Malaysia Travel Site

Sabah was taken over by the British North Borneo Company in 1881, and became a protectorate of the British Empire with internal affairs still administered by the company in 1888. In 1946 the Company's rule ended and it became the colony of North Borneo. On August 31 1963, it was granted self-government power before it formed the Malaysian federation on September 16 1963 along with Malaya, Singapore and Sarawak. Since 1963, the state has been known as Sabah.