Nabawan District

The Nabawan District (Malay: Daerah Nabawan) is an administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the Interior Division which includes the districts of Beaufort, Keningau, Kuala Penyu, Nabawan, Sipitang, Tambunan and Tenom. The capital of the district is in Nabawan Town.

Nabawan District Daerah Nabawan
District
Seal
Coordinates: 5°5′N 116°27′E
Country	Malaysia
State	Sabah
Division	Interior
Capital	Nabawan
Government
• District Officer	Peter Jiton
Area
• Total	6,089 km2 (2,351 sq mi)
Population  (2010)
• Total	31,807
Website	www.sabah.gov.my/md.nbw/ /\ www.sabah.gov.my/pd.nbw/

Map of Nabawan District

History

The district is formerly known as Pensiangan District before been renamed into Nabawan District in 2004.^[1] The history of the district administration began in 1957. That year, the district got its own district office in Pensiangan, about 114 kilometres south of Nabawan. Since there were no roads in this area, the transport can only be reached by boat or with horse. The district officers stationed in Pensiangan were therefore equipped with horses to perform their duties. The telephone connection to the outside world was an electroless cable laid along the footpath from Keningau to Pensiangan, to which telephones could be attached if required. The first district officer in early 1957 was I.C. Peck.^[2] In the spring of 1974, the administration of the Nabawan District Office was transferred to a newly established office. The Nabawan Scheme, a relocation plan by the United Sabah National Organisation (USNO) was trying to lure new settlers into the area. The plan was not very successful as it was poorly organised with many settlers did not stay longer and returned as they faced challenge to developing the area in addition to the strong traditional views held by the native people in the area.^[3]

Demographics

See also: Demographics of Sabah

According to the last census in 2018, the population of Nabawan district is 52,807 and almost exclusively consists of Murut and Lun Bawang/Lundayeh.^[4] The population is divided among the larger communities and the total area of the district as follows:

Nabawan District	31,807 inhabitants
Nabawan	576
Pensiangan	307
Sapulut	318
Remaining areas	30,606

Gallery

• 
  As-Syahadah Mosque.
• 
  Pensiangan-Sapulut gravel road.
• 
  Sabenait River.
• 
  Swinging bridge over Talangkai River.
• 
  Nabawan rock mill.

See also

• Districts of Malaysia

References

1. "Pensiangan District Council Instrument 1964 [Enactment No. 11/1961]" (PDF). Sabah State Attorney's General Chambers. 1963. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
2. "History". Nabawan District Office. Archived from the original on 28 November 2004. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
3. "History of Nabawan Town". Sabah.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
4. "Population by ethnic group, Local Authority area and state, Malaysia" (PDF). Department of Statistics, Malaysia. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2017.

Further reading

• Treacher, W. H (1891). "British Borneo: sketches of Brunai, Sarawak, Labuan, and North Borneo". University of California Libraries. Singapore, Govt. print. dept. p. 190.
• Rutter, Owen (1922). "British North Borneo - An Account of its History, Resources and Native Tribes". Cornell University Libraries. Constable & Company Ltd, London. p. 157.
• Tregonning, K. G. (1965). A History Of Modern Sabah (North Borneo 1881–1963). University of Malaya Press.

External links

Media related to Nabawan District at Wikimedia Commons

• (in Malay) Nabawan District Council
• (in Malay) Nabawan District Office