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Chinese Migration to Sabah

Chinese Migration to Sabah before World War II The Chinese can date their presence in Sabah to the Han Dynasty(206 BCE to 220 CE). At the time, they were limited to trade missions and travel to the South Seas. There is no evidence of any early Chinese settlements. However, some

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Pirates of East Borneo

Pirates of Southwest Kalimatan The sea people were foreign migrants who established their communities along the coast. Their ethnic background was varied and considerably mixed. Among these was an important group called the Orang Laut, who settled in Kampong Palembang in Karimata Besar. Karimata Besar is an island in the

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SukADANA & pONTIANAK IN 16 AND 1700’S

The History of Pontianak and Sukadana from ~1770-1820 We go to the east coast of Borneo Island and take a look at some of the history there. Riau was connected to the India-Sino-Southeast Asian trade network, also called the Maritime Silk Road. Through various ports, this network connected India, China

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King of Borneo ?

King of Borneo Many references in Southeast Asian  history refer to the “King of Borneo”, but who was he? Prior to the arrival of James Brooke, one of the White Sultans of Sarawak in 1840, there was no group of people called “Malays”. The people were arranged by others according

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All Creatures Great and Small #80

All Creatures Great and Small #80 Nasopharynx Cancer Nasopharyngeal cancer, a malignancy associated with the Bidayuh of Sarawak, is strongly linked to the Epstein-Barr virus. The virus is associated with initiating and  progression of the tumor. Epstein-Barr virus also stops the immune system from attacking the tumour. International Medical Journal,

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Caves of Sarawak

This article was very difficult for me to translate from geological English to regular English. It seems like I was looking up every other word. Anyway, here is my attempt to explain the geology of the slice of hills just to the south of Kuching. Karst The swampy coastal plain

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About Us

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tom mclaughlin and family

We collect academic articles on Borneo, translate them into ordinary English, and condense them into a manageable read.

In our sometimes column, “All Creatures Great and Small”, we write about current research in Borneo. Each topic is given a line or two and you can proceed to the article and read more. 

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Tom McLaughlin