Pitas is derived from the word "Nopitas" of Sungai language which means "lost". The Bengkoka River was once flooded and as a result of the heavy floods the river was cut off. The name subsequently enshrined by the people at the time which became Pitas.[1]
History
The Pitas District was once under the Kudat District Administration where Pitas was only known as a small district until 1974. It was then recognised as a full district the following year. The district office moved several times to a different location before a tragedy struck in 1999 where the district office was totally burned out and most important documents about the district are destroyed.[2]
According to the last census in 2010, the population of the district is 37,808 which consists of a majority of Rungus, a sub-group of the Kadazan-Dusun people and Orang Sungai (to which also the Tambanuo is included).[3] As in other districts of Sabah, there are also a significant number of illegal immigrants from the nearby southern Philippines, mainly from the Sulu Archipelago and Mindanao which are not included in the population statistics.
Malaysia
Sabah
