沙巴是馬來西亞十三州之一，據統計2015年沙巴總人口數為3,543,500，華人佔人口總數百分之8.7。1920至1960年，大批華人移民至沙巴，其中三分之一居住在兩大城市：山打根和哥打基納巴魯(舊稱亞庇)。沙巴的華人社區由五大語族組成：客家、廣東、福建、潮州和海南，各自發展其特色行業並與在地文化融合。自1920年以來，客家人一直是沙巴華人中最大的族群，客家話也成為沙巴華人社區的通用語。即使環境惡劣，客家人仍視沙巴為家園，客家移民以農業為生並善待土地。本研究呈現老、中、青三代共52位受訪人的語言使用情形，運用社會語言學和民族語言學理論討論客語流失和客家意識兩者存在的衝突。

Sabah is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. Hakka has been the major spoken language in Sabah’s Chinese communities since 1920. This study investigated Hakka individuals’ language choices and their identities in Sandakan, Sabah. Fifty-two Hakka individuals across three generations were interviewed and observed. The data revealed that the Hakka language faces several challenges, and its survival is threatened. Hakka was neither the primary language nor the preferred choice of many of the participants; however, they claimed to have an unwavering Hakka identity. This paper draws from studies on language maintenance and shifts in sociolinguistics fields and examined ethnic identity, which appears to be the counterforce affecting Hakka language loss. The conflicts between the Hakka language shift and Hakka identity maintenance are discussed.