Solat dan 5 Jenis Manusia

SUDAH lama kita bersolat, tetapi nampaknya keajaiban dan jaminan solat yang disebut Allah masih samar-samar dalam kehidupan kita.

SUDAH lama kita bersolat, tetapi nampaknya keajaiban dan jaminan solat yang disebut Allah masih samar-samar dalam kehidupan kita.

Allah memberi jaminan dalam firman-Nya, bermaksud: “Sudah pasti berjaya orang mukmin iaitu orang yang khusyuk dalam solatnya.” (Surah al-Mukminun: 1,2)

Pada pertemuan kali ini, penulis mengajak remaja dan siapa saja bermuhasabah mengenai peringkat solat.

Bukannya konsep kejayaan dan cara hendak mencapai khusyuk, tetapi ada beberapa jenis dan golongan serta gaya bersolat di kalangan orang Islam yang semuanya akan mempengaruhi perangai dan cara hidup.

* Jenis Pertama

Hari ini, ramai umat Islam yang tidak bersolat, bahkan ramai juga yang tidak tahu hendak bersolat. Ada yang menafikan kewajipan solat, mereka jatuh kafir sebab itu kadangkala perangainya dengan si kafir tidak ada beza.

* Jenis Kedua

Orang yang melakukan solat secara zahir saja, malah bacaan pun masih tidak betul, taklid buta dan main ikut-ikut orang lain.

Jadi, golongan ini sekejap bersolat, sekejap tidak. Jika ada masa dan emosi baik, dia bersolat. Kalau sibuk dan ada program kenduri, pesta ria, berziarah, bermusafir, letih dan penat, dia tidak bersolat.

Orang ini jatuh fasik. Tidak belajar solat mahupun secara rasmi atau tidak rasmi. Ilmu mengenai solat ialah apa yang dipelajari ketika kecil dan tadika saja. Golongan ini tertolak, bahkan berdosa besar dan hidup dalam keadaan derhaka kepada Allah.

* Jenis Ketiga

Golongan yang melakukan solat cukup lima waktu, tepat ilmunya, faham setiap bacaan solat, Fatihah, doa Iftitah dan tahiyatnya, tetapi tidak dihayati dalam solat itu.

Fikirannya masih melayang mengingatkan perkara dunia tanpa menghayati solat. Golongan ini dikategorikan sebagai solat ‘awamul Muslimin’ dan jika dididik serta ditambah mujahadah (kesungguhan), dia akan berjaya dalam solat.

* Jenis Keempat

Golongan ini baik sedikit daripada golongan sebelumnya, tetapi main tarik tali dalam solatnya.

Sesekali dia khusyuk, sesekali lalai pula. Apabila teringat sesuatu dalam solatnya, teruslah terbawa-bawa, berkhayal dan seterusnya.

Apabila teringat Allah secara tiba-tiba, insaf dan sedarlah semula, cuba dibawa hati serta fikirannya untuk menghayati setiap kalimah dan bacaan dalam solat. Begitulah sehingga selesai solatnya.

Peringkat ini orang terbabit akan mula memasuki zon ‘memelihara solat’, tetapi masih belum seronok dengan solat.

* Jenis Kelima

Golongan yang melakukan solat tepat ilmunya, faham secara langsung bacaan dan setiap lafaz dalam solatnya.

Hati dan fikirannya tidak terbawa-bawa dengan keadaan sekeliling sehingga pekerjaan serta apa pun yang dilakukan atau difikirkan di luar solat itu tidak mempengaruhi so latnya.

Walaupun dia memiliki harta dunia, menjalankan kewajipan dan tugas keduniaan seperti perniagaan, semua itu tidak mempengaruhi solatnya. Hatinya masih dapat memuja Allah dalam solat. Golongan ini disebut orang soleh.

Sebenarnya banyak lagi peringkat solat, tetapi keterbatasan ruangan sekadar lima tahap ini rasanya sudah boleh mu hasabah diri mengenai tahap solat yang kita lakukan.

Jika kita berada di peringkat satu, dua dan tiga, kita sebenarnya belum selamat dan mungkin solat tidak mampu mendapat jaminan Allah.

