Welcome to Sandakan!

Come and visit Sandakan, 'The gateway to Borneo's wildlife'!

Sandakan is growing its tourism infrastructure across the city with many great restaurants and nightspots emerging. Seafood lovers will love dining out in Sandakan as seafood is fresh, cheap and varied and served in almost all Sandakan restaurants. Popular nightspots including karaoke lounges, nightclubs and bars generally are mostly found in Bandar Indah and are brimming with energetic patrons from as early as 8 pm. Live performances do not normally begin until 10 pm or later.

As Sandakan grows as one of Malaysia's most exciting tourist destinations, so to do the tourist facilities available. The number of hotels in Sandakan is increasing and there are numerous tour providers ready to take you on a fabulous Sandakan tour. For those who prefer to do it on there own, you could check out our Sandakan map to view the location of some of the many exciting things to see & do in Sandakan, all of which can be easily reached by using one of the cities inexpensive and reliable transportation options.

A Japanese airfield, built during World War II by forcing Allied prisoners of war and Japanese civilians to work, is also situated here. This is a sad site indeed as the Sandakan Death Marches claimed most of the prisoners with only six surviving to tell about the horrors of the place. There are a number of tours in Sandakan taking you to walk in the footsteps of heroes, along the infamous Sandakan-Ranau trek, and while this may seem a very solemn experience, the rich beauty of the mountains and this important history lesson are not to be missed.

The word 'Sandakan' is derived from 'sanda', which is a Suluk word for pawn, and 'kan' is a suffix. The literal meaning of Sandakan is 'the place that was pawned'. There are no legends telling us abut who pawned it to whom.

The Sultan of Sulu ruled Sabah's east coast and the present southern Philippines in the early 1870s. William Clarke Cowie, a Scottish gun smuggler hailing from Glasgow set up a small trading centre with the Sultan's permission. This was the first European settlement in Sabah and it was called Sandakan. Soon several Germans reached the area and made it their base so the name changed to 'Kampung German'.

The German presence was due to a lease acquired in 1878 by Baron von Overbeck, the then Austro-Hungarian consul, from the Sultan of Sulu. Later, the lease changed hands and went to Alfred Dent, Overbeck's British partner. A fire accident soon after, on 15 June 1879, caused the total destruction of the German settlement. There was a new British Resident, William B. Pryer, in place by this time. He opted to shift base to Buli Sim Sim in June 1979. The new base was called Elopura, which means ‘beautiful city.' With time, the name Sandakan reappeared, with Elopura being used to refer to a part of Sandakan.

Important events, like the British North Borneo Company moving base to Sandakan from Kudat, and excellent trading on the timber export front made Sandakan a place inhabited by millionaires. In 1883, the capital also moved to Sandakan from Kudat. These were prosperous times for Sandakan, with timber export touching a record high of 180,000 cubic metres during the mid-1930s. Sandakan became popular as the world's largest timber-exporting port dealing in tropical wood.

World War II brought the Japanese to Sandakan in January 1942 and they were ousted only in October 1945 by the Australians. During Japanese occupation the town was referred to as Elopura. The Sandakan Death Marches, among the worst of World War II atrocities, were perpetrated by the Japanese. 6,000 prisoners of war were moved to Ranau, 260 km inland.

Very few survived this march, dying from cruelty or disease on the way. Bombings during the war destroyed Sandakan completely. So, in 1946, with North Borneo turning into a British Crown Colony, Jesselton, present name Kota Kinabalu, became the capital city. Kota Kinabalu is referred to as ‘KK' by the locals.

Kota Kinabalu holds a place of pride as Sabah's most important port and Sandakan comes a close second. Sago, manila hemp, coffee, tobacco, palm oil and cocoa are the main exports here. Sandakan's timber industry still exists, though on a small scale. Tourism is likely to take an important place in Sandakan's future.

Several illegal immigrants have come to settle in Sandakan. As their presence is concentrated in the town centre, businesses have opted to move away to the suburbs to minimise hindrances to operations. The administration launched the Sandakan Harbour Square, an urban improvement project in January 2003. The aim of the project was to resurrect the town centre as Sandakan's commercial centre. New market complexes, hotels and shopping malls have been planned. Projected completion is in 2010 by which time the third and final phase should be over.