COLONIAL REPORTS North Borneo 1952 LONDON: HER MAJESTY^S STATIONERY OFFICE 1953 Designed, Printed and Bound by the Technical Staff of the Government Printing Department. North Borneo, 1953 LONDON : HER MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE 1953 Price 6s Od net (.Printed in North Borneo) CONTENTS Page Part I General Review « • • 1 Part II Chapter 1 Population ... 17 2 Occupation, Wages and Labour Organisation 22 3 Public Finance and Taxation 29 4 Currency and Banking 33 5 Commerce 35 6 Production Land Utilisation and Ownership 39 Agriculture 42 Animal Husbandry 52 Drainage and Irrigation 54 Forestry 55 Fisheries 62 7 Social Services Education 64 Public Health 73 Housing and Building 81 Town Planning 84 Social Welfare 85 8 Legislation 90 9 Justice, Police and Prisons ... 92 10 Public Utilities Water 101 Electricity 103 11 Communications Harbours and Shipping 106 Railways 109 Roads 112 Air Communications « • • 113 Posts 115 T elecommunications 116 12 Government Information Services, Broad- casting. Press and Films ... 119 13 General Geology 121 Anti-malaria research 123 Part III Chapter 1 Geography and Climate 127 2 History 130 3 Administration 134 4 Weights and Measures 140 5 Reading List 141 APPENDICES Table of Appendices 145 Appendices I to XV • • *( 146 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The photographs in this report are reproduced with acknow¬ ledgments to the following: — Bajau Tribesman R. Knowles Mount Kinabalu C. A. Gjbson-Hill The Putatan River W. K. C. Nicholson The Duchess of Kent at Kent College, Tuaran R. Knowles The Duchess of Kent at The Duchess of Kent The Sandakan Photo- Hospital, Sandakan - grapher Group Colony Police Headquarters, Jesselton W. K. C. Nicholson Ceremonial Police Parade at Jesselton R. Knowles A Typical Dispensary Scene R. Knowles The New Health Centre, Jesselton W. K. C. Nicholson Children’s Christmas Party, Sandakan Camera Studio, Sandakan Boy Scouts Display Mei Hwa Studio, Jesselton Temporary Shop-houses, Jesselton R. Knowles New Shop-houses, Jesselton R. Knowles Hand Logging G. S. Brown Dragging by Caterpillar Tractor G. S. Brown Rotan at Kuala Tongod Tamu G. S. Brown Damar at Kuala Tongod Tamu G. S. Brown ILLUSTRATIONS Page Bajau Tribesman Cover Coat of Arms ... Frontispiece Mount Kinabalu ... Opposite 16 The Putatan River ... ... Opposite 17 The Duchess of Kent at Kent College, Tuaran Opposite 64 The Duchess of Kent at The Duchess of Kent Hospital, Sandakan Opposite 64 Colony Police Headquarters, Jesselton Between 64—65 Ceremonial Police Parade at Jesselton Between 64—65 A Typical Dispensary Scene ... ... Between 64—65 The New Health Centre, Jesselton ... Between 64—65 Children’s Christmas Party, Sandakan Opposite 65 Boy Scouts Display ... • • • Opposite 65 Temporary Shop-houses, Jesselton • • • Opposite 96 New Shop-houses, Jesselton ... • • • Opposite 96 Hand Logging • • • Opposite 97 Dragging by Caterpillar Tractor ... Opposite 97 Rotan at Kuala Tongod Tamu Opposite 128 Damar at Kuala Tongod Tamu Opposite 129 GRAPHS Imports and Exports • • • Opposite 36 Main Exports • • • Between 36—37 Main Imports • • • Between 36—37 Source and Destination of Imports AND Exports • • • Opposite 37 MAP Colony of North Borneo Inside back cover General Review THE ROYAL VISIT In October the Colony was honoured by a four-day visit from Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent and her son, the Duke of Kent. The Royal Visitors arrived at Jesselton on the afternoon of Friday the 17th October and left the Colony on the morning of Tuesday the 21st October. In the course of her short stay the Duchess opened the new Teachers’ Training College at Tuaran and graciously named it Kent College. The recently completed Police Headquarters at Kapayan, Jesselton, and the new barracks there were visited and at an informal ceremony Her Royal Highness named them Marina Barracks. On October 20th Her Royal Highness visited the new hospital at Sandakan and in unveiling a bronze plaque commemorating the occasion named the hospital The Duchess of Kent Hospital. Kota Belud which lies near the foothills of the 13,445 ft. mountain of Kinabalu, was visited by the Duke of Kent on October 11th. He was met by a mounted escort of 120 Bajau horsemen wearing their traditional strikingly coloured costumes. The programme included a pony gymkhana which ended with a polo match. On the following morning the Duke went hunting, and later planted a commemorative tree in front of the Court House and visited the local tamu (open air market). The Duchess of Kent and Prince Edward endeared themselves to all who had the pleasure and privilege of meeting and seeing them. Upon their arrival they were given a tremendous ovation by the large crowd which had assembled to greet them, and a similarly enthusiastic reception awaited Her Royal Highness at Sandakan. Seventy guests were presented to the Duchess at Sandakan and over three hundred at a Garden Party held in her honour on the