Archipel

Chinese Migration to Sabah Before the Second World War

Danny Wong Tze-Ken

Citer ce document / Cite this document :

Wong Tze-Ken Danny. Chinese Migration to Sabah Before the Second World War. In: Archipel, volume 58, 1999. L'horizon
nousantarien. Mélanges en hommage à Denys Lombard (Volume III) pp. 131-158;

doi : https://doi.org/10.3406/arch.1999.3538

https://www.persee.fr/doc/arch_0044-8613_1999_num_58_3_3538

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Danny WONG Tze-Ken

Chinese Migration to Sabah

Before the Second World War

Throughout its modern history, the state of Sabah in the Federation of

Malaysia has never had a sizeable Chinese community. At no time since the
beginning of mass entries of Chinese into the state did the number go beyond
30% of the state's total population. Yet, despite the numbers, the Chinese
played a significant role in the development of the state.
While commonly accepted as being a part of the wider Chinese Diaspora,
there are some characteristics that are peculiar only to the Chinese in Sabah.
These include, the overwhelming position of the Hakka dialect group within
the Chinese Community ; Sabah is one of the few places in Southeast Asia
where the Hakka is the lingua franca of the Chinese community. Sabah is
also one of the few states where there were systematic attempts on the part
of the colonial government to bring in Chinese immigrants. Nowhere else in
the region was there a northern Chinese community during the pre-Second
World War days. Also the comparatively high percentage of Chinese in the
state who are Christians (30 %) as compared to the whole of Malaysia (9 %),
is among several distinctive features found among the Chinese in Sabah.
It is hoped that this study will help to explain some of the characteristics
of the Chinese in Sabah mentioned earlier.

Early Migration
Even though a Chinese presence in Sabah is a phenomenon of the modern
era, links between the territory of present day Sabah (Borneo) and China

Archipel 58, Paris, 1999, pp. 131-158

132 Danny Wong Tze-Ken

could date back to the Han Dynasty in China. (!) Nevertheless, such links,
which were part of the larger ties between China and the region of Southeast
Asia, were limited only to occasional trade missions and travelling by the
Chinese to the part of the world which they called Nanhai or " South Seas ",
and rarely did the Chinese settle in large numbers in Southeast Asia. (2) In the
case of Sabah, although there are speculations about the possible Chinese
colonies in existence in the territory, little convincing evidence is found. (3)
Several features in the state lend some support to this proposition. The name
of the longest river in Sabah, the Kinabatangan River, and the highest
mountain, Kinabalu, provide room for speculation about the possible
similarity between the word "Kina" and "Cina" (Chinese in the some
Bornean languages including Dusun, Bajau and also Malay). Another
phenomenon that suggests possible early Chinese presence in Sabah is that
the physical features of the Dusun-Kadazan ethnic group resemble Chinese.
All these suppositions however could not be proven for want of sources and
evidence. Nevertheless, it is apparent that more Chinese arrived in Sabah
after the establishment of British rule on Labuan in 1846. (4)
Spencer St. John, an English traveller who visited the west coast of Sabah
in 1858, reported several encounters with indigenous people who could
speak Hokkien (Minnanhua) dialect fluently. Most of them professed to be
descendants of Chinese who were petty traders plying between Labuan and
the mainland. (5) As most of the Chinese who arrived from Labuan had
originated from the Straits Settlements, especially Singapore, this trend

1. The place name of Duyuan, as recorded in the Honshu, Dilizhi 28 xia (Zhonghua shuju, 1962,
p. 1671) is believed by some to be Borneo. See Han Sin Fong, The Chinese in Sabah, East
Malaysia, Taipei, 1975, The Oriental Culture Service, p. 20. Beijing, quoting Hsu Yun-tsiao,
"Hua Chiao", in Xanyang Year Book, 1951, Singapour, Nanyang Press, 1951, Part X, p. 5.
2. For historical links between China and Southeast Asia, see Wang Gungwu, "The Nanhai
Trade : A Study on the Early History of Chinese Trade in the South China Sea", Journal of
the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (hereafter JMBRAS), Vol. XXXI, 1958, Part
2. No. 182; Reprint, Singapore, The Times Academic Presss, 1998 (The Nanhai Trade. The
Early History of Chinese Trade in the South China Sea).
3. For a detailed discussion on early Chinese links with Borneo, see Han Sin Fong, The
Chinese in Sabah, East Malaysia, pp. 20-31.
4. For an overview of the epigraphic remains of the Chinese of Labuan, see Wolfgang Franke
& Chen Tieh Fan, Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, University of
Malaya Press, 1982-1987, III, pp. 1202-1218. Also see Nicholas Tarling, "The entrepôt at
Labuan and the Chinese", in Jerome Ch'en & Nicholas Tarling eds., Studies in the Social
History of China & South-East Asia, Cambridge, At the University Press, 1970, pp. 355-373.
5. Spencer St. John, Life in the Forests of the Far East, Travels in Sabah and Sarawak in the
late 1850s, London, 1862, [Reprinted by Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur, 1986], p.
311.

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 Chinese Migration to Sabah Before the Second World War 133

BALEMBANGAN iÇ^ f^BANOGI l.

TUARAN
TELIPOK TAMPARULI
GAYAI MENGGATAL
AMI KINABAIU
JESSELTONtnrlNANAM •
PUTATAN*7PENAMPANG

L ABUAN /BAD AS f ME MBAKUT

TAWAU
'
APAS RO.
WALLACE BAY
SEBATIK I.

Map of Sabah

Archipel 58, Paris, 1999

1 34 Danny Wong Tze-Ken

persisted until several years after the establishment of the North Borneo
Company rule. The Hokkiens and the Teochius (Chaozhou) continued their
domination of the scene until the North Borneo Company brought in other
dialect groups.
Even though there were already Chinese in the state prior to 1881, their
number was small. The Chinese only began to enter Sabah in large numbers
after 1881, the year when the territory was taken over by the British North
Borneo Company. The Company was started by Alfred Dent and his partners
in London. They first started their venture in 1878 by establishing several
stations in Sabah including Tempassuk, Sandakan (Elopura) and Papar.
Three years later, the Company's efforts in administrating the newly
acquired territory were recognised by the British Government, which granted
a Royal Charter for the Company to function with the backing of the British
Government.

Immigration Schemes under the North Borneo Company

Among the first questions encountered by the British North Borneo
Company was the need of a sizeable population to supply a sufficient labour
force for the development of the territory. The native population of Sabah
was considered by officials of the Company to be too few and unsuited to
meet the requirements of modern development.^) In 1881, the number of
indigenous people was estimated to be 60,000 to 100,000.(7) These figures
were made up of the Dusuns, Bajaus, Muruts, Orang Sungei, Idahans,
Rungus and many others who also differed in custom and way of life.
The government realised that in order to forge ahead with its
development policy, immigration should be encouraged by every means.
Guided by the successes of other British colonial possessions such as Hong
Kong and Singapore, where sizeable Chinese communities existed, North
Borneo Company officials began to look towards China. Many in the North
Borneo Company administration subscribed to the idea of encouraging the
immigration of Chinese to the new territory. Such a view was supported by

6. Rizalino Oades, "Chinese Emigration Through Hong Kong to Sabah Since 1880", M.A.
Dissertation, Hong Kong University, 1961, p. 39.
7. It is difficult to give an exact figure to the total indigenous population of the state for 1881
as no census was taken. The first census of 1891 gave 67,062 as the total population for the
state, but it was incomplete, as the census did not include many indigenous people who were
left out. However, the figure of 100,000 could be an over-estimation. See Lee Yong Leng,
North Borneo (Sabah) : A Study in Settlement Geography, Singapore, Eastern Universities
Press Ltd., 1965, p. 45.

