Kalabakan
District
Roundabout on the Tawau–Kalabakan Road at Kalabakan
Roundabout on the Tawau–Kalabakan Road at Kalabakan
Map of divisions and districts of Sabah: Kalabakan is labelled 28
Map of divisions and districts of Sabah: Kalabakan is labelled 28
Coordinates: 4°25′N 117°29′E / 4.417°N 117.483°E / 4.417; 117.483
Country Malaysia
State Sabah
Established1 January 2019
CapitalKalabakan
Government
 • District OfficerRashid bin Abdul Harun
Area
[1]
 • Total3,885 km2 (1,500 sq mi)
Population
 (2020)[2]
 • Total48,195
 • Density12/km2 (32/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (MST)
WebsiteOfficial website

Kalabakan is a district (Malay: daerah) in the Malaysian state of Sabah, located approximately 235 kilometres (146 mi) southeast of the state capital of Kota Kinabalu. It recorded a population of 48,195 people in the 2020 Malaysian census.[2] Its capital is the town of Kalabakan.

Geography

Kalabakan borders the Sabahan districts of Nabawan to the west, Tongod to the north, Lahad Datu and Kunak to the northeast, and Tawau to the east. To the south, it borders Nunukan Regency in the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan. To the southeast, it is bounded by Cowie Bay, an arm of the Celebes Sea, and Wallace Bay, a channel that separates Kalabakan from the western coast of Sebatik Island. Kalabakan covers an area of 3,885 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi) and comprises 5.28% of the state's area.[1]

The interior of Kalabakan features rugged terrain in the Kuamut Highlands to the west and the Tawau Highlands to the northeast, separated by the lower relief of the Kalabakan Valley in between. The largest forest reserve in the district is Sungai Tiagau, which covers 26,880 hectares (66,400 acres)[3] in the Kuamut Highlands and serves as a buffer zone for the Maliau Basin reserve to its west.[4] Several rivers including the Serudong, Kalabakan and Brantian flow from the highlands into Cowie Bay, which is fringed with mangrove swamps.[5][6] Human–wildlife conflict in the area includes the poaching of Borneo elephants and crocodile attacks.[7][8]

Kalabakan has a tropical rainforest climate. Mean annual rainfall is about 2,100 millimetres (83 in) and peaks in June and October.[5][9]

History

The place name Kalabakan is of Tidong origin, meaning "can eat". The indigenous inhabitants of the area are the Murut and Tidong people.[10][11]

From 1905 to 1932, the London-based Cowie Harbour Coal Company operated a coal mine at Silimpopon. Chinese coolie labourers made up a majority of the mine's workforce, which numbered more than 3000 at its height and produced 1.5 million tons of coal over the mine's lifetime.[12] The coal was transported by rail and barge to Sebatik Island, where it was loaded on ocean-going vessels for export.[13]

During the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, Kalabakan was raided by Indonesian forces on 29 December 1963.[14]

Kalabakan was administered as part of Tawau District until 1 January 2019, when it was established as an independent district.[10] Prior to the split, Tawau District had been as large as the state of Negeri Sembilan. The Sabah government divided it into two districts with the aim of improving its administration and development.[15] The current district officer is Rashid bin Abdul Harun.[16]

Economy and infrastructure

Major economic activities in Kalabakan include farming of oil palm and local fruits, and shrimp fishing.[11] Sabah Softwoods Bhd. owns over 60,000 hectares (150,000 acres) of timber and oil palm plantations in the district.[17]

Paved roads connect Kalabakan with Tawau to the east and Sapulut and Keningau to the west. In March 2021, Sabah announced it was proceeding with plans to build a border crossing between Serudong in Kalabakan District and Simanggaris in North Kalimantan,[18] which would be part of the larger Pan-Borneo Highway. As well as the highway, plans were announced in 2020 to construct a new customs and immigration centre to better facilitate cross-border trade.[19] Development of the border area, including the creation of the new district, is in part prompted by the planned relocation of Indonesia's capital to Nusantara.[20]

Demographics

Majority of Tidung, Murut and Lundayeh

References

  1. 1 2 "Statistics Yearbook Sabah 2019". Department of Statistics, Malaysia. December 2020. p. 3. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 Brinkhoff, Thomas (1 March 2022). "Kalabakan". City Population. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  3. ↑ "Sungai Tiagau". Malaysia Biodiversity Information System. KeTSA. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  4. ↑ "Two forest reserves reclassified". The Star. 22 June 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  5. 1 2 Thomas, Paul; Lo, F. K. C.; Hepburn, A. J. (1976). The land capability classification of Sabah, volume 1: The Tawau Residency (Report). Land Resources Division, Ministry of Overseas Development. pp. 7–10. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  6. ↑ Nor Hashim, Nur Azeyanti; Jaaman, Saifullah A. (2011). "Boat Effects on the Behaviour of Indo-Pacific Humpback (Sousa chinensis) and Irrawaddy Dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) in Cowie Bay, Sabah, Malaysia" (PDF). Sains Malaysiana. 40 (12): 1383–1392. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  7. ↑ Chan, Julia (18 November 2019). "Sabah deputy CM to meet Wildlife Dept after fifth elephant death in two months". Malay Mail. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  8. ↑ Santos, Jason (19 July 2020). "Killer croc found dead in Kalabakan". FMT. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  9. ↑ "Summary on mean annual rainfall, and timing of wet and dry periods". CAIMS. Sabah Forestry Department. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  10. 1 2 "Pengenalan Kalabakan" (in Malay). Kalabakan District. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  11. 1 2 Toyos, Lagatah (15 November 2019). "Kalabakan gets district office". Daily Express. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  12. ↑ Ker, Richard (19 October 2012). "North Borneo's Silimpopon Coal Mine: Once the World's Biggest but Now Forgotten". North Borneo Historical Society. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  13. ↑ Garry, A. N. M. (June 1967). "Industrial Locomotives Overseas: (5) Borneo". The Industrial Railway Record. 2 (14): 40–54. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  14. ↑ "Kalabakan tragedy tested our unity, say Malaysians". The Star. Bernama. 17 September 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "State government approves turning Kalabakan into a district". New Straits Times. Bernama. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "Rashid bin Abdul Harun" (in Malay). Kalabakan District. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  17. ↑ Cheah Phaik Imm, Cheryl; Koh Pei Hue; Ram Nathan (2021). "Can the oil palm industry and elephant conservation be reconciled? A case study in Kalabakan, Sabah" (PDF). Gajah. Asian Elephant Specialist Group (53): 30–38. ISSN 2773-6989. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  18. ↑ Vanar, Muguntan (11 March 2021). "Sabah to speed up road linkage and CIQS project at Kalimantan border". The Star. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  19. ↑ Chok, Christy (14 February 2020). "Plans to make Kalabakan more advanced than Tawau". Daily Express. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  20. ↑ Chan, Julia (21 November 2019). "CM: Sabah to develop border towns to capitalise on Indonesia's capital relocation". Malay Mail. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
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