The Faces of First Generation Cocos Community

Most of them are already coming to the age of 80 years old and over and many had passed away. These are the faces of the first generation Cocos Islander Community that came to North Borneo in 1949 up to 1952. They could still tell their stories in Cocos Keeling Islands. They had laid the foundation for the future generation to progress and succeed in this Land Below the Wind called Sabah (formerly North Borneo).

May Your Harvest Be Better

Happy Harvest Festival of 2010
Sabah celebrates the festival starting tomorrow and it is all festivities for two days, an event not to be missed if you like photoshoot and cultural and historical events such as this one.

Kg Cocos Also At Langkawi

There is a place called Kg Cocos at Pulau Dayang Bunting in Langkawi, besides the Kg Cocos at Pulau Balambangan north of Kudat, Sabah and Pulau Cocos, south of Johor, Peninsular Malaysia. A trader from Cocos Islands must have landed in these places or had some association with these places.

I had gathered from history that the Cocos Islander is somehow related to the Johor family, besides Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia, Kalimantan. Langkawi was formerly under the British administration of Sir Francis Light and of course Balambangan Island was the first British settlement in North Borneo where the Union Jack was first hoisted but had to shift because of pirates attacks on the island.

Another Cocos Islander Was Knighted

First it was Datuk Railey Jeffry
Second was Datuk Hj Light Nanis
Third Datuk Dr Worren Kabul

These are the 3 Cocos Islander in Sabah that had been given the Datukship by the Yang DiPertua Negeri Sabah. Congratulations

Kg Cocos at Pulau Balambangan

Why was there a Kampung Cocos at Pulau Balambangan in the Northern tip of North Borneo, now Sabah? Could Alexander had visited and settled down at Pulau Balambangan. Pulau Balambangan was the first settlement for the British East India Company in Borneo but was abandoned due to pirtes attack. This is where the Union Jack was first hoisted in Borneo.

To reach Pulau Balambangan you have to take a boat from Kudat. Kudat is about 3 hours journey from Kota Kinabalu city. Pulau Balambangan now has a silica factory and the State Government had plans to develop a clinker plant there but had not started it until now.

Pulau Balambangan is very close to Palawan Island of the Philippines