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Bordering Sarawak on the northwestern flank of Borneo, SABAH 's beauty lies in its natural resources, wildlife and intriguing mix of ethnic peoples. Until European powers began to gain a foothold here in the nineteenth century, the northern tip of this remote landmass was inhabited by tribal groups who had only minimal contact with the outside world, so that their costumes, traditions and languages were quite unique to the region. Today, the peoples of the Kadazan/Dusun tribes constitute the largest indigenous racial group, along with the Murut of the southwest, and Sabah's so-called "sea gypsies", the Bajau. Latterly, many economic migrants from the southern part of the Philippines and from neighbouring Kalimantan in Indonesia have made Sabah their home, further contributing to the state's rich ethnic mix. Since joining the Malaysian Federation in 1963, Sabah has undergone rapid, if patchy modernization, not least because of the logging industry and oil palm plantation expansion, which together are substantially eating away at the remaining forests in the state. But environmentalists are optimistic, as plans are on the drawing board to protect a larger proportion of Sabah's remaining forests. The two most ecologically important areas which will gain from this policy are the Maliau Basin in the south of the state and much of the Kinabatangan river catchment to the east. This is good news, as Sabah's swampy coasts, rainforests and spectacular high mountains host an astounding range of wildlife , the region's chief draw. Here, you can watch turtles hatch on Turtle Islands Park , see baby orang-utans at the Sepilok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre , and marvel at forest-dwelling proboscis monkeys along the lower reaches of the Kinabatangan. And then there are the turtles, sharks, barracuda and reefs of Pulau Sipadan , which is rated as one of the top diving destinations in the world. Sabah's other huge attraction is the climb up the awesome granite shelves of 4101-metre-high Mount Kinabalu , its challenging but manageable slopes seemingly tailor-made for amateur climbers. Like Sarawak, travel in Sabah is pricey, not least because of the expensive flight from the mainland. But increasingly, travellers are getting to Sabah from the other direction. Indonesia's extensive ferry system now makes travelling from Sulawesi to Kalimantan easy and from there it's only a short step to the vibrant Sabah town of Tawau. Getting from Zamboanga in the southern Philippines to Sandakan by boat is also straightforward.
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