Tag: Sabah

What you should know about the Battle of Beaufort

by Patricia Hului -

The Borneo campaign of 1945 was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area during World War II (WWII) to liberate Japanese-held Borneo. One of the combats that took place during the campaign was Battle of Beaufort in 1945.   Located about 90 kilometers south of Kota Kinabalu, the

The locust plague that hit North Borneo in 1919

by Patricia Hului -

Do you know a plague of locusts once hit North Borneo about a century ago in 1919? The Sarawak Gazette on Dec 16, 1919 reported that until that year North Borneo had never suffered from a locust plague on a big scale. “As far as is known the only occasion on which

8 things the Timugon Murut believe about Nabalu, or the afterlife

by Patricia Hului -

Different beliefs offer different views of the afterlife. In some views, the afterlife takes place in a spiritual realm. Another popular view is reincarnation. It is where the individual may be reborn into this world with no memory of his past life. Meanwhile in Sabah, the Timugon Murut people have their

A legend of how the Timugon Murut people came into existence

by Patricia Hului -

The Timugon Murut is one of the 29 ethnic groups of Murut people. Overall, the Murut people can be found mainly in Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia as well as in Brunei and Kalimantan, Indonesia. As for Timugon Murut, they mainly live in Sabah. Each of the ethnic group of Murut people

The forgotten All Saints Chapel of Sandakan POW Camp

by Patricia Hului -

The ruins of huts in the prisoner of war camp, Sandakan, North Borneo, October 1945. Those who were too ill for the march were eventually murdered here. Credits: Public Domain (Copyright expired) Courtesy Australian War Memorial: 120457 Do you know there was an Anglican chapel at Sandakan prisoners of war

What happened to the 300 prisoners of Labuan POW camp during WW2?

by Patricia Hului -

Flying over the prisoner of war camp (POW) in Batu Lintang at a low height, RAAF Beaufighter pilots reported sighting white POWs, clad in khaki shorts, who excitedly waved as the RAAF aircraft flew over to drop leaflets announcing Japan's surrender. Credits: Public Domain (Copyright expired). https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C242106 When it comes to

The forgotten Javanese forced labourers of Sandakan during WWII

by Patricia Hului -

The forgotten Javanese forced labourers or romusha of Sandakan during WWII The Allied Prisoners of Wars (POWs) who were taken to Sandakan during World War II (WWII) had one job, to build an airstrip for the Japanese. The site of the Sandakan airstrip was selected during WWII for a United Kingdom’s Royal

John Skinner, the last man executed at Sandakan POW Camp

by Patricia Hului -

“In the Sandakan prisoners’ compound, Warrant Officer Hisao Murozumi had his sword raised. It would be the last atrocity in this camp in this backwater of war. Terrible things happen in battle. In the heat and smoke of it, morality enters a strange world. Killing is survival. What Murozumi was