Ibadat solat boleh membangunkan jiwa dan iman, men jauhkan daripada yang buruk dan merungkai mazmumah (sifat keji), menanamkan mahmudah (sifat terpuji), me lahirkan disiplin hidup dan akhlak yang agung. Semoga solat kita akan berlangsung sebagai mi’raj.

15 Tanda Kematian Mulia

Pernahkah kita meminta supaya kita dimatikan dengan penutup yang baik 'husnul khatimah'?

Sebenarnya bukan kena minta sahaja tetapi kena buru dan kena cari. Kali ini kita bincangkan tanda-tanda mati husnul khatimah. Antara tanda mati husnul khatimah ialah:

1. Mengucapkan kalimah syahadah ketika wafat. Rasulullah s.a.w bersabda, maksudnya: "Sesiapa yang pada akhir kalimahnya mengucapkan La ilaaha illallah maka ia dimasukkan ke dalam syurga." (Hadis Riwayat Hakim)

2. Ketika wafat dahinya berkeringat. Ini berdasarkan hadis dari Buraidah Ibnul Khasib. Adalah Buraidah dahulu ketika di Khurasan, melihat saudaranya yang tengah sakit, namun didapatinya ia sudah wafat dan terlihat pada jidatnya (dahi) berkeringat, kemudian dia berkata: "Allahu Akbar, sungguh aku telah mendengar Rasulullah bersabda: Matinya seorang mukmin adalah dengan berkeringat dahinya." (Hadis Riwayat Ahmad, an-Nasai, at-Tirmidzi, Ibnu Majah, Ibnu Hibban, Al-Hakim dan ath-Thayalusi dari Abdullah bin Mas'ud)

3. Wafat pada malam Jumaat. Hal ini berdasarkan sabda Rasulullah s.a.w bermaksud:

"Tidaklah seorang Muslim yang wafat pada hari Jumaat atau pada malam Jumaat kecuali pastilah Allah menghindarkannya dari seksa kubur." (Hadis Riwayat Ahmad)

4. Mati syahid di dalam medan perang.

5. Mati dalam peperangan fisabilillah.

Rasulullah bersabda, maksudnya: "Apa yang kalian kategorikan sebagai orang yang mati syahid di antara kalian?

Mereka menjawab: "Wahai Rasulullah yang kami anggap sebagai orang yang mati syahid adalah siapa saja yang mati terbunuh di jalan Allah.

Baginda bersabda: "Kalau begitu umatku yang mati syahid sangatlah sedikit."

Kalangan sahabat kembali bertanya: "Kalau begitu siapa sajakah dari mereka yang mati syahid wahai Rasulullah?"

Baginda menjawab: "Sesiapa yang terbunuh di jalan Allah, yang mati sedang berjuang di jalan Allah dan yang mati kerana penyakit kolera, yang mati kerana penyakit perut (iaitu disebabkan penyakit yang menyerang perut seperti busung lapar atau sejenisnya), dialah syahid dan orang-orang yang mati tenggelam, dialah syahid."(Hadis riwayat Muslim, Ahmad dan al-Baihaqi)

6. Mati disebabkan penyakit kolera. Mengenai ini banyak hadis Rasulullah s.a.w meriwayatkan antaranya sebagai berikut:

Rasulullah bersabda, maksudnya: "Penyakit kolera adalah penyebab mati syahid bagi setiap Muslim." (Hadis riwayat Bukhari, ath-Thayalusi dan Ahmad)

7. Mati kerana tenggelam.

8. Mati kerana tertimpa runtuhan/tanah.

Dalil dari dua perkara di atas adalah berdasarkan sabda Rasulullah bermaksud: "Kalangan syuhada itu ada lima; orang yang mati kerana wabak kolera, kerana sakit perut, tenggelam, tertimpa runtuhan bangunan dan syahid berperang di jalan Allah." (Hadis riwayat Imam Bukhari, Muslim, at-Tirmidzi dan Ahmad)

9. Perempuan yang meninggal kerana melahirkan anak.

10. Mati terbakar.

11. Mati kerana penyakit busung perut.

Mengenai kedua perkara ini banyak sekali riwayat dan yang paling masyhur adalah dari Jabir bin Atik secara marfu': "Kalangan syuhada ada tujuh: Mati terbunuh di jalan Allah, kerana penyakit kolera adalah syahid, mati tenggelam adalah syahid, kerana busung lapar adalah syahid, kerana penyakit perut keracunan adalah syahid, kerana terbakar adalah syahid dan yang mati kerana tertimpa runtuhan (bangunan atau tanah gelongsor) adalah syahid serta wanita yang mati ketika hamil adalah syahid." (Hadis riwayat Imam Malik, Abu Daud, an-Nasa'i, Ibnu Majah dan Ahmad)

