Notable Sabahans: Athletes, Artists and Writers

Notable Sabahans at a glance

For a state often seen mainly as a holiday destination, Sabah has produced a striking number of people who made their mark far beyond Borneo. They include the only Malaysian ever to score against England, an internationally collected visual artist, a supermodel who broke into the global fashion industry, and an American writer whose memoir of pre-war Sandakan is still read around the world.

This guide focuses on Sabahans known for sport, art and letters — figures whose stories can be told with warmth and on solid, verifiable facts. Each name below links to a fuller profile. Together they offer a window into how a relatively small population on the edge of Malaysia has contributed to football, golf, fashion, contemporary art, film and literature.

Athletes who put Sabah on the map

Sabah's sporting story is led by footballer Matlan Marjan of Kota Belud, remembered nationwide as the only Malaysian to score against England, with two goals in a 1991 friendly. On the fairways, the state has produced two of Malaysia's most accomplished golfers: Ben Leong, an Asian Tour winner and double SEA Games amateur champion, and Nicholas Fung, who topped the Asian Development Tour Order of Merit in 2013 and represented Asia at the EurAsia Cup.

Artists, models and entertainers

In the creative world, Amber Chia rose from Tawau to become the first Asian to win the Guess! Timeless Beauty Model Search and one of Malaysia's most recognisable faces. Kota Kinabalu-born Yee I-Lann is a leading contemporary artist whose photomedia and woven works explore Sabahan identity and hang in major museum collections. Tawau's Pete Teo is a singer-songwriter and filmmaker who has also acted in international productions.

Writers who chronicled Sabah

The most internationally read portrait of old Sabah came from an outsider who made it home. Agnes Keith, an American, lived in Sandakan from 1934 to 1952 and turned her experiences into three celebrated books, including the prize-winning Land Below the Wind and the wartime memoir Three Came Home, later made into a Hollywood film. Her restored house in Sandakan is now one of the state's best-loved heritage museums.

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