Sandakan

Sandakan Elopura
Municipality and district capital
Sandakan Town Bandar Sandakan
Other transcription(s)
• Jawi	سنداکن
• Mandarin	山打根 (Simplified) 山打根 (Traditional) Shāndǎgēn (Hanyu Pinyin)
• Cantonese	Saan1 Daa2 Gan1 (Cantonese Jyutping)
• Tamil	சண்டக்கான் Caṇṭakkāṉ (Transliteration)
From top, left to right: Sandakan City, the Sandakan Municipal Council, the State Secretariat Building, Sandakan Sports Complex, the Sandakan Regional Library, the Sandakan District Mosque, the St. Michael's and All Angels Church, the Tam Kung Temple, and View of Sandakan Bay
Seal
Nickname(s):  The Nature City, Little Hong Kong
Location of Sandakan in Sabah
Sandakan    Sandakan in    Sabah Show map of Sabah Sandakan    Sandakan in    Malaysia Show map of Malaysia Sandakan Sandakan in Asia Show map of Asia Sandakan Sandakan in the Earth Show map of Earth
Coordinates: 05°50′0″N 118°07′0″E / 5.83333°N 118.11667°E / 5.83333; 118.11667
Country	Malaysia
State	Sabah
Division	Sandakan
District	Sandakan
Bruneian Empire	15th century–1704
Sultanate of Sulu	1704–1882
Settled by BNBC	21 June 1879
Declared capital of North Borneo	1884
Discontinuation as capital	1946
Municipality	1 January 1982
City	TBA
Government
• Council President	Henry Idol
Area
• Total	2,266 km2 (875 sq mi)
Elevation [1]	10 m (30 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2020 Census)
• Total	439,050
• Density	190/km2 (500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	Not observed
Postal code	90000 to 90999
Area code(s)	089
Vehicle registration	ES (1967-1980), SS(1980-2018), SM (2018-Present)
Website	mps.sabah.gov.my/portal/

Sandakan (Malaysian: [ˈsandaˈkan]) formerly known at various times as Elopura, is the capital of the Sandakan District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second largest city in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu. It is located on the Sandakan Peninsula and east coast of the state in the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo. In 2010, the city had an estimated population of 157,330^[2] while the overall municipal area had a total population of 396,290.^[2] The population of the municipal area had increased to 439,050 by the 2020 Census.^[3]

Before the founding of Sandakan, Sulu Archipelago was the source of dispute between Spain and the Sultanate of Sulu for economic dominance in the region. By 1864, Spain had blockaded the Sultanate possessions in the Sulu Archipelago. The Sultanate of Sulu awarded a German consular service ex-member a piece of land in the Sandakan Bay to seek protection from Germany. In 1878, the Sultanate sold north-eastern Borneo to an Austro-Hungarian consul who later left the territory to a British colonial merchant. The German presence over the area raised concern among the British. As a result, a protocol was signed between the British, German and the Spanish to recognise Spanish sovereignty over the Sulu Archipelago, in return for the Spanish not intervening in British affairs in northern Borneo.

Sandakan began to prosper when the British North Borneo Company (BNBC) started to build a new settlement in 1879, developing it into an active commercial and trading centre as well as making it the main administrative centre for North Borneo. The British also encouraged the migration of the Chinese from British Hong Kong to develop the economy of Sandakan. However, the prosperity halted when the Japanese occupied the area. As the war continued and Allied bombing started in 1944, the town was totally destroyed. Unable to fund the costs of the reconstruction, the administrative powers of North Borneo were handed over to the Crown Colony government. Subsequently, the administrative capital of North Borneo was moved to Jesselton. As part of the 1948–1955 Colonial Office Reconstruction and Development Plan, the crown colony government began to develop the fishing industry in Sandakan.

Sandakan is one of the main ports for oil, tobacco, coffee, sago, and timber exports. Other economic activities include fishing, ship building, eco-tourism, and manufacturing. Among the tourist attractions in Sandakan are Sandakan Heritage Museum, Sandakan Cultural Festival, Sandakan War Memorial, Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary, Turtle Islands National Park, and Gomantong Caves.