Archipel 58, Paris, 1999

 Chinese Migration to Sabah Before the Second World War 135

Alfred Dent and William Hood Treacher, the first Governor of British North
Borneo, (8) and a scheme to bring Chinese into Sabah was planned.
Treacher 's successor, William Crocker, who was acting Governor in
1887, remarked that by encouraging Chinese to migrate to Sabah, "You may
not only secure the development of the country (...) but a paying population
who will in time provide a revenue so much in excess of the cost of
government that the venture has every promise of becoming a profitable
investment ".(9) Crocker was of course referring not only to the industrious
characteristics of the Chinese, but also of their vices and habits, particularly
relating to opium smoking, gambling, and drinking habits from which the
government could extract a dependable revenue through duties and taxes.
Thus efforts were made to procure Chinese labourers for the country. On
5th October 1881 for instance, 29 Macao Cantonese coolies arrived in
Sandakan (10) from Singapore by the S.S. Royalist. William B. Pryer, the first
Resident for Sandakan had sent his Chinese servant to Singapore to obtain
their service. The labourers or coolies were engaged at a monthly salary of
$2.50 with free meals. (U) This method however, was considered to be too
costly and lacking control as the labourers did not, due to the steady $2.50
monthly pay, work to the expectations of some company officials. A proper
system of procuring Chinese labourers and a proper pay scheme was
advocated. (12>
Pryer 's attempt was followed by a series of systematic efforts to bring in
Chinese immigrants to the state. Between 1881 and 1941, Chinese were
brought to Sabah through at least three major immigration schemes, namely,
Sir Walter Medhurst's Scheme, the Basel Missionary Society Scheme and
the Free Passage Scheme.

8. William Hood Treacher, "Sketches of Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan and North Borneo",
Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 21, 1890, p. 27.
9. William M. Crocker, Report on British North Borneo, Sandakan, 1887, p. 5.
10. The existence of this group of Macao Cantonese coolies is mentioned only in the
correspondances of the North Borneo Company. Whereas the earliest surviving Chinese
epigraphic materials in Sandakan should be the inscriptions dated from 1887 comemorating
the fondation of the Sansheng gong by Chinese from Guangdong province. See Wolfgang
Franke & Chen Tieh Fan, Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Malaysia, Vol. Ill, pp. 1232-1247.
11. "Governor Treacher to Chairman and Court of Director", 15 October 1881, Colonial
Office (hereafter CO) 874/228.
12. "L. B. Von Donop, Director of Agriculture to Governor Treacher", 12 November 1881,
CO874/228.

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136 Danny Wong Tze-Ken

Medhurst 's Scheme

The first scheme was implemented between 1882 and 1886 under the
newly appointed Commissioner of Immigration, Sir Walter Medhurst. 0 3) In
addition to being responsible for creating a workable system of obtaining
Chinese labourers and agriculturalists, Medhurst was also instructed to
induce respectable Chinese to form companies for taking up grants of land to
cultivate tropical cash crops. Medhurst set out for China in 1882 with a sum
of $50,000, by far the largest amount ever granted to a single project by the
North Borneo Company. Sir Alfred Dent, the chairman of the company, was
so confident of Medhurst that he wrote him, " It is unnecessary for us to
point out how important it is that you should always work in consort with the
governor [Treacher] ".(14> Dent was wrong in his judgement. Not only did
Medhurst fail to co-ordinate with Governor Treacher, he also failed to
appreciate the immediate needs of the new territory.
Treacher and Pryer, having always looked to the Straits Settlements and
the Malay States for inspiration and guidance, were advised by Hugh Low,
the Resident of Perak, to prepare a scheme that would allow a gradual and
cautious flow of agriculturalists, pioneers, timber-cutters, labourers and
fishermen. Pryer even went to the extent of clearing land and he readied four
reception huts for an initial batch of 100 immigrants. The site chosen was
probably at Melapi, a small settlement 50 miles up the Kinabatangan River
where there were already 20 Chinese, chiefly carpenters and shopkeepers
from Sandakan, " who appear to get on very well with the other
inhabitants"^15) Medhurst received advice and details about the necessary
steps need to be taken, but he ignored them.
In Hong Kong, Medhurst proclaimed on behalf of the Company the offer
of free passage to those who were seeking employment and willing to start a
new life in the new territory. But he did not select the participants. Perhaps,
Medhurst was more concerned with the quantity rather than the quality of
new immigrants for Sabah.

13. Sir Walter Medhurst (1822-1885), joined the Office of the British Superintendency of
Trade in China in the 1840s as a clerk. Prior to that, he was a part of the London Missionary
Society establishment in Singapore. For many years an interpreter to the English Government,
he was also Consul General at Shanghai until 1877 when he received a knighthood.
Appointed Immigration Commissioner of British North Borneo in 1882.
14. "Alfred Dent, Court of Directors to Sir Walter Medhurst", 8 September 1882,
CO874/118.
15. "Report by L. B. Von Donop in Governor Treacher to Chairman", 29 September 1881,
CO874/228.

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 Chinese Migration to Sabah Before the Second World War 137

At least five shiploads of Chinese immigrants came under Medhurst's

scheme. The first batch of 43 came down to Sabah on the steamer S.S.
Hainan. All except one emigrated on his own account without any form of
assistance from the Company. They were mainly what Medhurst described
as "prospectors". The second emigration took place on 31 October 1882,
also via the Hainan. This time, a total of 225 Chinese emigrated to Sabah, of
whom 147 were sponsored, receiving free passage and a portion of wages
paid on account ; whereas most of the others went under a loan of passage
money only. Also included in this trip were two Chinese Christians of the
Hakka dialect group from the Basel Missionary Society, sent to investigate
the new territory for future emigration. There was also a Chinese physician.
The two Christians were funded by Medhurst whereas the doctor received a
half passage subsidy. (16>
The third emigration took place on 8th January 1883 via the S.S. Fokkien
which brought with it 340 immigrants, including 30 families with 81
members. A total of $518 were spent by Medhurst in subsidising this
passage. The fourth shipment arrived in Sabah in April 1883, also via the
Fokkien. Included in the passenger list were 96 Christian Hakkas who, upon
receiving the report of the two delegates sent down on the second trip, had
decided to leave for Sabah. They were settled in Kudat where a settlement
was opened. A further fifth shipment arrived via the S.S. Thaïes with 114
passengers. (17>
Medhurst sent down at least 1,000 Chinese immigrants. Chief among the
group were petty traders, shopkeepers, tailors, shoe makers, labourers and
some farmers, many under the sponsorship of the company. Medhurst was
under the impression that Singapore was booming due to the mass of
Chinese there, but he failed to realise that, unlike Singapore, Sabah suffered
from a lack of enterprises. What Sabah needed was pioneers who were
willing to face the challenge of opening up the country, and not traders or
craftsmen. C1 8) Yet this trend persisted at least until 1886 when Medhurst
returned to England. As shipload after shipload of these unsuited people
disembarked in Sandakan and Kudat, the towns were crowded with them. In

16. Walter Medhurst, "Report on Immigration and the Formation of Chinese Companies",
Secretariat File, No. 16.
17. "Managing Director to Sir Walter Medhurst", 18 September 1883, CO874/1 18.
18. K. G. Tregonning, A History of Modern Sabah, 1881-1963, Singapore, University of
Malaya Press, 1965, p. 130.

