客家人從中國移民到沙巴（英殖民地北婆羅洲）可追溯到十九世紀的後期。與其他眾多的華族方言群體不同的是，許多客家人不是以勞工或工匠的身份被引入，而是以定居者的身份出現。他們很多是通過西方基督教會所贊助的移民策劃而來。由於這樣的歷史背景，客家方言社群較偏向於親近英文教育並不難理解。本文除了試圖考察沙巴客家移民對英文教育的反響，更欲進一步探討他們之所以能從原來的農耕方言社群，轉型為政府公務員及專業人士，乃是得力於客家人偏重於英文教育的傾向與結果。此外，以中文為媒介的基督教會，成為推動沙巴英文教育創始者的角色，也是本文試圖探討的一環。

The Hakkas have migrated China to Sabah (British North Borneo) since the late 19th century. Unlike most of their counterparts from other dialect groups who arrived mainly as labourers or artisans, many of the Hakkas were brought in as settlers. Many came through the immigration schemes sponsored by Western Christian missionary societies. Given such background, the Hakka dialect community was deemed to be more receptive to English education. This paper will examine the response of the Hakkas in Sabah towards English education and how the inclination towards English education has helped to transform the community from being a primarily agricultural based dialect group to be civil servants and professionals. This paper will also look at the role of Chinese-based Christian missionaries as the prime initiators of English education in Sabah.