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JPN Sabah

Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south. The capital of Sabah is Kota Kinabalu, formerly known as Jesselton. Sabah is often referred to as "The land below the wind", because of its location just south of the typhoon-prone region around the Philippines.

The origin of the name Sabah is uncertain, and there are many theories have arisen. One theory is that during the time it was part of the Bruneian Sultanate, it was referred to as Saba' because of the presence of pisang saba, a type of banana, found on the coasts of the region.

Sabah's economy was traditionally heavily dependent on lumber based on export of tropical timber, but with increasing depletion at an alarming rate of the natural forests, ecological efforts to save the remaining natural rainforest areas were done in early 1982 through forest conservation methods by collecting seeds of different species particularly acacia mangium and planting it to pilot project areas pioneered by the Sandakan Forest Research Institute researchers, however, palm oil has emerged as a choice of farmers to plant as a cash crop. Other agricultural products important in the Sabah economy include rubber and cacao. Tourism is currently the second largest contributor to the economy.

The only place where you can travel overland into Sabah is from Sarawak through the border crossing at Merapok near Lawas. Those who are not citizens of Sabah or Sarawak will have to go through immigration checks here. Kota Kinabalu International Airport is now a major air hub for the Borneo states of Malaysia. The main airlines are Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia providing the main links with Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and as several regional destinations.