East Malaysia
Comprised of the states of Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territory of Labuan, East Malaysia (Malay: Malaysia Timur, a.k.a. Malaysian Borneo or the Borneo States, is the part of the Malaysian Federation on and near northern and northwestern Borneo, with Indonesian Kalimantan covering the rest of the island.
Lying on the other side of the South China Sea, East Malaysia is less populated than West Malaysia, but larger in area and richer in natural resources, with extensive lowland and montane rainforests.
While the coastal regions were formerly under the control of the Sultanates of Brunei and Sulu, most of the interior consisted of independent tribal societies. British interests moved into northern Borneo after James Brooke became the governor of Sarawak in 1841. Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei became British protectorates in 1888.
After the Japanese occupied Borneo between 1941 and 1945, North Borneo (later, Sabah) and Sarawak became separate British colonies, which did not become part of the Federation of Malaya in 1957. Six years later, the two colonies merged with Singapore and the Malaysian Federation despite Indonesian objections. Three years of undeclared war — konfrontasi a.k.a. the Indonesian-Malaysian confrontation followed, as Indonesian forces attempted to infiltrate East Malaysia and undermine the new federal arrangement.
Sources:
Wikipedia: East Malaysia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Malaysia
