Penampang: Neglected by British Colonialists

Some may inquire why I say that the British colonialists neglected Penampang. The word is "colonialist" and the word "British" identifies the colonising country. needs to be added because in days of old, there were a number of European nations who claimed distant lands as their colonies.

Wikipedia states that "a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state, distinct from the home territory of the sovereign."

North Borneo - today's Sabah - was under the control of a company subservient to the British Crown. This then made the British, through their agents, colonialists. The company which became a Chartered Company had the power to establish colonies.

The same mode of establishing colonies was adopted under King James I who, in 1606, granted a Virginia Company a charter to allow it to establish colonies in Virginia. Virginia is a state in present day United States of America. Wealthy men invested in this company. Apart from ripping the land of its riches, the colonial rulers made the native Indians pay annual tributes to them.

Another puts it this way: "... England planned to exploit (use) its colonies to become wealthy," (http://lajhsslab.com/Colonial/3b.htm)


Why did the British come to Southeast Asia?

Skwirk Online Education states: "In the 16th century, England was a poor country. When they began colonising, it was not as missionaries. When the English put to sea, it aimed to seek immediate profits.

"The Industrial Revolution which took place in Europe in 17th century gave rise to the need for raw materials. The British looked at Southeast Asia as a good target as they were rich in natural resources."

And thus, they came to North Borneo. The presence of these colonialists brought about some good to North Borneo. But what they did for the people was not adequate. This is not surprising because when they first came, they concluded that the land was uninhabited. Therefore, they could exploit the land for their own purposes.

Why did the British neglect Penampang?

Did the colonialists neglect Penampang for the mere reason that they had agreed with the Roman Church that this area would come under their sphere of influence. But that was in the area of religion.

Availability of education for the people of Penampang was among their many neglects or thoughtlessness on the part of the British. While they established schools on the west coast of North Borneo, there was none put up at Penampang. One can somehow say that they failed to do what was necessary to improve the standard of living of the native people of Penampang.

Since the British were looking for financial gains fast, there was nothing in Penampang that they could exploit. The lowlands were planted with rice. There was no gain in that. The primary jungles were somewhere else. There wasn't much at Penampang. And perhaps they somehow knew that Penampang was not rich in mineral deposits. It was not surprising then that they turned their attention someplace else.

It had been written (I forgot who but I think the writer was a white man) that the British tried to implement secondary school education but they had not much success. What were the reasons for the failure? Did they try hard enough? Were they afraid of displeasing their shareholders for not ensuring good returns for their investments?

This neglect by the British put the people at a disadvantage when North Borneo gained independence. Fortunately, the foresight of Mill Hill priests in establishing schools in Penampang including a secondary school at later date helped to lessen the negative impacts of lack of educational facilities in this part of North Borneo. St. Michael's Secondary School made all the difference at a time when poor illiterate rice farmers knew nothing of the future but rice farming.