Chinese is the second largest group in Sabah. The largest single Chinese Chinese Lion Dance group in Sabah are Hakka (Kek), although Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Hainanese, Henghua and other groups are found. While the Chinese have been visiting the shores of Borneo for over 1,000 years, basically for trade, and Chinese settlements are believed to have been established at a few places, namely on the Kinabatangan river and in the Brunei bay area, mass Chinese migration to Sabah only started in the 1880s after the formation of the British North Borneo Chartered Company.

The early Chinese migrants were mainly farmers brought in to open up the land, although artisans and miners also came. The early Chinese settlers in Sabah were mainly Hakka Christian farmers. Even today this is reflected in the census, whereby in 1980 over 50% of the Chinese in Sabah were classified as rural dwellers.

The Chinese have intermixed with the local population, mainly the KadazanDusun, often creating a confusing situation ethnically whereby a person with a Chinese name may not be Chinese. This may only be an indication of some Chinese ancestry. He may be Kadazan in appearance, culture and language.

source: “SABAH, land of the sacred mountain”, by Albert C.K. Teo