12. Mati kerana penyakit Tubercolosis (TBC).

Ini berdasarkan sabda Rasulullah s.a.w, maksudnya: "Mati di jalan Allah adalah syahid dan perempuan yang mati ketika melahirkan adalah syahid, mati kerana terbakar adalah syahid, mati kerana tenggelam adalah syahid, mati kerana penyakit TBC adalah syahid dan mati kerana penyakit perut adalah syahid." (Hadis riwayat Thabrani)

13. Mati kerana mempertahankan harta dari perompak. "Sesiapa yang mati kerana mempertahankan hartanya (dalam riwayat lain; Sesiapa menuntut hartanya yang dirampas lalu ia terbunuh) adalah syahid." (Hadis riwayat Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daud, an-Nasa'i, at-Tirmidzi, Ibnu Majah, dan Ahmad)

14. Mati dalam membela agama dan jiwa. "Sesiapa mati terbunuh dalam membela hartanya, dia mati syahid; siapa saja yang mati dalam membela keluarganya, dia mati syahid; sesiapa mati dalam membela agama (keyakinannya), dia mati syahid dan siapa saja yang mati mempertahankan darah (jiwanya) dia syahid."

15. Mati dalam berjaga-jaga (waspada) di jalan Allah. Rasulullah s.a.w bersabda, maksudnya: "Berjaga-jaga (waspada) di jalan Allah sehari semalam adalah lebih baik daripada berpuasa selama sebulan dengan mendirikan (solat) pada malam harinya. Apabila dia mati, mengalirkan pahala amalannya yang dahulu dilakukannya dan juga rezekinya serta aman dari seksa kubur (fitnah kubur)."

16. Orang yang meninggal ketika mengerjakan amal soleh. Semoga kematian kita dalam husnul khatiimah.

SABAH LEGENDS : The Legend of Batu Punggol

Batu Punggol or stone stump is a stone which stands firmly and has the shape of a tree trunk. This stone is situated about 24 miles from the Sapulot airstrip. It is about 400 feet high and has a circumference of about one miles.If you are bringing tourist to visit this place, here is a legend about this stone.

The Muruts say that once there were six brothers who only one sister.she was most beautiful girl in the village at that time and they loved her very much. During thet time, before Batu Punggol appeared in the world, there was one stone which had a similar shape as Batu Punggol situated out the upper Sapulut river. On top this stone there was an animal called ‘Tudoh’ or Skunk whichproduced sting odour that could that could kill hundreds of people who stayed near the stone. These six brothers and their sister hated this animal so much they planned to kill it.


One morning, without thinking about their plan, they decided to cut the stone, but their attempt failed. During the night their sister dreamed that they could destroy the stone only by using ‘tulang dayong’ or shoulder blade, that was present in ‘Landak Tunggal’ or Porcupine which lived in that area. The next morning she told her dream to her brothers. After they had heard their sister’s story they went straight away to the forest to make a trap for catching the animal. At first they used a big log to trap the animal but again they failed. At last they found a new method o catch the animal by using a banana tree. This time they managed to catch the animal and slaughter it.They ate the meat and then fixed the bones together and make them into an axe for cutting the stone.


Before they cut down the stone they put their sister on one of the stones which were not far away from them. The stone which the six brother cut down fell into the Sapulot river but the stone on which they had put their sister taller and taller. When they turned back to see their sister they were very surprised to see her on the top of the stone crying for help. With angry blows they cut the stone down. The peak of the stone broke and was believed to have been thrown all the way to Tenom Lama, and it is now called Batu Pinuto. This stone can be found between Tenom and Pangi, and the train passes through a tunnel in the stone.But the six brothers could not find where their beloved in order to look for the lost sister.

SABAH SUPERSITITIONS : Mount Kinabalu as a Resting Place

The early Kadazan/Dusun also used to believe that when a person dies, the soul will go up to Mount Kinabalu to rest. It is therefore advisable that whenever one wants to climb the mountain, an offering must be made to the ‘pogigion’ or those dwellers around Kinabalu or something bad will befall on you.When I first climb the mountain in 1976, my mother told me not to say anything about going up there because the sprit would come to know of my intention and something terrible might happen.


