Colony of North Borneo annual report.

  • British North Borneo
Date:
[1954]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Colony of North Borneo annual report. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    An important administrative development was the creation of “district teams” to co-ordinate plans at district level and to ensure smooth and harmonious administration. The teams are com¬ posed of the chief local representative of each department and prominent local unofficial residents under the chairmanship of the District Officer. Frequent meetings are held. Thirty-two chiefs attended the Annual Conference of Native Chiefs, which was held at Kent College, Tuaran. The purpose of the Conference was, as in former years, to enable the leading representatives of the various Native communities to discuss together freely matters of common concern. The inhabitants of the Colony maintained their law-abiding reputation and the incidence of serious crime was again low. In March, however, occurred a distressing and disturbing incident, when a large band of Suluks from the Philippines, using light craft powered with outboard engines, and armed with automatic weapons, raided the township of Semporna on the East Coast. A Forest Officer, one Police Sergeant and two Police Constables lost their lives in gallant circumstances, and $70,000 worth of property was looted. Immediate measures were taken to intensify patrols along the East Coast and to improve radio communica¬ tions. Considerable help, which is gratefully acknowledged, was received from the Roval Air Force. ij« >(S % The revised estimate of Ordinary Revenue during 1954 amounted to $22.7 million which was $.3 million less than the actual revenue for 1953. Customs revenue showed an increase of about $.1 million over the revenue collected during 1953. Forest revenue also showed an increase and the main reason for the reduction of $.3 million in the total revenue when compared with 1953 was that the 1953 revenue included fairly substantial arrears of Income Tax which were settled during that year. The revised estimate of Recurrent Expenditure during the year amounted to $15.9 million, as compared with $13.8 million in 1953, while expenditure on reconstruction and development (excluding loan expenditure and expenditure under Colonial Development and Welfare Schemes) amounted to $16.0 million compared with $11.3 million in 1953. The excess of normal
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