Sabah travel guide

North Borneo was returned to British rule once the war ended, and finally became Sabah in 1963 when it joined Sarawak and Malaya to become part of Malaysia. Today, over 40 years later, Sabah's cultural identity remains fluid – its 2.5 million inhabitants comprise over 30 ethnic groups, along with a large population of Chinese, as well as Indonesians and Filipinos, belying its location in the center of so many vastly different countries. However, its cultural wealth is not reflected in its economy. During the 1970s, Sabah was ranked as one of Malaysia's richest states; now, despite the enormous growth of high-end tourism, it is the poorest, with many surviving on just US $1 a day.

Sabah's natural riches are tragically disappearing too, thanks to logging, illegal trade in wildlife and – most devastatingly of all – the creation of palm oil plantations across huge swathes of what was once virgin rainforest. As well as threatening Borneo's endemic species, the destruction of forests also threatens its traditional cultures, who are forced to leave their ancestral homes. Borneo's future, then, may depend upon foreign influence as much as its past, as attitudes towards palm oil shift, and ethical tourism offers a sustainable, viable alternative to the razing of the forests and the poverty of the people.