Archipel 58, Paris, 1999

138 Danny Wong Tze-Ken

Kudat for instance, out of a total of 937 inhabitants, 348 were Chinese, of
whom 222 were shopkeepers. (19)
Not only did these traders end up earning very little by trading with each
other, they faced severe competition from their counterparts from Singapore
and Labuan, for whom they were no match. The latter, having arrived much
earlier and being well-verse in the native languages, knew the needs of the
locals. Some of these new immigrants were quite successful, earning to a
profit as middlemen in rice trading. The new immigrants, who were mainly
Cantonese, were basically city-dwellers, and unaccustomed to the forest
before them. Even the few artisans and farmers in the group were finding life
difficult in the new territory. Many packed their bags and returned to China,
or made their way to Singapore. Only a small number remained.
Despite this setback, Medhurst's venture did yield some positive results.
Among those who arrived under Medhurst's scheme were the Hakkas, who
would later play a very significant role in the development of the territory.

The Basel Missionary Society Scheme (1905-14)

In December 1905, two successful pioneers from Kudat were sent back to
China to encourage their fellow countrymen to immigrate to Sabah. The two,
Yong Ah Kit and Lee Ah Pin, both Hakkas, returned in 1906 with 150 Hakka
men, women and children. The North Borneo Company then resettled them
in the Inanam and Menggatal-Tuaran area on the west coast. Like previous
assisted immigrants, they were given land and financial assistance. (2°) The
First eight months of 1906 saw the arrival of 884 free Chinese at Jesselton,
many of whom were Hakka agriculturists who had come to join their
relatives. (21)
In 1912, the economy of the state suffered a setback from the plummeting
rubber prices, this caused a decline in Chinese immigration into the state.
Except for the Hakka Christians who had arrived as agriculturists, Chinese
immigration into the state as a whole suffered a setback. The outbreak of the
First World War also resulted in a reduction in labour procurement for
estates. This was mainly due to the absence of European estate managers and
supervisors, of whom many had returned to Europe for the war. This
however, did not deter many free labourers from entering the state through

19. Tregonning, Ibid., p. 80.

20. Tregonning, Ibid., p. 141.
21. British North Borneo Official Gazette, 2 September 1906.

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 Chinese Migration to Sabah Before the Second World War 139

ri.^i/'f H

A Chinese
(Courtesy
trader and
of Sabah
his family
State in
Archives)
Sabah, c. 1890

An Hakka girl in Kudat, c. 1890

(Courtesy of Sabah State Archives)

Archipel 58, Paris, 1999

140 Danny Wong Tze-Ken

the sponsorships of relatives. Again, most of these sponsors were Hakka

Christians. Most of these new immigrants were settled on the government
subsidised settlements at Inanam, Menggatal, Telipok, Tuaran, Pinangsoo,
Tamalang Bamboo, Buk Buk and Penampang.
The Basel Missionary Society remained a reliable recruiter for the North
Borneo Company. Arrangements were made to encourage more Hakka
Christians, who were considered to be the "right" class of immigrants, (22)
and who were regarded as the mainstay of the agricultural and industrial
population of the state. An agreement was entered into between the North
Borneo North Borneo Company and the Basel Missionary Society in
November 1912, whereby the Basel Missionary Society would continue its
role in bringing in Christian Hakka settlers. The agreement stipulated that :
1. Each family shall receive 10 acres of land upon arrival.
2. The premium is set at $1 per acre, and an annual quit rent of 500 per acre shall be
collected. There will be no quit rent for the first two years.
3. No permanent titles shall be given should the immigrants failed to repay advances.
4. The Government will undertake the guarantee of temporary accommodation for the
immigrants.
5. Half of the land given shall be cultivated with paddy and other cash crops, while the
other half is for subsistence crops.
6. When necessary, the Government shall provide food rations for the first six months.
7. Each family should consist of four to eight persons.
8. The Government will grant to the Mission, land for schools, churches and cemeteries,
and provide grants-in-aid for their upkeep.
9. The Government shall provide attaps and tools on arrival.
10. The family can choose to settle down with their own relatives upon arrival. (»)

Most of the Hakka Christians who came under the Basel Missionary
Society Scheme were originated from the various counties in Guangdong
province where the society had carried out mission work among the Hakkas
since the mid- 19th century, particularly the counties of Meixian, Wuhua,
Longchuan, Zijin, Dongguan, Huizhou, Xingning, Huaxian, Baoan and
Qingyuan.
In March 1913, a total of 26 families or 111 Hakka Christians were
brought in by the Basel Mission to settle in Inanam. This resulted in the
cultivation of 500 acres of land. On top of that, as in previous agreements,
the North Borneo Company granted each family 10 acres of land. (24> The

22. "Governor Gueritz to Court of Director", 7 December 1905, CO874/746.

23. Source : "Governor to Chairman", 31 March 1913, CO874/746.
24. British North Borneo Herald, 16 May 1913.

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 Chinese Migration to Sabah Before the Second World War 141

group was divided into two, with 12 families settling in Menggatal and 10
others in Inanam. Four of the families went to Kudat. (25)
New settlements for Hakka Christians who came under the Basel
Missionary Society scheme were also opened in Menggatal and Telipok with
the arrival of two additional groups of 53 families (167 members) and 30
families (105 individuals) respectively. However, the later group who had
settled in Telipok transferred their allegiance to the Roman Catholic Mission
as no Basel Missionary Clergy was present there until 1927. (26)
The new Chinese settlements along the Tuaran road connecting Inanam,
Menggatal, Telipok, Temparuli and Tuaran resulted in the further
development of a group of Christian Chinese smallholders, similar to those
who had arrived earlier in Kudat. The Hakka Christians soon became
important rubber smallholders in Sabah, due to their being given favourable
land concessions and government subsidies. Although their holdings could
not compare in size with the large European-owned rubber estates, they
remained important contributors to the development of the Sabah economy.
In Kudat, 63 families or 273 persons arrived during 1913-1914 and were
settled in the Pinangsoo, Tamalang Bamboo and Buk Buk settlements under
the terms agreed upon by the Basel Mission and the North Borneo Company.
Under the agreement, each family would be given a plot of five acres
without premium, and rent would be free for two years, and taxed at $1 per-
acre, annually thereafter. This was considered a very favourable term as most
of these people had never owned any land before. (27)

Free Passage Scheme (1921-1941)

At the beginning of the twenties, the Chinese in Sabah numbered about
thirty thousand, making up probably one-fifth of the territory's population.
The idea of having a sizeable Chinese labour force in the state remained a
widely accepted notion. The North Borneo Company decided to further
encourage the Chinese to enter the state by introducing a new immigration
scheme.
The scheme, known as the "Free-Passage" or "Free Pass" scheme, was
much simpler and almost hassle-free compared to the earlier ones. Under the
" Free-Passage " scheme, the government had not engage itself in direct

25. "Resident, West Coast to Governor", 13 March 1913, C0874/746.

