A Sabah Gazetteer Copyright © Sabah Forestry Department and Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), 1995 Forest Research Centre, Forestry Department, Sabah, Malaysia First published 1995 A Sabah Gazetteer by Joseph Tangah and K.M. Wong ISBN 983–9592–36–X Printed in Malaysia by Print Resources Sdn. Bhd., 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan A Sabah Gazetteer Joseph Tangah and K.M. Wong Forest Research Centre, Forestry Department, Sabah, Malaysia Published by Sabah Forestry Department and Forest Research Institute Malaysia 1995 Contents Page Foreword vii Introduction 1 Acknowledgements 2 PART 1. Human Settlements 3 PART 2. Hill and Mountain Peaks 24 PART 3. Mountain Ranges 27 PART 4. Islands 30 PART 5. Rivers and Streams 39 PART 6. Roads 81 PART 7. Forest Reserves, Wildlife Reserves and Protected Areas 98 Foreword In the endeavour to prepare a Tree Flora for the botanically rich states of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo, one of the main concerns has also been to assemble an up­to­date data base which incorporates information on species. It was at once realised that this opportunity comes hand­in­hand with information from numerous specimens that will be made available by specialists involved in the project, making the data set as scientifically sound as can be. This gazetteer is one of those steps towards such a specialised data base, tabulating information that serves as a primordial vocabulary on localities within that data base. By itself, too, the gazetteer will be a handy reference to all who are concerned with the scientific and systematic management of natural resources and land use in Sabah, and in the development of geographical information systems. A gazetteer, as one can sense while using the enormous amount of information systematically arranged therein, is no easy thing to compile. We are therefore pleased to see this work come to fruition, and we congratulate the authors, Joseph Tangah and K.M. Wong, on their effort in its preparation, which has taken a huge amount of time in pouring through all the maps that are available. As managers of research, we are tremendously pleased at the cooperation between institutions that have brought forth this publication, and we would also like to particularly acknowledge the pivotal role played by the financial support of the Overseas Development Administration (ODA), U.K., and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) which, together with funding provided by the Malaysian Government through its IRPA (Intensification of Research by Priority Areas) programme, has permitted the Tree Flora project and its associated studies to proceed smoothly. In the final hours of the day, the documentation achieved, such as this gazetteer, will be the products that are used for further resource planning and management. Haji Awang Tengah bin Haji Awang Amin Director, Sabah Forestry Department, Malaysia Dato’ Dr Salleh Mohd. Nor Director­General, Forest Research Institute Malaysia Sabah Gazetteer INTRODUCTION In preparing to set up a data base for botanical information related to the Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak Project, it was soon realised that many place names require to be standardised for practical pmposes, and that a comprehensive gazetteer is thus far not available for Sabah. This is particularly needed not only for spellings (the variations of which can cause confusion) but also to ensure that settlements are not listed under different districts (as district boundaries can change) and referred to, such as on different reference specimens collected through the decades, by different names (as names can also change through different historical periods). Although we have endeavoured to obtain the information from as many maps as are available, we have followed the latest map available when there has been doubt or confusion. It is emphasised that this gazetteer is a guide to localities in Sabah based on information from published maps. It is not a list of all localities that appear on plant specimen labels, as such localities, when not corresponding to specific localities identified in published maps, can only be pinpointed specially in relation to marked localities. The gazetteer will, nevertheless, provide coordinate references that will be useful in referring to all the most significant localities in Sabah, and as a basis for the definition of areas for use in conservation data bases and geographical information systems. The gazetteer is organised with the following sections: Part 1. Human Settlements Part 2. Hill and Mountain Peaks Part 3. Mountain Ranges Part 4. Islands Part 5. Rivers and Streams Part 6. Roads Part 7. Forest Reserves, Wildlife Reserves and Protected Areas. General conventions In this gazetteer, the following conventions are adopted: ALPHABETICAL ARRANGEMENT & SYNONYMS. All indexed names are arranged alphabetically, in the first column. Known variations in the spelling of place names are listed, and their correspondence to the spelling accepted here