“When you are climbing,” she said, “You must walk silently. Do not pluck anything or those dwellers will follow you home and make you sick”.

SABAH FOLKLORE, LEGENDS AND SUPERSTITIONS : The Legend Of Mt.Kinabalu

The Legend of Mount Kinabalu

The Mount Kinabalu being a significant feature in the life of the early Kadazan/Dusun, also has a variety of legend and superstitions attached to it. One of popular legends of Mount Kinabalu is about the dragon who lived at the top of Mount Kinabalu, who was said to have a ‘Butiza’, a lunimous jewel a bezoar stone, which he used as his lamp and plaything.On moonlight night the people of Ranau and Tamparuli places would look up at Kinabalu and they saw the bright gem being tossed up and caught again and again on the dragon’s forked tongue.


The story about this dragon luminous jewel, spred beyond the seas, even as far as China. The Emperor who heard about it was determined to get possessions of the jewel. He send away of his best warriors to get it but all in vain. Till, he finally decided tosend his two sons, Wong Wang Kong, the elders, and Wong Song Ping, the younger brother. The brothers sent in their own junk equipped with men.When they finally reached Borneo and came to Kinabalu Mountain, they found out that it was such a difficult task. The elder brother was disappointed with their futile attempt but the younger brother was working on his strategy to take the jewel.


He first made a colourful Chinese lantern and lighting a candle inside. It glowed like a fabulous gem. He then made a giant kite with light string but the strongest cords. Then he waited for a soft breeze. But as he waited we watched and learned from far below the habit of the dragon. He learned that at a certain hour, the dragon would leave his jewel unguarded to look for food. Then the right moment came for him when the wind was right and the dragon went to look for food.He mounted on the kite himself with his lantern and ask his men to hold the ropes and ordered the kite to be launched. The kite rose up till it reached the mouth of the dragon cave and quickly he grabbed the gem and substitute it with his gleaming lantern. As a signal, the kite was hauled back and Wong Song Ping was back into his ship. When the dragon returns, he soon found out that he has been tricked. Quickly he swam toward the junks at unbelievable speed. The men thought they were about to perish when Wong Song Ping had another bright idea. He ordered his men to heat up canon balls until it red hot. When the dragon drew near, it opened his terrible mouth to seize his victims, the men flung towards him the glowing balls. Surprised and absessed by his longing for his gleaming plaything, the dragon thrust out his tongue, caught and swallowed one of the glowing balls. Lashing the water to a white froth with his frenzied tail, his stomach seared by the heat and heavy with the iron within him, the dragon dropped behind until exhaused gave up his pursuit and sank below the waters.


When everything was calmed and the two junks sailed happily on towards China. Just as they are about the reach China, the eldest brother who was consumed with jealousy for not being the one to capture the ‘bezoar stone’, told his brother that being eldest he should be the one to have and present it to their father. Without much hesitation, he seized the jewel from his younger brother. But the younger brother being an unselfish man let him have his way.When they reached China and went up to their father, it Wong Wang Kong who told of their successful mission, their hardship and danger and nothing about Wong Song Ping cleverness in taking the stone and saving their lives. However, the emperor was wise man and know his sons well when he saw the change in the younger son’s face. He guessed much of what had happened and was sorry for it.


Secretly, he ordered his first jeweller to make a replica of the gem and gave it to his younger son. However, his son knew that this was not his bezoar. He therefore decide to leave China in order to avoid a fight against his brother.That night he reloaded his junk with his men and set sailed. He did not care where he went, he just let the monsoon take him where it blew. He finally at a river mouth on the coast of Brunei and there they anchored.When the Sultan of Brunei heard of his arrival he send his brother to receive him. There they exchanged gift and felt between them. Wong Song Ping decided to stay on in Brunei and when his friendship with the Sultan, Halah Batatar, deepen Wong Song Ping asked for the hand of the Sultan beautiful daughter in marriage. The Sultan readily consented to the marriage and great feast and rejoicing were held throughout the land.