26. See BCCM (Basel Christian Church of Malaysia) Centenary Magazine, Kota Kinabalu,
1983, p. 72.
27. See Oades, "Chinese Emigration Through Hong Kong to Sabah", p. 56 and BCCM
Centenary Magazine, pp. 23-47.

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142 Danny Wong Tze-Ken

procuring of labour as it had earlier. Instead, a pass would be offered to any

bona fide Chinese settler in Sabah with a landholding of not more than 25
acres. The settler could obtain the pass from the district officer and had it
sent to his relatives in China, entitling the latter to free passage to Sabah.
Upon receipt of the pass, the intended family member or relative would
present himself or herself to the Company's agent at Hong Kong, before
being shipped out to Sabah at the expense of the North Borneo Company.
Unlike the earlier schemes, the new scheme was aimed at attracting
settlers instead of labourers. By 1920, the need for settlers in Sabah
outweighed the need for labourers. Procurement of labourers to work on the
estates depended much on the planting programmes of the European-owned
estates, this resulted in slower opening and cultivation of new land.
Furthermore, Chinese labourers had only consisted of about 50 % of the total
labour force in the estates, while the rest were either Javanese or indigenous
people. A settler, however, could help to put more land under cultivation,
and at the same time, pay more in revenue tax.
For the purpose of disseminating information concerning the new
scheme, an illustrated pamphlet in Chinese advertising the prospects for
settlers in Sabah was distributed. (28) The scheme offered the new arrivals the
opportunity to take up, within a year of their arrivals, a plot of 5 acres of
land without premium and free of rent for two years. Apart from that,
various other terms similar to those offered to the Basel Church settlers were
included.
The newly arrived family members would stay with their sponsors, who
would ensure their well being. While women normally joined their
husbands, male relatives would normally stay with their sponsors for some
time before being granted a plot of land of their own. To safeguard the new
arrivals from being mistreated by their relatives, the District Officers made
frequent visits to their dwelling places. (29>
Despite its attractive terms and easy access to Sabah, the scheme did not
immediately receive a favourable response when first introduced in 1921.
Only 24 passes were taken up that year. This lukewarm response was mainly
due to a sharp fall in the price of rubber, the mainstay of the agriculture
activities in the state at that time. In fact, the drop of rubber and copra prices
had greatly affected the number of Chinese settlers on the west coast,

28. British North Borneo Administration Report, 1922, p. 58.

29. "Court of Directors to Governor", 15 January 1925, as cited in Tregonning, A History of
Modern Sabah, p. 150.

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 Chinese Migration to Sabah Before the Second World War 143

especially among the Hakka Christian settlers along Tuaran Road. Between
1920 and 1921, the number of Hakka Christian settlers in Inanam had
declined to 25 families, while 16 families remained in Menggatal and 12 in
Telipok.(3°) By 1924, many had sold their lands, repaid the government, and
left. (3D
But as rubber prices began to increase, so too did the demand for more
labourers. This soon led to an increase in the popularity of the free passage
scheme ; more passes were issued. The popularity of the scheme was also, in
part, encouraged by the government's newly promulgated " Land Ordinance
of November 1923", which saw favourable new land terms offered to non-
indigenous Asians. Under the scheme, the concessionist would be exempted
from paying land rent for the first six years if the land were cultivated within
six months of occupation. (32>
After 1924, the number of passes issued actually increased. While only
24 passes were issued in 1921, a total of 800 passes were taken up by 1924.
In 1927, a total of 1,054 passes were issued, and 1,665 in 1929.
Among the Chinese in Sabah, the scheme was particularly popular among
the Hakkas who took the opportunity to bring in their relatives, (33) an
endeavour that they could not afford on their own. To the Hakkas, whose
earlier lives in China were generally spent in over-crowded communal land,
the offer of agricultural land by the government looked like a bonus, if not a
windfall. The eagerness of the new immigrants to take up land of their own
often result in applications for land coming in faster than the Land Ranger
could deal with them. The granting of land to the new immigrants resulted in
the opening of new, previously undeveloped areas. One such place was the
area around Appas Road in Tawau, which eventually become an important
agricultural area. (34)
One of the most remarkable consequences of the free passage scheme
was the increase of Chinese female immigrants. This indicated that the new
immigrants intended to settle down in the state. This also changed the gender
ratio of the Chinese from 367 females per 1,000 males in 1921 to 565
females per 1,000 males in 1931. (35> Again, in most cases, it was the Hakkas

30. British North Borneo Administration Report, 1922, p. 60.

31. British North Borneo Administration Report, 1924, p. 9.
32. K. G. Tregonning, A Modern History of Sabah, p. 150.
33. British North Borneo Herald 16 July 1929.
34. British North Borneo Herald, 16 November 1928.
35. See L. W. Jones, The Population of Borneo : A Study of the Peoples of Sarawak, Sabah
and Brunei, London, University of London, The Athlone Press, 1966, p. 51.

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144 Danny Wong Tze-Ken

who had brought their women folk to Sabah, as they were the main group, to
utilise the scheme.

Table 1. Number of Female Chinese in Sabah

According to Dialect Group, 1921-1951

Dialect Group 1921 1931 1951

Hakka 6,168 11,330 20,610
Cantonese 2,413 3,621 4,995
Hokkien 1,213 1,735 3,074
Teochiu 424 710 1,562
Hailam 124 333 1,347

Source : L. W. Jones, North Borneo : A Report on the Census of Population held in

4th July, 1951, London : University of London, 1953, p. 112.

The new immigration scheme resulted in a steady increase in the number

of Hakkas in Sabah. In the 1921 census, the Chinese community was
counted in their respective dialect groups for the first time. Among the eight
dialect groups included, the Hakkas were numbered 18,000 persons, 47.82%
of the total Chinese population in Sabah. In 1931, ten years after the
implementation of the "Free-Passage" scheme, the total number of Hakkas
in the state had increased to 27,424 persons, or 54.78 % of the total Chinese
population. The Cantonese, who had long been the largest dialect group,
were a distant second with only 12,831 persons, 26.63 % of the total Chinese
population in 1931. (36) Since 1921, the Hakka community had replaced the
Cantonese as the largest dialect group in the state, and the first ten years of
the "Free-Passage" scheme ensured that the Hakka's position as the largest
Chinese dialect group would become unassailable. In many ways, this
significant change would also result in the Hakka dialect emerging as the
most widely spoken dialect in Sabah.
There were also Chinese who had arrived in Sabah on their own account
and worked as labourers in the various estates on the east coast of Sabah,
including places like the Kinabatangan and Segama river basins. Others were

36. L. W. Jones, North Borneo : A Report on the Census of Population held in 4th July, 1951,
London, University of London, 1953, p. 112.

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 Chinese Migration to Sabah Before the Second World War 145

recruited to work on the railroad on the west coast of Sabah. Many of these
people eventually settled along the railways from Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu)
to Tenom in the interior.

Table 2. Total of Chinese Arrivals to Sabah

under the Free-Passage Scheme / Self-sponsored, 1921-1940

Year Free Passage Scheme / Self-sponsored

1921 18 -NA-
1922 4 -NA-
1923 200 -NA-
1924 530 -NA-
1925 204 -NA-
1926 317 -NA-
1927 886 -NA-
1928 1,278 2,724
1929 1,067 2,967
1930 1,157 2,882
1931 395 1,519
1932 92 1,086
1933 187 2,315
1934 643 3,307
1935 667 3,837
1936 395 4,577
1937 493 7,912
1938 345 3,342
1939 263 1,992
1940 373 2,472
Total 3,859 31,998

Source : North Borneo Annual and Administrative Reports, 1921-1940.

