Ethnic groups of Tawau

Sabah has the highest population density in Borneo. The Kadazan-Dusun are the largest ethnic group in Sabah, occupying most of the west coast and interior regions of the State.

There are 32 indigenous ethnic groups in Sabah , speaking over 50 dialects and languages. Making Sabah an multi-cultural and multi-religious region where everybody lives together in harmony.

The main indigenous group are the Kadazandusun living in the plains in the West of Sabah. Once primarily farmers, they are now mostly engaged in salaried employment jobs from industries over tourism to the government departments.

The second most important group are the Sea Bajau, once a seafaring Muslim tribe referred as ‘sea gypsies’, though today only a handful of Bajau still live the traditional life of true nomads of the seas. They have settled along the east coast of Sabah in typical villages built right above the water.

The third most important ethnic entity in Sabah are the Murut, an interior tribe once famous for its intrepid warriors, and reputedly the last to give up the ancient custom of head-hunting.

The most important non-indigenous people in Sabah are the Chinese, and many businesses are run by Chinese families.

There is a unique group of people in Sabah : the illegal immigrants. They are important to the economy of Sabah. Officially, 1.8 million people share 73,620 sq. km but large number of illegal immigrants boost the real population to well over 2.5 million. Sabah attracts illegal immigrants with lower population densities, much better prospects for employment and better minimum wages (RM10 per day for illegal immigrants working in plantations) compared to that in the Philippines or Indonesia. Several of the problems associated with illegal immigrants include the marine version of shifting cultivation, crime, diseases and street children.

Tawau used to be a haven for illegal immigrants from Indonesia. It is now 'under control' with the help from Federal Government in KL. But it is still the gateway to enter Malaysia for some successful illegal immigrants using boats from Indonesia via Nunukan, Pulau Nyamuk and Sebatik.

Using road to enter Tawau town, every vehicle with passengers has to show their documents and identification before they are allowed to pass security check points. But using sea routs the checking can be easily skipped. The sea is so vast and the coast line is so open with no check point.

Those illegal immigrants from Indonesia entered Sabah illegally before 2002 many obtained citizenships from the National Registration Department.

Tight actions taken by the Federal Government of Malaysia has successfully restrict the grow of illegal immigrants population in Tawau for the last few years. Street children for example, just few years ago we see these stateless children every day sleeping in front those banks in Fajar commercial area are today no where to be seen. Instead the same area seen an increase of businessmen and tourist from Sarawak and Kuala Lumpur.

Bajau, the second largest indigenous group, is a collective term for a predominantly Muslim peoples and Kindered groups. Originally seafarers there are now two distinct groups, the East Coast Bajau and West Coast Bajau.

There are the "Land Bajau" (like our local cowboys) & the "Sea Bajau" (Sea Nomads that also exist in the Philipines).

The West Coast Bajau have now settled down around the Kota Kinabalu to Kota Belud areas and have learnt the art of farming and cattle rearing. They are the famous cowboys of Sabah. Their skills in horsemanship are well known locally and on festive occasions both horses and riders are dressed in colorful costumes.

On the east coast however many of the Sea Bajaus still live in the traditional way. Fishing is the main activity. While many have settled on land or in water villages some are still nomadic boot dwellers.

The Bajau are actually from the southern Philippines, and arrived in Sabah more than 200 years ago. There are still close cultural ties between Sabah and Philippines Mindanao province.

Chinese is the second largest group. The largest single Chinese group are Hakka (Kek), although Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Hainanese, Henghua and other groups are found. The early Chinese migrants were mainly farmers brought in to open up the land, although artisans and miners also came. The early Chinese settlers were mainly Hakka Christian farmers. Even today this is reflected in the census, whereby in 1980 over 50% of the Chinese were classified as rural dwellers. The Chinese have intermixed with the local population, mainly the KadazanDusun, often creating a confusing situation ethnically whereby a person with a Chinese name may not be Chinese. This may only be an indication of some Chinese ancestry. He may be Kadazan in appearance, culture and language.