Sipitang

Sipitang is a town, district and also a parliamentary constituency located in Interior Division of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo. The population of the district was 12,076 in 1980 and 24,349 in 1991 and is projected to increase to 56,634 in 2010. [Town and Regional Planning Sabah, [online] http://www.townplanning.sabah.gov.my/Interior_Sipitang.htm, access date: 12 September 2008] It is the closest town in Sabah to the Sarawak border, and is 44 kilometers south of Beaufort and 144 kilometers south of Kota Kinabalu, the state capital. Sipitang is made of many villages and towns such as;

History

Sipitang was a territory of the Brunei sultanate before 1884. On November 5th, 1884, the Brunei Sultan ceded his territory, from Sipitang to Kuala Penyu, to British North Borneo Company (BNBC). [(note: Si Putong ["sic"] to Kwala Paniow ["sic"] ) British North Borneo Treaties. British North Borneo, 1884. (1999) State Attorney-General's Chambers. Sabah Laws. [Online] Available at: http://www.lawnet.sabah.gov.my/viewdoc.asp?id=sabahlaws&title=...&document=treaties/Treaties%20and%20Engagements%20(10).htm, Access date: 6 September 2008 ] It is alleged that this agreement was met after excessive bribery by the BNBC Governer, William Treacher to the Sultan's court. [Haller Trost, R., Schofield, C., Martin, P. The Brunei-Malaysia Dispute over Territorial and Maritime Claims in International Law (1994)IBRU (International Boundary Research Unit) [Online] Available at: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ZMJYOA6g_dYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Brunei-Malaysia+Dispute+Over+Territorial&sig=ACfU3U3YyWtEvAklcBgGiEXMpcFq20WHuA, pp. 12, Access date: 6 September 2008]

Sultan of Brunei granted his territory, from River Sipitang to River Trusan, to BNBC on September 7th, 1901. [(note , Sepitong ["sic"] ) British North Borneo Treaties. British North Borneo, 1901. (1999) State Attorney-General's Chambers. Sabah Laws. [Online] http://www.lawnet.sabah.gov.my/viewdoc.asp?id=sabahlaws&title=Sabah_Laws&document=treaties/Treaties%20and%20Engagements%20(15).htm, Access date: 6 September 2008 ] In relation to that, BNBC acquired the area of Mengalong and Merantaman (now in Sipitang district) on September 12th, 1901, through a grant by Pangiran Tengah Damit ibni al-Marhum Pangiran Anak Bongsu, [(note: Pangeran Pengah Damit ["sic"] ) http://www.royalark.net/Brunei/brunei7.htm] of his "tulin" right on those areas. [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=3451210&CATLN=6&accessmethod=5] The acquisition of these areas was done separately because lands such as these are owned individually by Pangirans (prices and nobles) through their "tulin" right and therefore are independent of the authority of the sultan. [Haller Trost, R., Schofield, C., Martin, P. The Brunei-Malaysia Dispute over Territorial and Maritime Claims in International Law (1994)IBRU (International Boundary Research Unit) [Online] Available at: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ZMJYOA6g_dYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Brunei-Malaysia+Dispute+Over+Territorial&sig=ACfU3U3YyWtEvAklcBgGiEXMpcFq20WHuA, pp. 10-11, Access date: 6 September 2008] .

Up til 1900, Sipitang (River Sipitang) marked the frontier between British North Borneo and the Brunei sultanate. The acquisition of land from River Sipitang to River Trusan in 1901, led to the creation of a station in Sipitang under the administrative name Province Clarke (named after Sir Andrew Clarke). This station came into being mainly for the purpose of a search for further cession of territories. Nevertheless, complications in the following years led to the reselling of some lands, and the demarcation receded to the present day Sabah-Sarawak border, near Mengalong (now Sindumin).

Geography

The geography of Sipitang depends on the area;

Economy

The major economic activities in Sipitang district are timber related. A pulp and paper mill plant was constructed in 1987 and is operated by Sabah Forest Industries. Generally, these activities does not directly benefit the locals. Most of the locals are involved in subsistence farming and fishing.

Culture and Leisure

Culture

Sipitang town hosts the biennial GATA ("Gasing and Tamu Besar") festival since 2003. This festival features cultural events such as traditional games, music and dance performances, mainly of the predominant indigenous group in Sipitang district, that is the Kedayan, Lundayeh, Murut and Brunei Malay.

Leisure and Conservation area

A 10 million project for the construction of an esplanade in Sipitang district was launched in 2007. [http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=51842]

The villages of Long Pasia and Long Mio and their surrounding conservation area are located in Sipitang district. These places are amongst the popular tourist destination in Sabah.

Demographics

Ethnic composition of Sipitang district in 1998 [Department of Statistics Sabah 1998, referred in Ecological Landuse Planning and Sustainable Management of Urban and Sub-urban Green Areas in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Andy Russel Immit Mojiol (2006) Published by Cuvillier Verlag]
*KadazanDusun - 2283
*Bajau - 460
*Murut - 2355
*Malay - 3332
*Other Bumiputra - 8545
*Chinese - 1302
*Indonesian - 1646
*Others - 577

A more localized demographic is given in Sidik (2004), which states that Sipitang district's population is 60% Kedayan, 30% Murut and Lundayeh, 10% Brunei Malay, and the remaining Chinese. [Sidik, Amde. (2004) Writing from the tip of Borneo. iUniverse. pp.81]

References