There are however, some differences in characteristics between the self-

sponsored Chinese and those who came under the various schemes initiated
by the North Borneo Company. Firstly, most of the Chinese who came under
the various free passage schemes were settled on the west coast of Sabah,
including the Kudat peninsula. Once settled, the new arrivals were granted
land as normally stipulated in the immigration agreement. As a result of the
new land ownership, most of the Chinese on the west coast, Hakkas, were
much more docile, and experienced a greater growth in numbers. This is
different from the self-sponsored Hakkas, most of whom had worked as
indentured labourers in the various estates upon their arrivals. Though many

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146 Danny Wong Tze-Ken

eventually took up land at the end of their contract, there were also many
who continued to work as wage earners, or in some cases, left the state for
good. Due to the concentration of the earlier agriculture estates on the east
coast of Sabah, many of the self-sponsored Chinese also concentrated on the
east coast. When rubber estates sprang up on the west coast after 1905, a
steady entry of free Chinese labourers to work in these estates also began.
Some were also hired as workers on railway construction. As a result of this,
the Hakka concentration on the west coast of Sabah is much higher than on
the east coast.
Secondly, unlike their counterparts who had arrived under the various
schemes, many of whom were Christians, the self-sponsored Chinese were
normally practitioners of Chinese religions, including ancestor worship. This
is evident from the pattern of growth experienced by the Basel Church in
Sabah. The church, which is a Hakka-based church, did not open in
Sandakan until 1907. This was long overdue, for Sandakan was the capital
for the state, and has been in existence since 1878. (37> The Basel Church was
not opened in Tawau until 1950, and in Lahad Datu until 1972.

Table 3. Chinese Population

According to the Censuses of 1911, 1921, 1931 and 1951

Chinese/Year 1911* 1921 1931 1951

Hakka -NA- 18,153 27,424 44,505
Cantonese -NA- 12,268 12,831 11,833
Hokkien -NA- 4,022 4,634 7,336
Teochiu -NA- 2,480 2,511 3,948
Hailam -NA- 1,294 1,589 3,571
Other Chinese -NA- 1,039 1,067 3,181
Total 27,801 39,256 50,056 74,374

* Figures on the various dialect groups were not available.

Source : Extracted from L. W. Jones, North Borneo : A Report on the Census of
Population held in 4th July 1951, London, University of London, 1953, p. 112. No
census was taken in 1941.

37. Prior to the establishment of the Basel Church in Sandakan, an Anglican/SPG church, St.
Michael's and All Angels, was started in 1888. Most of the worshippers in the church were
Hakka Chinese. Nonetheless, the fact that it took the Basel Church such a long time to make
an inroad into Sandakan clearly suggests that the Hakka Christian community in that town
was small.

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Problems of Chinese Immigrants and Minor Immigration Schemes

The immigration of Chinese to Sabah after 1883 continued steadily with
an average of 100 to 200 persons every month. Most of those who arrived
were contract workers brought in to work in the many tobacco estates that
had sprung up in the territory. The demand for more labourers at this stage
was a result of the success of Sabah tobacco in penetrating the international
market in 1887. The tobacco industry experienced a minor boom in 1888,
where nearly 70 companies were involved in the planting of the crop,
representing German, Dutch and British interests. This resulted in a rise in
the demand for labourers to work on the estates.
Early days at the estates were most unkind to the Chinese, many fell sick
and succumbed to the harshness of the land and weather. Most labourers
were brought in under very stiff indenture or under agreements, which would
bind them to the estates for many years. In the estates, living conditions were
deplorable, men were normally housed in filthy quarters at the coolie-lines
or kongsi, the workers were also poorly paid. Maltreatment by estate
managers and supervisors was common. Many suffered from physical
distress and were left without medical treatment. Up to 1890, the death rate
in the estates was high. Before the end of 1890, nearly 2,000 out of the total
of 8,061 Chinese working in estates had died. In the case of the Tongood
Estate, which was highlighted by the British North Borneo Herald, the estate
had a dreadful mortality rate of 70% from July 1890 to June 1891.(38) The
appalling conditions did affect Chinese immigration. In 1891, a total of
1,155 Chinese labourers left Sabah for Singapore after the completion of
their initial contracts ; and a further 85 1 left for Hong Kong ; (39) their
departures could be seen as a setback to the goal of the North Borneo
Company in the procuring of labourers.
In 1891, most estates registered a death rate of over 20%, and several
went as high as 40 %. This had some negative effect on those who intended
to emigrate from China via Hong Kong. In April 1891 for instance, out of
300 labourers who signed up in Hong Kong, only 4 could be persuaded to
come to Sabah. Another problem was that many of those who had signed up
were pronounced fit by the Hong Kong Government Emigration Office, but
upon arrival, the estates would normally find that only the weak ones had
made the trip. Only in 1890 were medical check-ups were carried out in

38. British North Borneo Herald, 1 October 1891.

39. British North Borneo Official Gazette, 1 February 1892.

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148 Danny Wong Tze-Ken

Sabah to ensure that those who intended to enter the state were in good
health. (40)
As the tobacco plantations were profiting from favourable market prices,
free coolies, who were mainly artisans, began to demand higher pay. In the
Lahad Datu Estate in Darvel Bay for instance, a daily wage of 60 cents was
demanded by Chinese coolies in 1891, ten cents more than the usual
price. (41) Apart from occasional maltreatment, and complaints received at
the Office of Superintendent of Immigration and Labour, welfare at the
estates had begun to improve. An amendment was made to the " Estate
Coolies and Labourers Protection Proclamation of 1883" in which a
provision for proper medical attention in the estates was added. (42)
The demand for Chinese labourers on the tobacco estates, however,
suffered a setback from 1890 to 1893, when the tobacco industry in Sabah
collapsed, partly due to the McKinley Tariff imposed by the United States
Government. The tariff was a protective measure aimed at safeguarding the
interests of the tobacco planters in southern Virginia. Under the tariff,
American cigar manufacturers stopped importing from Sabah tobacco
leaves, for wrapping cigars. As a result of this setback, Sabah suffered a
revenue deficit in 1892, when the state revenue of £51,118 was outweighed
by an expenditure of £53,044. (43) The demand for labourers was on the rise
again from 1893 onwards, when the demand for tobacco leaves improved.
As much as the Chinese were wanted in Sabah, the procurement of them
at a reasonable price was a problem. Apart from the Singapore merchants
who controlled the labour trade from the island and the Straits Settlements,
the North Borneo Company Administration was also confronted by rings of
coolie brokers operating at Amoy (Xiamen) and Canton. (44> E. E.
Abrahamson, the Company Agent at Hong Kong, was sent by the Court of
Directors in 1887 to seek a clearing from the Chinese Government to allow
direct procurement of Chinese labourers. Abrahamson even had discussions
with Li Hongzhang at the zongli yamen or Foreign Office, in Tianjin, where
he concluded some important contracts with Li for procuring labourers. They
also agreed on re-establishing steamer service from China to Sabah. (45)

40. Ibid., p. 136.

41. British North Borneo Herald, 1 January 1891.
42. "British North Borneo Government Notification No. 79", British North Borneo Official
Gazette, 1 April 1891.
43. British North Borneo Herald, 1 November 1893.
44. E. E. Abrahamson's Report in British North Borneo Herald, 1 March 1888.
45. British North Borneo Herald, 1 March 1888.

