The Chinese should be considered as natives or indigenous people of Sabah because history recorded their presence in Borneo as early as 835AD. Sabah Native Cultural and Welfare Organisation (Sano) President, Samson Quintin, said the involvement of the Chinese community in shaping the history of Borneo was also evident through one Ong Sum Ping in 1375 who landed in Kinabatangan.

Ong and his army succeeded in stopping the Suluks' advancement into the territory and in later years he married the daughter of the Sultan of Brunei.

"Based on this fact, I am of the opinion that the Chinese are also qualified to be considered natives of Sabah," he said in a statement here Saturday.

"There is a difference between the term Anak Negeri (indigenous) and Bumiputera," he said.

"For example, in the peninsula, the Malays do not consider themselves as Anak Negeri because the Sakai tribe and others there are the indigenous people.

"Similarly in Sabah, the term native is for native and Bumiputera is for Bumiputera," he said. (DE)