Sabah is
Malaysia's easternmost
state, one of two Malaysian states on the island of
Borneo. It is also one of the founding members of the Malaysian federation alongside
Sarawak,
Singapore (expelled in 1965) and the
Federation of Malaya. Like Sarawak, this territory has an autonomous law especially in immigration which differentiates it from the rest of the Malaysian Peninsula states. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo and known as the second largest state in the country after
Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It shares a maritime border with the
Federal Territory of
Labuan on the west and with the
Philippines to the north and northeast. The state's only international border is with the province of
North Kalimantan of
Indonesia in the south. The capital of Sabah is
Kota Kinabalu, formerly known as
Jesselton. Sabah is often referred to as the "Land Below The Wind", a phrase used by seafarers in the past to describe lands south of the
typhoon belt.