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 Chinese Migration to Sabah Before the Second World War 149

Despite all his efforts, Abrahamson failed to secure labourers from the two
ports of Amoy (Xiamen) and Swatow (Shantou).
At Canton Abrahamson's effort was met with some success, especially
engagements that were based on agreements for three years at $9 per month
wages and an advance to the labourers prior to the commencement of work.
The Company also need to pay a $50 per head commission to the brokers,
which was probably the lowest, compared to those charged by the Teochiu
and Hokkien brokers at Amoy. (46> This was probably one of the reasons why
Sabah had received more immigrants from the province of Guangdong than
from other provinces.
The flow of Chinese into Sabah increased every year. The number who
arrived and those who choose to remain in Sabah out-weighed those who
returned to China after the lapse of their contracts. This steady rise in
Chinese immigration to Sabah was prompted by several reasons. An editorial
of the British North Borneo Herald suggested three factors that had
prompted the increase. The increase of the entry tax from $20 to $100 per
head for all new Chinese immigrants seeking entry to Australia had turned
many prospective immigrants away from that place. Many were seeking
alternative destinations, of which Sabah would provide such opportunity at a
very low price. The imposition of a $10 per annum poll tax on all
immigrants by the Australian Government also prompted a decline in
immigration to that country. The unbearable living condition in China,
particularly the desolation caused by the flooding of the Yangzi River had
prompted more Chinese to seek a new livelihood outside their country. Last
but not least, was the persecution faced by the Hakkas, who were the main
supporters of the Taiping Rebellion, which compelled many to look for an
opportunity to start a new life elsewhere.
For many years, William B. Pryer was the Superintendent of Immigration
and Labour. He later transferred this responsibility to Captain R. D. Beeston.
In 1894, the government engaged the service of Dr. N. B. Denny s to promote
the immigration of Chinese into Sabah. (47> Dr. Dennys, who was a man with
vast experience in Chinese affairs, went to Hong Kong with the support of
the planters on the Kinabatangan River, with the purpose of breaking into the
Chinese-controlled recruiting organisation. The planters in North Borneo
were hoping to secure Chinese labourers at $35 per head as compared to the
price of $60 being charged by the Chinese brokers. He failed. The Chinese

46. British North Borneo Herald, 1 March 1888.

47. British North Borneo Herald, 1 May 1894.

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1 50 Danny Wong Tze-Ken

brokers were unbreakable, and they retaliated by pooling enough resources

to offer lower rates than Dr. Dennys could manage to estates in the Marudu
Bay and elsewhere, causing the Kinabatangan planters to withdraw their
support for Dennys. (48) The failure prompted Dr. Dennys to recommend to
the government to take over the whole affair of importing Chinese labourers.
Once again, he failed, for the idea was too drastic and too expensive to be
even considered. (49>
By the time of Dr. Dennys 'appointment to the post of Superintendent of
Immigration and Labour, the general condition of the Chinese labourers had
improved. His appointment lent further support to this development. By
then, the coolies even had enough money to remit back to China. (5°) The
year after Dr. Dennys 'appointment saw the ascendancy of William Clarke
Cowie as the managing director of the North Borneo Company ; and the
appointment of L. P. Beaufort (1895-1900) as the new governor. Cowie, who
had spent considerable time in Sabah, viewed the influx of the Chinese into
Sabah with contempt. He was one of those who believed labourers could be
secured among the indigenous people, living in large settlements further
inland. (51) Thus, Cowie refused to sponsor any immigration plan put forward
by the Governor or whoever. In fact, under Cowie 's leadership, no money
was spent on immigration. This policy was to last for almost a decade, until
1903, when Cowie was compelled to give in, mainly because of the urgent
need of procuring labourers for the railways.
Cowie had previously rejected the need to secure sufficient Chinese
labourers from China for the proposed Jesselton-Tenom railway track.
Attempts by the Governor to bring in labourers from Singapore were
reprimanded. To make things worse, Governor Beaufort added new obstacles
to importing immigrants from China by imposing several new taxes,
including one on rice, the staple diet of labourers. The 5 % duty added to the
cost of rice had a profound effect on those estates that continue to secure
their labour independently. The tax had turned away many prospective
immigrants from Sabah who moved on to other destinations. The monthly
immigration report from Dr. Dennys for 1896 to 1899 revealed a sharp
decrease in the labour flow from China. The steamer S.S. Memmon, which
run a regular service on the Hong Kong-Sabah-Singapore route often saw the

48. Tregonning, A History of Modern Sabah, p. 137.

49. Ibid.
50. Ibid.
51. Ibid.

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 Chinese Migration to Sabah Before the Second World War 151

majority of its passengers from China heading for Singapore, by-passing

Sabah. (52> Fewer coolies from China were engaged during this period
because the cost of engaging a Chinese coolie from China was by then
relatively more expensive than getting them from Singapore.
Throughout the period of Cowie's chairmanship, the flow of Chinese into
Sabah was limited to very small number. Many of the early settlers also left
for either their homeland or other destinations. Among the lower income
groups, only those Hakkas with small land holdings choose to remain in
bigger numbers, their influx into the state were not so adversely affected. (53>
This was mainly due to the fact that Sabah, even with many restrictions and
unattractive taxes, still offered the Hakkas something better than being
persecuted, both politically and religiously in their homeland. Only
occasionally did Sabah receive large shipments of Chinese immigrants, and
they consisted mostly of free coolies and some contract coolies. A most
unexpected influx of coolies, both free and contract, took place in May 1899
when 182 free Chinese and some 425 contract coolies were landed in
Sandakan by the steamer Mansang. They were meant for the Kinabatangan
and Lahad Datu Tobacco Estates. (54)
The problem of obtaining sufficient manpower for the estates, especially
with more and more leaving the state upon the completion of their contract,
refusing to sign a new contract, caused an outcry from the Chinese Advisory
Board and the planters. (55> They even went so far as to send a protest to
London in 1898 regarding the new taxes. (56>
At the closing stage of the nineteenth century, Governor Hugh Clifford (1900-
1901), who had succeeded Beaufort, attempted to solve the problem of the
shortage of labourers and pioneers in Sabah. Taking advantage of the turmoil in
China at that time, especially of the Boxer Rebellion, Governor Clifford offered
free land to refugee Chinese Christians. He had communicated this intention
through the commissioner of land to the agents in Canton and Swatow. The
attempt however, failed to elicit any response from the Chinese.
In an attempt to procure Chinese labourers for working on the railway, a
Chinese recruiter from Sabah went to Hong Kong in 1902. After failing to

52. British North Borneo Herald, 1 May 1896.

53. Ibid.
54. British North Borneo Herald, 16 May 1899.
55. The planters in Sabah formed their own Planters 'Association of North Borneo. It
remained a very influential group in the history of the state. The Association was even given a
seat in the North Borneo State Legislative Council upon its formation in 1912.
56. Tregonning, A History of Modern Sabah, p. 137.

