysia (including the other East Malaysian state), whereas, in Peninsular Malaysia, there are no restrictions on interstate travel or migration, including visitors from East Malaysia. There are also separate

land law Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use a ...

s governing Sabah and Sarawak, as opposed to the National Land Code, which governs Peninsular Malaysia. In December 2021, constitutional amendments were passed to restore the status of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners to Malaya, with 199 members of Parliament backing the amendment bill without opposition. Apart from restoring Article 1(2) to its pre-1976 wording, the bill defines

for the first time and redefines the federation with the inclusion of Malaysia Agreement (MA63). Previously, only

Merdeka Day Independence Day ( ms, Hari Merdeka, also known as ''Hari Kebangsaan'' or "National Day"), is the official independence day of Federation of Malaya, Malaya. It commemorates the Malayan Declaration of Independence of 31 August 1957, and is de ...

(independence day of the Federation of Malaya) was defined, and the federation was defined merely by the Malaya Agreement 1957. The Constitution (Amendment) Act 2022 received royal assent on 19 January 2022 and came into force on 11 February 2022. With regard to the administration of justice, the courts in East Malaysia are part of the federal court system in Malaysia. The Constitution of Malaysia provides that there shall be two High Courts of co-ordinate jurisdiction. The High Court in Malaya and the

High Court in Sabah and Sarawak The high courts in Malaysia are the third-highest courts in the hierarchy of courts, after the Federal Court and the Court of Appeal. Article 121 of the Constitution of Malaysia provides that there shall be two high courts of co-ordinate jurisdi ...

(formerly the High Court in Borneo). The current

Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak The Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak ( Malay: ''Hakim Besar Sabah dan Sarawak''; ), formerly the Chief Justice of Borneo, is the office and title of the head of the High Court of Sabah and Sarawak. The title has been in use since 24 June 1994, ...

Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abang Iskandar bin Abang Hashim ( Jawi: أبانغ إسكندر بن أبانغ هاشم; born 3 July 1959) is a Malaysian lawyer and judge who serves as the sixth Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak (CJSS). Early life an ...

from Sarawak. His office is the fourth highest in the Malaysian judicial system (behind the Chief Judge of Malaya, President of the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

, and

Chief Justice of Malaysia The Chief Justice of Malaysia (Malay: ''Ketua Hakim Negara Malaysia''), also known as the chief justice of the Federal Court, is the office and title of the head of the Malaysian judiciary system. The title has been in use since 1994, and pr ...

Politics

Compared to West Malaysia, political parties in Sarawak and Sabah started relatively late. This first political party in Sarawak emerged in 1959 while the first political party in Sabah emerged in August 1961. Sarawak held its first local authorities election in 1959 and did not have any directly elected legislature until

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

. Sabah only held its first district council election in December 1962 and first direct election in April 1967. Both the states were new and had little experience in organised, competitive politics. Therefore, there had been the appearance and rapid disappearance of political parties in Sarawak and Sabah within a short period of time, with some parties took opportunistic moves to form alliances without a definite loyalty to a certain political alignment. The ethnic composition of East Malaysia is also different from West Malaysia. The indigenous people in both Sarawak and Sabah do not form an absolute majority, while the non-native population in East Malaysia mainly consisting of entirely Chinese. Political parties in Sarawak and Sabah were formed largely based on communal lines and can be categorised roughly into native non-Muslim, native Muslim, and non-native parties. With the support of the Malaysia federal government, native Muslim parties in Sabah and Sarawak were strengthened. In Sabah, the native Muslim party

United Sabah National Organisation The United Sabah National Organisation ( ms, Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Sabah Bersatu; abbrev: USNO) was a political party in North Borneo and later Sabah, Malaysia. The widely known Sabah's Muslim indigenous especially Suluk-Bajau ethnic based pa ...

(USNO) first clinged on the chief minister post in 1965 and later consolidated its power in 1967. In Sarawak, native Muslim party named Parti Bumiputera (which later regrouped into

Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB; en, United Bumiputera Heritage Party) is a right-wing political party in Malaysia. It is currently the largest political party in Sarawak. Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu was formed from the combination o ...

(PBB) held the chief minister post since 1970. In 1976, all the Sabah and Sarawak MPs supported the Malaysian parliament bill which downgraded both the states from being equal partners to

as a whole, to one of the 13 states in the federation. Since 2008, East Malaysia played a more significant role in the national political landscape. The loss of two-thirds majority of

Barisan Nasional The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...