is indicated by an equation sign ( = ) before the accepted name. The same notation is adopted for indicating synonyms (different names designated for the same location) not accepted here. HOMONYMS. Sometimes, two or more different localities have the same name. Such homonyms will appear together on the list, and no other special indication is provided if they are found in different districts or are sufficiently far apart (e.g., there are two entries each for the settlements Apin Apin, Lingkungan, and Malapi). OMISSION OF HYPHENATION. Within the languages of the region are found a number of words which are repeated to form a separate meaning or a special term. In the names listed here, such words are not hyphenated, although from the point of view of language, such terms are typically composed of repeated words linked by a hyphen. As most of the names in Sabah with such a form have been consistently gazetted and used without hyphenation, we have followed this as a convention. Examples are Api Api, Lakai Lakai, Layang Layangan, Limau Limawan, and Manok Manok. Sabah Gazetteer GRID BOXES & COORDINATE SYSTEM. The grid box in which a location is situated is a 15' X 15' box area, defined by the lower northing and the left easting on the map. The detailed grid reference of a location, where applicable is given as a reading with up to 3 sets of numbers: degrees (°), minutes ( , ), and seconds ("), in the coordinates column. For mountain ranges, some large islands, river courses, roads and reserves, precise coordinates are not applicable and, instead, all grid boxes in which these features occur are listed. However, coordinates for the northernmost, southernmost, westernmost and easternmost extents of large islands and reserves are provided. ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICTS. The administrative district in which a location is classified is given in a column titled District. Sources of information Information for this gazetteer was obtained from the following maps: "Sabah" (Directorate of National Mapping, Malaysia, Edition 2­PPNM, No. 37A, 1976, at 1: 500,000 and No. 37C, 1981, at 1:50,000); "Sabah & Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan" (Directorate of National Mapping, Malaysia, Edition 2­PPNM, No. 184­89, Series 1307, Sheet 3,1988, at 1: 760,000); "Sabah: Natural and Plantation Forests" (Forestry Department, Sabah, 1992, at 1: 1,270,000); "Sabah: Natural and Plantation Forests" (Directorate of National Mapping, Malaysia, Np. 291­89, 1991, at 1: 500,000); "Sabah: Peta Jalan Raya Negeri (Directorate of National Mapping, Malaysia, Edition I­PPNM, DNMM 9001, 1994, at 1: 1,250,000); and 1: 50,000 topographic maps of Sabah of the following series and editions: Series T­735 edition I­DOS (1964,1966,1967,1972,1973) edition 2­DOS (1974) edition 3­DOS (1964, 1965, 1972, 1973, 1974) edition 4­DOS (1964, 1973, 1974) edition I­GSGS (1962, 1963, 1968, 1970) edition 2­GSGS (1961, 1962) edition 3­GSGS (1965, 1970) edition I­PPNM (1971,1972,1973,1974) edition 2­PPNM (1976, 1978, 1979) edition 3­PPNM (1973, 1974) edition 4­PPNM (1974, 1976, 1979) edition 5­PPNM (1978, 1989) edition I­DOS (1964, 1965). Series T­833 In addition, some older names no longer in use but which have been noted in older labels of plant specimen collections are also listed together with their modern equivalents; examples of these are "Api Api" or "Jesselton" (both old names for Kota Kinabalu). Acknowledgements We are grateful to the Survey and National Mapping Department in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, and to R.C. Ong, A. Berhaman and John Sugau for assistance and comments with various areas of map work during the preparation of the Gazetteer. Helpful comments were given by Dr Denis Filer and Dr William Hawthorne of the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford. The Director of Forestry and Head of the Forest Research Centre, Sabah, the Director­General of the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Prof. E. Soepadmo of the Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak Project and Dr P. Bacon of the U.K. Overseas Development Administration have been encouraging in this work. 2 Part 1. Human Settlements PART 1 HUMAN SETTLEMENTS SCOPE OF INCLUSION. Very many small settlements and villages are found in Sabah. Where there are numerous settlements or villages within a small area, only the main ones (including all those which are found on the 1: 500,000 maps) are listed. HOMONYMS. However, when two or more settlements have the same name and are found in the same area or near together, one is usually a larger or main settlement, and the label "village" (in brackets) is inserted after the names which represent smaller settlements, as has been done for "Labang" and "Labang (village)", and "Lingkabau" and "Lingkabau (village)". OMISSION OF THE WORD 'KAMPUNG'. The prefix Kampung (abbreviated Kg.), which means "village" is often, in general use, attached to the name of a small settlement, although not all small settlements are given this prefix on the maps.