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152 Danny Wong Tze-Ken

recruit any, he proceeded to Foochow where two years earlier the Sarawak
Government had succeeded in obtaining a sizeable number of Chinese
immigrants. A total of 169 were recruited and were brought to Sabah for the
railway. This group suffered great loses while working on the railway. Not
only were they badly paid and miserably housed, they were also underfed.
Most died from beriberi. The incident sparked off a riot in Foochow against
the recruiters. Not only did the event result in the small number of Foochow
Chinese in Sabah prior to the Second World War, it also demonstrated the ill-
preparedness of the government to handle new immigrants at that time.
Due to the unfavourable living conditions caused by the 5 % Rice Tax,
many Chinese labourers left the state for China or other destinations. The tax
also affected the hiring power of many plantation estates that were burdened
with paying more for provisions for the Chinese labourers. Many decided to
reduce the number of workers. In 1903, Governor Birch recommended that
the rice tax be abolished. Birch was taken aback by the outflow of Chinese
labour from the state. In February 1903, the Court of Directors reluctantly
suspended the tax. They also set aside a total of $ 60,000 to assist the
Chinese immigration programme. For the purpose of more effective
immigration control, the Coolie Depot at Berhala Island outside of Sandakan
was repaired and maintained. Mass immigration of Chinese to Sabah was
then resumed.
By 1907, Chinese made up more than 50 % of the total labour force in the
estates throughout Sabah, with 4,856 out of a total of 10,467. In that year, all
the Chinese labourers except 181 of them were engaged on a written contract
for 3 years. The contract, which promised a financial advance upon re-
engagement after the lapse of the previous contract, usually left many of the
Chinese tied to the estates, without the slightest hope of freeing themselves
from the debt incurred. This practise of allowing various advances to the
labourers, had left the coolies at the mercy of their employees. Throughout
the period 1911-1920, for instance, labour unrest in the estates were very
common, mainly due to the many grievances on the labourers 'part, caused
by discrimination and cruel treatment at the hands of the mandor
(supervisors) and managers of estates. At times, labour unrest would result in
the death of the manager and his staff. The Armed Constabulary or police
were usually called upon to stop this unrest.
An amendment to the "Labour Contract Ordinance 1890" was made in
1908 whereby the Protector of Labourers was given more authority to look
after the welfare of the labourers in Sabah, including the Chinese. For
indentured Chinese workers, there were efforts on the government's part, to

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 Chinese Migration to Sabah Before the Second World War 153

reduce the total length of service from three to two years, if the contract was
executed outside of Sabah. The duration was later cut to not more than 300
days for a contract executed within the state. (57>

The northern Chinese

One distinguishing feature of Chinese immigration to Sabah was the
presence of a northern Chinese community in the vicinity of Jesselton. This
is unique because so far, nearly all the Chinese who came to Sabah and
Southeast Asia were of southern origin, particularly from the two provinces
of Guangdong and Fujian. This pioneer group of northerners, or the
"
Shandong community " as the local Chinese wrongly termed them, were
natives of Hebei province. The community was brought in through the effort
of Sir West Ridgeway, the Chairman of the North Borneo Company who
thought they would make good pioneers in Sabah, after watching them at
work during his train journey from Beijing in 1913. An agreement was
immediately entered into in August 1913 with the new Chinese Republic
Government of Yuan Shikai, whereby similar terms to those agreed with the
Basel Missionary Society were offered to the northern Chinese. The terms
included a 10 acre land grant to each family with no premium required, rent
free for two years, and 50 cents per-annum per-acre thereafter. The
favourable terms were accepted and steps were undertaken to begin the
recruiting of the northern Chinese. (58>
The forwarding company of Messrs. Forbes & Company of Tianjin was
engaged to send this first batch of 107 families or 430 persons to Sabah.
Most of these northern Chinese originated from the counties of Jingzhou,
Wenan, Shenzhou, Gu'an, Cangxian, Baxian, Yongqing, Jinghai and Tianjin,
all in the province of Hebei. The group was accompanied by a Dr. Sia Tien
Bao (Xie Tanbao), who was deputised by the Chinese Government to be the
overseer of the group. Even though the agreement had provided for a total of
250 families to emigrate to Sabah, this figure was never achieved as due to
the high cost incurred for bringing down the first 107 families, and no
further immigration of northern Chinese was undertaken. (59>
The northern Chinese immigrants were settled at the foot of the hill of
Reservoir Road (Jalan Kolam Air). The land was not as fertile as those given

57. "Proclamation No. 9, 1916", British North Borneo Official Gazette, 28 August 1916.
58. Tregonning, A History of Modern Sabah, p. 147.
59. J. Maxwell Hall, "Our Northern Chinese : Shantung Settlement on Penampang Road",
Kinabalu Magazine, Vol. II, No. 3 & 4, January- April 1953, p. 21.

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1 54 Danny Wong Tze-Ken

to the Hakka Christians along Tuaran Road, but with much perseverance,
they overcame the weakness of the land and began to produce sufficient food
for themselves. Unlike the Hakka Christian settlers who were left alone to
work on their land, the northern Chinese had to spend two to three days a
week working on public projects, including the railway. Other days were
spent working their land. (6°)
Although the northern Chinese worked extremely hard to produce
sufficient food for themselves and to generate extra income, the hardship
faced by the community did take its toll as some who could not withstand
the harsh conditions chose to return to China. (61) By 1928, the numbers in
the community declined to 375, compared to 430 in 1920. (62) The Hebei
Chinese also brought with them a different form of education. When they
opened their own school in 1917, housed in the kitchen of Captain H. V.
Woon, the superintendent of the settlement who was appointed by the North
Borneo Company, lessons were conducted in Mandarin, the official language
of modern China, using the National Chinese Reader. (63) This differed from
most of the Chinese schools, which conducted lessons in their own dialects,
depending on the dialect background of the sponsors of the schools
concerned. Chan Pin Chung was appointed as the schoolmaster of the
Jinqiao School. Thirty students attended the school.
Apart from having a different dialect, the northern Chinese also had
among them several family names which are distinct from the southern
Chinese. Among the most common family names among the 107 families
are, Dong, Fan, Fang, Gong, Han, Nie, Shi, Zhuang and and Xu. t64)
Another feature that became quite common among the northern Chinese
was their inter-marriages with native women, particularly the Dusuns of the
Penampang area. The impetus for this feature was however, different from
that experienced by the early Hokkiens and Teochiu traders who came to
Sabah without their families, where the scarcity of Chinese women in the
country from the middle to the end of the 1800s had compelled the earlier
pioneers to marry native women. In the case of the northern Chinese, by the
time of their arrival, there was already a sizeable number of Chinese women

60. Ibid.
61. Many sold their land before their departure for China. British North Borneo Herald, 2
January 1934.
62. See also British North Borneo Herald, 2 June 1934.
63. "Inspector of Schools to Governor Secretary", 6 April 1917, Secretariat File, No. 812.
64. Wolfgang Franke & Chen Tieh Fan, Chinese Epigraphic Material in Malaysia, Vol. Ill,
Kuala Lumpur, University of Malaya Press, 1987, pp. 1224-1231.

