Sabah State Governor’s Birthday in Malaysia Date in the current year: October 5, 2024

The state of Sabah is located in the northern part of Borneo. Unlike most other states in Malaysia, it has never been an independent sultanate. Originally, its territory was part of the Bruneian Empire. In 1658, the Sultan of Brunei ceded part of Borneo, including the territory of the present-day Sabah, to the Sultanate of Sulu as a sign of gratitude for providing assistance in settling the Brunei Civil War.

In the 19th century, North Borneo became a British protectorate administered by the North Borneo Chartered Company (the British government controlled only the foreign policy of the protectorate). During World War II, North Borneo was temporarily occupied by Japan. Shortly after Japan’s surrender and the end of the war, North Borneo was transformed into a British Crown colony.

In 1963, North Borneo was granted the right to self-government and chose to join the Federation of Malaya (as Sabah) alongside Sarawak and Singapore. This is how Malaysia was formed (although Singapore was expelled from the federation two years later). Since Sabah didn’t have a hereditary ruler, Mustapha Harun was appointed as the first governor of Sabah.

Sabah is one of four Malaysian states that are not constitutional monarchies (the other three are Malacca, Penang and Sarawak). Each of these states is ruled by a governor (Yang di-Pertua Negeri) who is appointed by the Supreme Head of Malaysia (Yang di-Pertuan Agong) for a four-year term. Since the term is renewable, most governors are regularly reappointed and rule their states for more than four years.

For example, the incumbent governor of Sabah (as of 2020) Juhar Mahiruddin has been serving since 2011. He was born on November 5, 1953 to a family of politicians. After receiving a law degree and passing the bar in England, he worked as a lawyer for a period of time before going into politics.

Juhar was elected to the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives) of the Parliament of Malaysia in 1990 and soon was appointed as the Deputy Speaker. He served as member of parliament until the 1999 general election, which he did not participate in. Despite skipping the election, Juhar remained active in politics and served as the Speaker of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly from 2002 to 2010. On January 1, 2011, he was sworn in as the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah.

Since governors in Malaysia generally rule for shorter periods than monarchs, the dates of their official birthdays are usually ceremonial. For example, the governor’s birthday in Sabah is celebrated on the first Saturday of October, although the actual birthday of the incumbent governor is November 5. It is a public holiday in the state of Sabah.