Through the years that followed, the Sultan saw all the wise and courageous things that his son-in-law did, his trust and affection for him grow. He therefore decided that be became his successors after his death. So Wong Song Ping, Prince of China, slayer of the dragon of Kinabalu became the second Sultan of Brunei, who ruled wisely and well.

HISTORY OF SANDAKAN

Lagenda Sandakan bermula beberapa tahun sebelum Pryer. Kampung German yang dijadikan oleh Kaptain William Schuck berbangsa Jerman sebagai pangkalan perniagaan merupakan penempatan pertama, walaupun pada masa tersebut sudah ada beberapa orang Sulu yang menetap di sekitar laut berdekatan. Apabila Kaptain William Schuck mendapat sebuah pulau di kesultanan Sulu, maka Wiliam Clarke Cowie, seorang pedagang dan pelaut dari Scotland, telah mengantikannya. Penempatan ini menjadi pusat perniagaan senjata yang tidak berjaya. Beliau akhirnya mencari rakan niaga dari Kesultanan Sulu dan meninggalkan Kampung German.


Pada masa yang sama Baron de Overbeck telah berjaya mendapatkan konsesi sebahagian wilayah Sandakan setelah bertemu dengan Sultan Sulu yang bernama Sultan Jamal Ui Alam. Keluasan ini bermula dari Sungai Sibuco (Sg. Sibuga) sehinggalah wilayah Sungai Padasan kira-kira 20,000 batu persegi. Menurut perjanjian tersebut, Baron de Overbeck akan membayar sebanyak $5,000 setiap tahun. Serentak itu juga, Baron de Overbeck diisytiharkan sebagai Dato Bendahara serta Raja Sandakan berkuatkuasa pada 1878.

Untuk mentadbir wilayah yang dimilikinya, de Overbeck telah menyerahkan pentadbiran dan pengurusan kawasan-kawasan ini kepada beberapa pegawai Inggeris yang dipercayainya. Antara orang yang dipercayainya ialah William Burgess Pryer. Bandar Sandakan mula berkembang apabila ia di tadbir oleh William B. Pryer pada 21 Jun 1879.

Apabila Pryer tiba di Kampung German dalam 1878, tugas pentadbirannya yang pertama adalah memperkenalkan satu undang-undang yang dikenali sebagai undang-undang cukai perdagangan bagi mengelakkan berlakunya eksploitasi perdagangan yang berlebihan. Rundingan terpaksa di buat bersama dengan pemimpin suku di kawasan tersebut. Akhirnya satu persetujuan di capai, cukai perdagangan telah diperkenalkan untuk keseragaman. Pembaharuan ini mendapat sokongan dan bantahan dari beberapa suku kaum, walau bagaimanapun Pryer berjaya mengatasi masalah ini walaupun berlakunya Peristiwa Timbong di mana Emaum Jelanee yang mengetuai suku kaum Bajau Laut telah menyerang Pulau Timbong. Bantahan ini berlaku kerana ia menyekat kebebasan berdagang.


Beberapa masalah seperti masalah lanun menyerang juga dapat diatasi oleh Pryer. Kemajuan, kestabilan perdagangan dan keamanan di bandar baru ini telah menarik minat pedagang asing seperti pedagang Cina serta suku kaum di Kepulauan Filipina.


Pryer juga berusaha memperkembangkan kekuasaannya sehingga ke kawasan Kinabatangan. Kawasan ini penting kerana hasil hutan dan hasil sarang burung di Gua Gomantong merupakan bahan mentah yang terkenal.


Dalam kepesatan pembangunan Kampung German akhirnya telah terbakar akibat kecuaian seorang penduduk Kampung bernama "Sabtu". Kebakaran tersebut telah memusnahkan seluruh kampung termasuk rumah Pryer sendiri. Keadaan ini telah menyebabkan Pryer dan penduduk Kampung berpindah ke satu kawasan baru yang terletak di muara teluk pada 18 Jun 1879. Kawasan ini dikenali sebagai Buli Sim-Sim (Booly Sim-Sim).


Pryer telah menamakan tempat ini ‘Elopura’ yang bermaksud “Bandar yang Indah”. Pryer menebang pokok yang pertama apabila menjalankan kerja-kerja pembersihan sepenuhnya kerana Buli Sim-Sim ketika itu merupakan kawasan hutan yang dipenuhi dengan pokok-pokok bakau.