(BN) government in the West Malaysia caused the BN to rely on East Malaysian politicians to cling on power. After the conclusion of

2013 Malaysian general election General elections were held in Malaysia on Sunday, 5 May 2013 to elect the members of the 13th Parliament. Voting took place in all 222 parliamentary constituencies, each electing one MP to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament. ...

, there was an increase in ministers and deputy ministers allocation for East Malaysia in the

Malaysian Cabinet The Cabinet of Malaysia ( Malay: ''Jemaah Menteri Malaysia'') is the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia. Led by the Prime Minister, the cabinet is a council of ministers who are accountable collectively to the Parliament. According ...

from 11 out of 57 portfolios in 2008 election to 20 out of 61 portfolios. However, there has been no prime minister or deputy prime minister coming from East Malaysia yet since its incorporation in 1963. As of 2012, Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan held a total of 57 out 222 seats (25.68%) in the

Malaysian parliament The Parliament of Malaysia ( ms, Parlimen Malaysia) is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives, lit. "People's Assembly") and the D ...

. Since 2014, Sarawak have been actively seeking for devolution of powers from the Malaysian federal government. In October 2018, both

and

chief ministers met to discuss common goals in demanding from the Malaysian federal government regarding the rights stipulated inside the

. In December 2021, constitutional amendments were passed to restore the status of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners to Malaya, with 199 members of Parliament backing the amendment bill without opposition. Apart from restoring Article 1(2) to its pre-1976 wording, the bill defines

for the first time and redefines the federation with the inclusion of Malaysia Agreement (MA63). Previously, only

Physical geography

The landscape of East Malaysia is mostly lowland rain forests with areas of mountain rain forest towards the hinterland. The total area of East Malaysia is 198,447 km², representing approximately 60% of the total land area of

and 26.4% of the total area of

, which is 50% bigger than

at , comparable with

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. East Malaysia contains the five highest mountains in Malaysia, the highest being

Mount Kinabalu Mount Kinabalu ( ms, Gunung Kinabalu, Dusun language, Dusun: ''Gayo Ngaran or Nulu Nabalu'') is the highest mountain in Borneo and Malaysia. With an elevation of , it is List of islands by highest point, third-highest peak of an island on Eart ...

at 4095 m, which is also the highest mountain in Borneo and the 10th highest mountain peak in Southeast Asia. It also contains the two longest rivers in Malaysia –

Rajang River The Rajang River ( ms, Batang Rajang) is a river in Sarawak, northwest Borneo, Malaysia. The river originates in the Iran Mountains, flows through Kapit, and then towards the South China Sea. At approximately , the river is the seventh-longest i ...

and

Kinabatangan River The Kinabatangan River ( ms, Sungai Kinabatangan) is a river in Sandakan Division, in northeastern Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second longest river in Malaysia, with a length of from its headwaters in the mountains of southwest Sabah, to its ou ...

Banggi Island 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 Penang ...

and

Bruit Island Bruit Island ( ms, Pulau Bruit) is an island in Daro District, Mukah Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is located in the Rejang Delta, 150 km northwest of Kuching. With a population of around 9,342 and an area of 417 square kilometres, it i ...

are the two largest islands that are located entirely within Malaysia. The largest island is Borneo, which is shared with

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and

. The second largest island is

Sebatik Island Sebatik Island ( Indonesian/ Malay: ''Pulau Sebatik'') is an island off the eastern coast of Borneo, partly within Indonesia and partly within Malaysia. It is one of the 92 officially listed outlying islands of Indonesia. Sebatik has an are ...

, in Sabah, which is shared with Indonesia. Sarawak contains the

Mulu Caves The Gunung Mulu National Park is a national park in Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that encompasses caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting. The park is famous for its ca ...

within

Gunung Mulu National Park The Gunung Mulu National Park is a national park in Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that encompasses caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting. The park is famous for its cav ...

. Its

Sarawak Chamber Sarawak Chamber is the largest known cave chamber in the world by area and the second largest by volume after the Miao Room in China. It is in Gua Nasib Bagus (Good Luck Cave), which is located in Gunung Mulu National Park, in the Malaysian Territor ...

is the largest (by area) known cave chamber in the world. The Gunung Mulu National Park was declared a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in November 2000. Sabah's attractions include World Heritage Site

Kinabalu Park Kinabalu Park ( ms, Taman Kinabalu), established as one of the first national parks of Malaysia in 1964, is Malaysia's first World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO in December 2000 for its "outstanding universal values" and the role as one of ...

