The Interior Division ( ms, Bahagian Pedalaman) is an administrative division of the state of

Sabah Sabah () is a 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 Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

. It occupies the southwest portion of Sabah, bordered by the neighbouring state of

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a 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 Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

on its west. With an area of 18,298 square kilometres, it covers 24.9% of Sabah's territory and is home to approximately 14.7% of Sabah's total population. The largest town in the Interior Division is

Keningau Keningau ( ms, Pekan Keningau) is the capital of the Keningau District in the Interior Division of Sabah, Malaysia. It is the fifth-largest town in Sabah, as well one of the oldest. Keningau is between Tambunan and Tenom. The town had an es ...

. Other main towns in this division include

Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions * ...

, Kuala Penyu, Sipitang, Tambunan and

Tenom Tenom ( ms, Pekan Tenom, ) is the capital of the Tenom District in the Interior Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 5,148 in 2010. It is located about 176 kilometres south of Kota Kinabalu and 128 kilometres ...

. The coastal parts of the Division are settled mainly by Bisaya,

Bruneian Malays Bruneian MalaysBrunei Malay in its various forms can be identified with a nation, an ethnic group and a region. ( ms, Orang Melayu Brunei, Jawi: ) are a native Malay ethnic group that lives in Brunei, the federal territory of Labuan, the s ...

and

Kedayan The Kedayan (also known as Kadayan, Kadaian or Kadyan) are an ethnic group residing in Brunei, Federal Territory of Labuan, southwest of Sabah, and north of Sarawak on the island of Borneo. According to the Language and Literature Bureau of B ...

, whereas the inland areas to the east of the

Crocker Range Crocker Range ( ms, Banjaran Crocker) is a mountain range in West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia that separates the west and east coast of Sabah. At an average height of , it is the highest mountain range in the state with the range is named ...

are mostly settled by various subgroups of 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 Bu ...

people. The town of Tambunan is considered to be a major centre of Kadazan culture, while Tenom is the largest town in the heartland of the

Murut people The Murut are an indigenous ethnic group, comprising 29 sub-ethnic groups inhabiting the northern inland regions of Borneo. The Murutic languages are a family of half a dozen closely related Austronesian languages. The Murut can be found mainl ...

. The Long Pasia and

Long Mio Long Mio is one of the villages located in the district of Sipitang, Sabah Sabah () is a 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 ...

are the gateway to the Lun Bawang/ Lun Dayeh tribes in Sipitang. In addition, there are large numbers of Chinese people in most of the towns, particularly Beaufort, Keningau and Tenom. The majority of the Division's ethnic Chinese residents are of the

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

subgroup.

Districts

Interior Division is subdivided into the following administrative districts: *

Beaufort District The Beaufort District (; ms, Daerah Beaufort) is an administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the Interior Division which includes the districts of Beaufort, Keningau, Kuala Penyu, Nabawan, Sipitang, Tambunan and Tenom. T ...

(1,735 km²) ( Beaufort Town) * Keningau District (3,533 km²) ( Keningau Town) * Kuala Penyu District (453 km²) ( Kuala Penyu Town) * Membakut District ( Membakut Town) * Nabawan District (6,089 km²) ( Nabawan Town) * Sipitang District (2,732 km²) ( Sipitang Town) * Tambunan District (1,347 km²) ( Tambunan Town) *

Tenom District The Tenom District ( ms, Daerah Tenom) is an administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the Interior Division which includes the districts of Beaufort, Keningau, Kuala Penyu, Nabawan, Sipitang, Tambunan and Tenom. The ca ...

(2,409 km²) ( Tenom Town)

Member of Parliament (Dewan Rakyat)

History

The present divisions of Sabah is largely inherited from the division of the North Borneo Chartered Company. Following the acquisition of

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. , ...

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, b ...

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. Biogra ...

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 ...

, 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. 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, 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.

Districts

Member of Parliament (Dewan Rakyat)

History

See also

Notes

Literature

References

Further reading