Menjelang tahun 1881, Elopura telah berkembang menjadi sebuah pekan yang di bina sebahagiannya di atas air. Jambatan-jambatan yang tidak berapa teguh di perbuat daripada nibong berfungsi sebagai jalan raya. Pada tahun 1882 terdapat lebih kurang 57 buah rumah dengan penduduk seramai 696 orang dan jumlah ini kemudian meningkat dari tahun ke tahun dengan komposisi komuniti Bajau, Cina, Sulu dan lain-lain. Terdapat seramai 30 orang Eropah, 3000 orang-orang Cina dan 3,000 pelbagai Cina.


Oleh itu, William B. Pryer merupakan orang penting dalam merintis pembangunan awal bandar Sandakan dengan penyediaan asas-asas polisi pentadbiran untuk diteruskan oleh pemimpin lain. Beliau meletakkan jawatan pada tahun 1890 dan secara langsung tidak lagi menjadi pengerusi “British North Borneo Development Corporation”.

HISTORY OF SABAH

The Kingdom of Brunei

Before the 16 century, the area we now know as Sabah, Brunei and Sarawak centred around the kingdom of Brunei. In this region the kingdom of Brunei was also the centre of trade with China. This region was in tum controlled by two great empires of that period; first by the Sri Vijayan of Sumatra and then by the Majapahit of Java.However, early in the 15 century, the Malacca empire under Parameswara spread its influence and took over the trade of Brunei. Through its traders, Islam spread to Brunei by the end of the 15 century. Leadership of the Islamic faith passed to the Brunei Sultans after the fall of Malacca to the Portuguese in 1511. Under Sultan Bolkiah, the kingdom of Brunei extended its influence as far north as Luzon and Sulu, and south and west of Borneo.Except for the Europeans, other foreigners who have had dealings with Sabah or Borneo left no written records of their activities in the region. The indigenous peoples of Borneo have no written records except oral history and traditions.The Chinese appeared to have had trade and diplomatic ties with Borneo as early as 600 A.D. The Brunei Annals recorded the existence of a Chinese province in the Kinabatangan area. Archaeological evidence from ceramics unearthed in Borneo revealed that for centuries the Chinese had barter-traded their ceramic wares for spices.

The Coming of the Europeans


1521: Pigafetta, chronicler of Ferdinand Magellan arrived in Brunei and was received with great pomp and royalty.
1526: The Portuguese under Menezes visited Brunei.


1577: The Spaniards conquered Philipines; also attacked Brunei; the Sultanate of Sulu was brought under the Spaniards.


1609: The Dutch set up a trading post in Southem Borneo. 1619 :The Dutch set up a trading post in Batavia (Jakarta) in Java.


1658 : Sultan of Sulu given the north east coast of Borneo by the Sultan of Brunei in retum for his help in settling a civil war dispute between the Sultan Abdul Mubin and Pengeran Bongsu. Intemal quarrelling in the Brunei Sultanate was one of the factors that led to the decline of the empire.


1665 : The first Englishman to visit Borneo - Captain Cowley.






Balembangan

In 1761, Alexander Dalrymple, an officer of the British East India Company at Madras, India concluded an agreement with the Sultan of Sulu which permitted him to set up a trading post in the North Borneo region. He chose Balembangan island, about twenty miles to the north of Kudat town. In 1763, Dalrymple hoisted the British flag on Balembangan and renamed the island 'Felicia'. Another of ficer, John Herbert was sent to build a settlement in Balembangan. The settlement was doomed to failure from the start. Maladministration and piracy brought the trading post to a fiery end in 1775. An attempt was made to revive it in 1803, this time by the Governor-General of India, Lord Arthur Wellesley through his appointed officer, Robert J. Farquhar, Resident at Amboina. This time the attempt was to tum Balembangan into a military station. Again, it was a failure and it was finally abandoned in November 1805.British attention was then increasingly fumed towards other regions of the Malay Archipelago.