(which includes

), and

Sipadan Island Sipadan ( ms, Pulau Sipadan) is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising from the seabed. It is located in the Celebes Sea off the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia. It was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcanic cone that ...

(a diving and bio-diversity hot-spot).

Geology

Several oil and gas fields have been discovered offshore, including the Samarang

oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...

(1972) offshore Sabah, the Baronia oil field (1967) offshore Sarawak, and the Central Luconia

natural gas field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...

s (1968), also offshore Sarawak.Scherer, F.C., 1980, Exploration in East Malaysia Over the Past Decade, in Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade, AAPG Memoir 30, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, , p. 424 The Baronia Field is a domal

structural trap In petroleum geology, a trap is a geological structure affecting the reservoir rock and caprock of a petroleum system allowing the accumulation of hydrocarbons in a reservoir. Traps can be of two types: stratigraphic or structural. Structural trap ...

between two east–west growth faults, which produces from late

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

s interbedded with

siltstone Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, p ...

s and

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

s at 2 km depth in 75 m of water. The Samarang Field produces from late Miocene sandtones in an alternating sequence of sandstones, siltstones and clays in an

anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is the ...

at a depth of about 3 km in water 9–45 m. The Central Luconia Gas Fields produce from middle to late Miocene

carbonate platform A carbonate platform is a sedimentary body which possesses topographic relief, and is composed of autochthonic calcareous deposits. Platform growth is mediated by sessile organisms whose skeletons build up the reef or by organisms (usually microb ...

and pinnacle reefs from 1.25-3.76 km deep and water depths 60-100m.

Population

The total population of East Malaysia in 2010 was 5.77 million (3.21 million in Sabah, 2.47 million in Sarawak, and 0.09 million in Labuan), which represented 20.4% of the population of Malaysia. A significant part of the population of East Malaysia today reside in towns and cities. The largest city and urban centre is

, which is also the capital of Sarawak and has a population of over 600,000 people.

is the second largest, and one of the most important cities in East Malaysia. Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, and

Miri ) , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = , subdivision_type2 = Division , subdivision_name2 ...

are the only three places with city status in East Malaysia. Other important towns include

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 ...

and

Tawau Tawau (, Jawi: , ), formerly known as Tawao, is the capital of the Tawau District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the third-largest city in Sabah, after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. It is located on the Semporna Peninsula in the southeast coast of t ...

in Sabah,

Sibu Sibu (; Foochow Romanized, Hokchew Romanized: ''Sĭ-bŭ'') is a landlocked city in the central region of Sarawak. It is the capital of Sibu District in Sibu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The city is located on the island of Borneo and covers ...

and

Bintulu Bintulu is a coastal town on the island of Borneo in the central region of Sarawak, Malaysia. Bintulu is located 610 kilometres (380 mi) northeast of Kuching, 216 kilometres (134 mi) northeast of Sibu, and 200 kilometres (120 mi) ...

in Sarawak, and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in Labuan. The 2020 estimated population is 6.8 million (3,908,500 in Sabah, 2,816,500 in Sarawak and 99,600 in Labuan). The earliest inhabitants of East Malaysia were the

Dayak people The Dayak (; older spelling: Dajak) or Dyak or Dayuh are one of the native groups of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic groups, located principally in the central and southern interior of Borneo, each ...

and other related ethnic groups such as the

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 ...

people. These indigenous people form a significant portion, but not the majority, of the population. For hundreds of years, there has been significant migration into East Malaysia and Borneo from many parts of the

Malay Archipelago The Malay Archipelago (Indonesian/Malay: , tgl, Kapuluang Malay) is the archipelago between mainland Indochina and Australia. It has also been called the " Malay world," "Nusantara", "East Indies", Indo-Australian Archipelago, Spices Archipe ...

, including Java, the

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up t ...

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

, and

Sulu Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Wilāya sin Lupa' Sūg''; tl, Lalawigan ng Sulu), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago and part of the Bangsamoro, Bangsamor ...

. More recently, there has been immigration from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and China. The indigenous inhabitants were originally animists. Islamic influence began as early as the 15th century, while Christian influence started in the 19th century. The indigenous inhabitants are generally partisan and maintain culturally distinct dialects of the

Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...

