Borneo skip KK and go to Sandakan

I'm planning a trip to Java, Borneo, and then Malaysia. For the Borneo leg, I'm going to skip Kota Kinabalu and go straight to Sandakan so I spend most of the time in the forest. I feel that going to Kota Kinabalu I'll just be seeing another city where I can do that and my other part of the trips. People who have travelled Borneo, is this wise for me? Going to Borneo for me is about experiencing the forests, biodiversity and seeing the animals.