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 Chinese Migration to Sabah Before the Second World War 155

in Sabah. Nonetheless, the northern Chinese could not relate well to the
majority of southerners who were socially and linguistically different from
them. This created social barriers between the two groups of Chinese. The
northern Chinese speak their own dialect and Mandarin. Most would not
have the faintest idea of what their southern counterparts were saying. The
southerners would normally speak their own dialects, and had very little, if
any, knowledge of Mandarin. At that time too, inter-dialect group marriages
were still unpopular. Thus this combination of factors resulted in very little
integration with the southern Chinese, compelling many of the younger
northern Chinese to settle for a Dusun wife. (65)

Further Immigration until 1941

During the economic boom of the 1920s, a greater portion of the Chinese
influx was self-funded, and unrestricted. Sabah, which was hardly known to
the prospective immigrants, suddenly became attractive and became a
popular destination after 1925. The increasing popularity of Sabah could be
attributed to the favourable environment of the territory and the difficulty of
life in China. Sabah experienced an unprecedented economic boom which
offered many opportunities for a better livelihood. Apart from that, the
territory was no longer a " god-forsaken " hinterland compared to the
situation a few decades earlier. The presence of a sizeable Chinese
community would ensure a familiar environment for the new immigrants.
The ceaseless natural catastrophes in China, especially the 1928 flood, and
the political strife prompted many to seek greener pastures abroad, and
Sabah became one of the favoured destinations.
The steady growth of the Chinese community and their industry and
efforts in the development of the Sabah did not go unnoticed. In 1928, Sir
Neil Malcolm, the chairman of the North Borneo Company commented :
It is not too much to say, that under the influence of these two factors - land terms and
road development - the country is undergoing a remarkable and most interesting change
in character... It is no longer a land of only a few large companies, whose profits are
distributed in London, but is rapidly becoming a home for Chinese peasant proprietors,
working and living under British Administration. <66)

The North Borneo Company Government also initiated a programme to

train sufficient number of European officials to speak the Hakka dialect and
Mandarin. In 1928, a "Language Proficiency Bonus" was introduced to the

65. Tregonning, A History of Modern Sabah, p. 147.

66. "91st Half- Yearly Meeting of the British North Borneo North Borneo Company", British
North Borneo Herald, 1 September 1928.

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156 Danny Wong Tze-Ken

government service scheme. Under the scheme, government officials were

encouraged to learn Chinese and would be rewarded with a special
allowance on reaching a certain standard.
The opening years of the 1930s saw some gloomy prospects in the
economic development of Sabah and the world as a whole. The financial
crash of 1929 had taken a long time to recede. In 1931, when the state was
still experiencing an economic slump and the price for rubber, the main
primary produce of the state, was still very poor, many rubber estates were
closed or reduced their labour forces. This forced many Chinese to leave the
state. Even the smallholders who were the chief group of people to benefit
from the "Free-Passage" Scheme during the 1920s, felt the strain, and they
were now unable to continue bringing down their relatives or friends. Some
also returned to China. The total number of Chinese who arrived in the state
under the "Free-Passage" scheme dropped from 1,133 in 1930, to 395 in
1931. In 1932, there were only 92 arrivals, and 187 in 1933.
The number of Chinese emigrants who had arrived in Sabah on their own
account was almost ten times as many as those who came in under the
assisted scheme. Between 1930 and 1940, a total of 31,998 Chinese entered
the state on their own, compared to 3,859 Chinese entered the state under the
"Free-Passage" scheme. The overwhelming entry of free immigrants from
China was due to worsened conditions in southern China. By 1936, Japanese
military encroachments in China was already gaining momentum, many
decided to leave China to avoid the war and political turmoil, and to search
for better livelihood. 4,577 free-Chinese entered Sabah in 1936, and another
7,912 came in 1937. The sudden increase was also a result of the imposition
of a quota for entry into Hong Kong by the Hong Kong government. Faced
with the difficulty of gaining entry into Hong Kong, many Chinese then
decided to go to Sabah and Malaya.
In 1938, worried by its inability to check the inflow of undesirable
refugees from southern China and by the prospect of overstraining the
resources of the state, the North Borneo Company officials decided to limit
immigration. A requirement was imposed whereby a prospective immigrant
must be in possession of $ 10 to $ 70 for adults, and $ 3 to $ 10, for each
dependent minor. (6?) The requirements, considerably heavy in those days,
made Sabah an unattractive destination for those intending to emigrate,
many chose to go to other destinations. A year later, the flow of Chinese into
the state had slowed to a trickle.

67. "Notification No. 136", North Borneo Official Gazette, 21 April 1928.

Archipel 58, Paris, 1999

 Chinese Migration to Sabah Before the Second World War 157

The year 1941 marked the end of mass entry of Chinese into Sabah. The
Asian phase of the Second World War had began at the end of that year. The
outbreak of the war had completely stopped the process of migration from
China to Sabah. Even though Chinese immigration into Sabah resumed for
the first few years after the end of the war, the number of arrivals was small,
and it stopped altogether a few years after China fell into the hands of the
Communist Party of China in 1949.

The Chinese were brought into Sabah in great numbers since the
beginning of North Borneo Company rule in 1881. Even though there were
already some Chinese in the state prior to 1881, their numbers were small.
And apart from the years when William Cowie was Chairman of the North
Borneo Company, Chinese entries into Sabah had always received support
from the North Borneo Company Administration. Immigration of Chinese
into Sabah also depended on the demand for labourers to undertake
agriculture activities. In turn, such demands also depended on the rise and
fall of prices for agricultural products in the world markets.
One important feature of Chinese immigration into Sabah is the attention
given by the North Borneo Company to attracting Chinese pioneers and
agriculturists. In order to attract these people, various schemes offering
attractive conditions such as land and financial assistance were introduced.
Among the most successful was the introduction of the Free Passage Scheme
in 1921. This was extremely successful in attracting the Hakka dialect groups,
who were mostly of peasant origins. This resulted in the increase of the
Hakkas to the extent that they became the largest dialect group in Sabah. The
presence of a northern Chinese community in Sabah also demonstrated the
eagerness of the North Borneo Company to procure Chinese labourers without
any form of provincial prejudice. Nonetheless, the majority of the Chinese in
Sabah originated from the two southern provinces of Guangdong and Fujian.
Even though mass Chinese entries into Sabah ceased a few years after the
Second World War, the number of Chinese who had entered Sabah prior to
the War numbered about 70,000, out of which more than 30,000 were
female. (68) In many ways, the large number of womenfolk in Sabah prior to
the War suggests that most of the Chinese in Sabah had decided to make
Sabah their permanent place of dwelling long ago.

68. As there was no census taken for 1941, the figure given was derived from an average
based on the 1931 and 1951 figures, also taking into consideration the four years'lull ingrowth
caused by the War. See L. W. Jones, A Report on the Census of Population held in 4 July
1951, London, 1953, p. 112.

Archipel 58, Paris, 1999

158 Danny Wong Tze-Ken

Glossary

Baoan SiaTianbao
Baxian Teochiu
Cangxian Tianjin
Basel Missionary Society Wenan
Chan Pin Chung j$^J& Wuhua SU
Dong M Xingning ^
Dongguan ^fg Xu ^
Duyuan fflâ Yong Ah Kit
Fan ?g Yongqing
Fang ^ YuanShikai
Fuzhou Zhuang ^
Gong Zijin %£
Gu'an zongliyamen
Han $|
Honshu
Hebei
Huaxian
Huizhou M
Jinqiao j$ti
Jinghai ^?
Jingzhou ^
Lee Ah Pin
LiHongzhang 2p
Longchuan f|/[|
Meixian
Nanhai
Nie ^
Qingyuan If
Shenzhou
Shi ^

Archipel 58, Paris, 1999