, in addition to their own ethnic languages. Approximately 13% of the population of Sabah, and 26% of the population of Sarawak, is composed of ethnic Chinese Malaysians. However, the demography of Sabah has been altered dramatically with the alleged implementation of

Project IC Project IC is the name used in Malaysia to describe the allegation of systematic granting of citizenship to immigrants (whether legal or otherwise) by giving them identity document, identity cards and subsequently its current iteration, the ''MyKa ...

in the 1990s. Citizenships are alleged to be granted to immigrants of

and

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 ...

in order to keep the

UMNO The United Malays National Organisation (Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its in ...

ruling party in power. Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) has been conducted from 11 August 2012 to 20 September 2013. The outcome of the investigation was submitted to the prime minister on 19 May 2014. The report was released on 3 December 2014 after 6 months delay. It stated that Project IC might have existed, which was responsible for a sudden spike in the state population. However, the report did not pinpoint any responsibility except for "corrupt officials" who took advantage of the system.

Education

East Malaysia currently has two public universities, namely

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS; en, University of Malaysia Sarawak) is a Malaysian public university located in Kota Samarahan, Sarawak. UNIMAS was officially incorporated on 24 December 1992. Recently, UNIMAS has been ranked among top 20 ...

(UNIMAS) and

Universiti Malaysia Sabah , image = Seal of Universiti Malaysia Sabah.png , image_size = , caption = Seal , motto = ''Bertekad Cemerlang'' (Malay) Jawi: , mottoeng = Strive to Excel , ...

(UMS).

Universiti Teknologi Mara The MARA Technological University (Malay: ''Universiti Teknologi MARA''; Jawi: اونيۏرسيتي تيكنولوڬي مارا; abbr. UiTM) is a public university based primarily in Shah Alam, Selangor. It was established to help rural Mal ...

(UiTM) also has branch campuses in both states. Labuan's own institution of higher education is Universiti Malaysia Sabah Labuan International Campus, which has a branch in Sepanggar Bay, Kota Kinabalu. All prospective university entrants from Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan must sit the examinations of one matriculation college, Kolej Matrikulasi Labuan.

UCSI University, Sarawak Campus UCSI University, Sarawak Campus is a branch of the UCSI University private university located in Sarawak, Malaysia that houses the Faculty of Hospitality & Management, Faculty of Business & Information Science and Centre for Pre-U Studies. The ca ...

, University College of Technology Sarawak (UCTS)

Tunku Abdul Rahman University College Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management & Technology, abbreviated TAR UMT, is a non-profit, private university in Malaysia. Named after the country's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, the school was founded in 1969 as Tunku Abd ...

(Sabah campus),

International University College of Technology Twintech The Twintech International University College of Technology, or Twintech for short, is a private publicly funded university college in Malaysia. The main campus is in Bandar Sri Damansara, Petaling District, Selangor. Twintech International ...

(Sabah campus), and

Open University Malaysia Open University Malaysia, abbreviated as OUM, is the 7th Malaysian private university and it is owned by the Multimedia Technology Enhancement Operations (METEOR) Sdn. Bhd, a consortium of 11 List of universities in Malaysia, Malaysian pu ...

(Sabah campus) have local private university branch campuses in East Malaysia.

Curtin University, Malaysia Curtin University Malaysia, previously known as Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia is a private university in Miri, Sarawak and is the largest international campus of Curtin University, a university based in Perth, Western Australia. It has ...

and

Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus is the foreign branch campus of Swinburne University of Technology, Swinburne University and is located in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Established in 2000, Swinburne Sarawak operates as a partne ...

are foreign university branch campuses in Sarawak. There are 4 teacher training colleges (

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

: ''Maktab Perguruan'') in Sarawak, and 4 teacher training colleges in Sabah.

Transport

The

Pan Borneo Highway Pan Borneo Highway ( ms, Lebuhraya Pan Borneo), also known as Trans-Borneo Highway or Trans-Kalimantan Highway ( id, Jalan Lintas Kalimantan), is a road network on Borneo Island connecting two Malaysian states, Sabah and Sarawak, with Brunei a ...

connects Sabah, Sarawak, and Brunei. The road has been poorly maintained since it was built. The narrow road is dark at night without any street lights and there are many danger spots, sharp bends, blind spots, potholes, and erosion. However, federal government funds have been allocated for the upgrade of the highway, which will be carried out in stages until completion in 2025. The major airports in East Malaysia are

Kuching International Airport Kuching International Airport ( Initialised: KIA) is an international airport serving the entire southwestern region of Sarawak, Malaysia. It is located south of Kuching city centre. The airport is colocated with the RMAF Kuching, home to the ...