Labuan

British interest in North Borneo was revived 40 years later in Labuan, an island situated north west of Borneo. In 1844, James Brooke approached the Sultan of Brunei regarding the cession of Labuan island to be used by the British as a coaling base, to act against piracy and to increase trade.On 18 December 1846, a treaty was signed in which the Sultan ceded in perpetuity Labuan and its islets to the British Crown. Brooke became the first Govemor of Labuan and her Majesty's Consul-General in Borneo. The Deputy Governor was William Napier, Hugh Low the Colonial Secretary and Spencer St. John, Brooke's private secretary. Labuan did not live up to expectations as a mini-Singapore or Penang as the founders had hoped. An enervating climate, a malaria prone region and lack of basic amenities were not conducive for growth. Its chequered history can be seen in its administration which changed hands several times. In 1890, Labuan came to be administered by the British North Borneo Chartered Company, in 1907 it was placed under the government of the Straits Settlements. After the War, Labuan became part of the colony of North Borneo and most recently, Labuan became part of the Federal Territory of Malaysia on 16 April 1984.




The American Trading Company and the British North Borneo Chartered Company


After the disappointment with Labuan, British interest in North Borneo waned until 1881, when a commercial enterprise, the British North Borneo Chartered Company (BNBCC), began administering the country. Their presence was however preceded briefly by American influence and interest.In 1865, the American Consul of Brunei, Claude Lee Moses obtained a 10-year lease from the Sultan of Brunei on North Borneo. He then sold it to the American Trading Company owned by J.W. Torrey, T.B. Harris and some Chinese merchants. Torrey chose Kimanis, an area south west of North Borneo as his base, and began a settlement there, naming it 'Ellena'. Attempts to find financal backing for the settlement were futile and the settlement was thus abandoned.With the imminent termination of the territorial lease at hand, Torrey managed to sell his rights to the Austrian Consul in Hong Kong, Baron Von Overbeck. Overbeck managed to get 10-year renewal of the lease from the Tumonggong (Temenggong) of Brunei. To finance his plan for North Borneo, Overbeck found financial backers in the Dent brothers (Alfred and Edward). Later he, together with Count Montgelas of the Austro-Hungarian Embassy in London and A.B. Mitford, a politician transferred their rights to Alfred Dent.In 1881, Dent fommed the British North Borneo Provisional Association Ltd. On the 1 November, the British Crown officially granted a Royal Charter to the Association. In 1882, the British North Borneo Chartered Company was fommed. It took over all the rights of the Provisional Association. Sir Rutherford Alcock became the first President and Alfred Dent the Managing Director.In 1888, North Borneo became a British protectorate, that is, British would defend it if it were attacked, making North Borneo a British sphere of influence.The Company's rule in North Borneo had the greatest impact on the development of the region. A system of indirect rule was established in the administration of North Borneo. The rule was generally peaceful except for small pockets of resistance, the most serious being the Mat Salleh War from 1894-1900 and the Rundum resistance by the Muruts in 1915.The BNBCC effectively ruled up to 1942, after more than 60 years in Sabah, when the Second World War rudely interrupted on peaceful North Borneo. Japanese forces landed in Labuan on 1 January and occupied Sabah until she was liberated by the Ninth Division Australian Imperial Forces (A.I.F) in 1945. After the Second World War, North Borneo was administered by the British Military Administration until civil govemment was restored on July 15, 1946.


Crown Colony

In 1946, Sabah was placed under the British Crown as the BNBCC could not afford to rebuild Sabah, after the devastation of the War. The destruction of the capital Sandakan by allied bombing was so complete that Jesselton was chosen as the altemative post-war capital - it has remained so to this day. The colonial system of administration after the War was not dissimilar to the Chartered Company era. The rule was generally peaceful. Reconstruction and development of the country were the main focus of the administrators.


Independence

The population was generally placid and it was not until the 1960s that political conciousness emerged. The winds of change - the tide of independence being experienced by other countries had arrived in Sabah. It began with an announcement in 1961 by the Prime Minister of Malaya, Tunku Abdul Rahman, regarding the formation of the Federation of Malaysia which were to include Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Singapore. Malaysia was formally established, without Brunei, on 16 September 1963 and North Borneo's name was changed to Sabah. Preceding this, North Borneo obtained self-govemment from the British on 31 August 1963. However by 1965, Singapore was out of the Federation.As a state within a Federation many changes occurred, administratively, politically, socially, etc. The pace of development was hastened and Sabah entered a new and challenging era when she became part of the Federation of Malaysia.

Source : Sabah's Heritage:A Brief Introduction to Sabah's History & History, Sabah Museum, Kota Kinabalu, 1992.