Padang at Jesselton, in the presence of thousands of spectators. The visit was all too brief, but it gave this young Colony a chance, which it gratefully seized, of demonstrating us 2 COLONY OF NORTH BORNEO loyalty, and will long remain a vivid and happy memory, while for the generations to come Kent College, the Duchess of Kent Hospital and the Marina Barracks will be permanent reminders of the Royal interest in the Colony’s affairs. The Government and the People Major-General Sir Ralph Hone, k.c.m.g., k.b.e., m.c., t.d., Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony, was absent on leave from the 16th February until the 18th July. During this period the Chief Secretary, Mr. J. Calder, c.m.g., was the Officer Administering the Government. Mr. Calder came to North Borneo as the first Chief Secretary of the new Crown Colony in July 1946 and in September, 1952, he left on leave prior to a well- earned retirement. His six years of office, which included a total of over two years as Officer Administering the Government, were notable for the re-establishment of good government and the planning and commencement of a sound rehabilitation programme following the destruction of the war years and the confusion and malaise of the Japanese occupation. His valuable administrative experience will be greatly missed. During the six months of the year that he was in the territory, the Governor as in previous years travelled extensively and so helped to maintain and emphasise the happy personal relation¬ ship between the Government and the governed, which he has done so much to foster. Full details of the administration of the Colony are given under Chapter 3 of Part III. The Governor continued to receive invalu¬ able advice from Executive Council which met five times during the year. A further step forward was taken in the consolidation of the Colony’s laws, and twenty-four Ordinances were enacted with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council which met on two occasions. Statutory Boards and Advisory Committees continued to keep Government closely informed of public feeling and to interpret official policy to the people. The diversity of activities in which they were engaged may be seen from the list given in Appendix I. An advance in associating the people more closely with the Government of the Colony was made by the establishment of a Local Authority, under the Rural Government Ordinance, 1951, ANNUAL REPORT, 1952 3 in the predominantly native and homogeneous district of Kota Belud, with effect from the 1st January, 1952. The Local Authority, which has control of its own finances, subject to ap¬ proval of the budget by the Legislative Council, consists of the Native Chiefs and selected Village Headmen, under the Presidency of the District Officer, with his Native Assistant as Vice-President. Although it is clear that the development of an awareness among the ordinary people of the advantages and privileges of local government can only be a gradual process, the Kota Belud Local Authority in its single year of existence already has an impressive record of achievement behind it. In the light of the experience gained, it is hoped that two or more similar authorities will be established in rural areas during 1953. In the towns, which are predominantly Chinese in population, there have been healthy signs of an increasing civic conscious¬ ness. The Labuan Rural Board, which has a limited financial responsibility for its own affairs, functioned satisfactorily through¬ out the year. In other urban areas, the Sanitary Boards under the Chairmanship of the District Officers, continued to take an active interest in the task of planning and rebuilding their towns and in a great variety of other matters affecting urban welfare. It has not yet been possible to enact a Municipal Ordinance and to establish a Municipality at Sandakan (where there is a full time Chairman of the Sanitary Board), but in 1953 it is also hoped to introduce a Bill regulating the work of Township and Municipal Authorities which will constitute a considerable advance on the present Sanitary Boards Ordinance. The second post-war Conference of Native Chiefs which was held in July at Keningau, was attended by twenty-eight Chiefs from all over the Colony. The only Government officer to be present was one administrative officer whose sole function was to assist with the preparation of the agenda and the recording of decisions. The purpose of the Conference was to enable the leading representatives of the various native communities to dis¬ cuss together freely problems common to the different parts of the territory, and to bring matters concerning the welfare of their people to the attention of Government. Considerable time was devoted to discussing agricultural matters, including the demons¬ tration of mechanical cultivators, the need for irrigation, the 4 COLONY OF NORTH BORNEO extent of uncultivated land on some of the large estates.