Labuan Airport Labuan Airport is an airport that serves the federal territory of Labuan in Malaysia. The airport is or by road from Victoria (Labuan Town). It was planned for Labuan Airport to be a regional hub for connecting flights within the Association ...

and

Kota Kinabalu International Airport Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) is an international airport in Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah, Malaysia. It is located approximately southwest of the city centre. In 2017, 8 million passengers passed through the ai ...

has also become the second largest airport in Malaysia, with an annual capacity of 12 million passengers – 9 million for Terminal 1 and 3 million for Terminal 2. There are frequent air flights by including

Malaysia Airlines Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB; ms, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad), formerly known as Malaysian Airline System (MAS; ), and branded as Malaysia Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Malaysia and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. (The ...

(MAS) and

AirAsia Capital A Berhad, () operating as AirAsia (stylized as ''airasia'') is a Malaysian multinational low-cost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the largest airline in Malaysia by fleet size and destinations. AirAsia operate ...

between East Malaysia and Peninsular Malaysia. Other ports of entry to East Malaysia include

Sibu Airport Sibu Airport is an airport located east south east of Sibu, a town in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. In 2018, the airport handled 1,579,528 passengers on 20,869 flights and also handled 1,443 metric tonnes of cargo. The airport is the 11t ...

Bintulu Airport Bintulu Airport is an airport serving Bintulu, a town in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. The airport is located , by road, southwest of the city, and although small, it is able to handle planes as large as a Boeing 747. In 2008, the airport ha ...

, and

Miri Airport Miri Airport is an airport located south east of Miri, Malaysia, Miri, a city in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The airport is the sixth-busiest airport in Malaysia, and the second-busiest in Sarawak. Miri Airport is a major hub for MASWings T ...

in Sarawak,

Sandakan Airport Sandakan Airport is a domestic airport which serves Sandakan in Sandakan District, Sabah, Malaysia. It is located west of downtown Sandakan. In 2005, the airport handled 621,513 passengers and registered 10,876 flights. History World War II The ...

and

Tawau Airport Tawau Airport ( ms, Lapangan Terbang Tawau) is an airport located north east of Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia. It is one of two airports in Sabah with immigration counters for international flights, the other being Kota Kinabalu International Airport ...

in Sabah. MAS also operates international flights to major cities in East Malaysia. The rural areas in Borneo can only be accessed by air or river boat. River transport is especially prevalent in Sarawak because there are many large and long rivers, with

being the most used. Rivers are used by boats and ferries for communications (i.e. mail) and passenger transport between inland areas and coastal towns. Timber is also transported via vessels and log carriers down the rivers of Sarawak. The Labuan Ferry operates boat express and vehicle ferries from

Island to

and

. Ferries have overtaken air travel as the chief

transportation mode Mode of transport is a term used to distinguish between different ways of transportation or transporting people or goods. The different modes of transport are air, water, and land transport, which includes rails or railways, road and off-road t ...

on and off the island.

Economy

Shipyards in Sabah and Sarawak build steel vessels for offshore supply, tug, barge and river ferries when compared to shipyards in Peninsular Malaysia that focus on building steel and aluminium vessels for the government as well as oil and gas companies. This makes the shipyards in Sabah and Sarawak more competitive and innovative in design, process and material, compared to the shipyards in peninsular Malaysia, where the big projects are dependent on government funding.

Security

The state of Sabah has been subjected to attacks by Moro pirates and militants since the 1960s and intensification in 1985, 2000, 2013. The

Eastern Sabah Security Zone The Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZONE) is a security zone in the Malaysian state of Sabah that was launched by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on 25 March 2013 following persistent attacks by pirates and militants from the southern Ph ...

(ESSZONE) and

Eastern Sabah Security Command The Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) is a Malaysian security area that covers 1,400 km of the east coast of Sabah from Kudat to Tawau. It was established by Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Seri Najib bin Abdul Razak and announced on ...

(ESSCOM) were established on 25 March 2013 to tighten security in the region. Since 2014, a 12-hour dusk-to-dawn curfew has been imposed on six Sabah east coast districts.

Notes

References

External links

Virtual Malaysia
– The Official Portal of the Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia
mulucaves.org
Mulu Caves Project {{Borneo Maritime Southeast Asia Enclaves and exclaves

States and territories

History

Federation

Administration

Politics

Physical geography

Geology

Population

Education

Transport

Economy

Security

Notes

References

Further reading

External links