Kota Kinabalu formerly known as
Jesselton, is the capital of
SabahSabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
state in East
Malaysia. It is also the capital of the
West Coast DivisionWest Coast Division is an administrative division of Sabah, east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It occupies the northwest portion of Sabah. With an area of 7,588 square kilometres, it occupies 10.3% of Sabah's territory...
of Sabah. The city is located on the northwest coast of
BorneoBorneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
facing the
South China SeaThe South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
. The
Tunku Abdul Rahman National ParkThe Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park comprises a group of 5 islands located between 3 to 8 km off Kota Kinabalu. The park is spread over 4,929 hectares, two thirds of which cover the sea. Before the Ice Age, it formed part of the Crocker Range mass of sandstone and sedimentary rock on the mainland...
lies on one side and
Mount KinabaluMount Kinabalu is a prominent mountain on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is located in the East Malaysian state of Sabah and is protected as Kinabalu National Park, a World Heritage Site. Kinabalu is the tallest peak in Borneo's Crocker Range and is the tallest mountain in the Malay...
, which gave the city its name, is nearby. Kota Kinabalu proper has a population of 617,972 while the larger urban area has an estimated population of 900,000. It is the largest urban centre in Sabah and the sixth largest in Malaysia.
Kota Kinabalu is often known as
K.K. within Malaysia and internationally. It is a major tourist destination and a popular gateway for travellers visiting Sabah and Borneo.
Kinabalu National ParkKinabalu National Park or Taman Negara Kinabalu in Malay, established as one of the first national parks of Malaysia in 1964, is Malaysia's first World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO in December 2000 for its "outstanding universal values" and the role as one of the most important biological...
is located about 90 kilometres from the city and there are many tourist attractions in and around the city. Kota Kinabalu is also one of the major industrial and commercial centres of
East MalaysiaEast Malaysia, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia located on the island of Borneo. It consists of the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Federal Territory of Labuan. It lies to the east from Peninsular Malaysia , which is located on the Malay Peninsula. The two are...
. These two factors combine to make Kota Kinabalu one of the fastest growing cities in Malaysia.
History
In the late 1800s, the
British North Borneo CompanyThe North Borneo Chartered Company or British North Borneo Company was a chartered company assigned to administer North Borneo in August 1881. North Borneo became a protectorate of the British Empire with internal affairs administered by the company until 1946 when it became the colony of British...
(BNBC) began to establish colonies throughout
North BorneoNorth Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered Company from 1882 to 1946. After the war it became a crown colony of Great Britain from 1946 to 1963, known in this time as British North Borneo. It is located on the northeastern end of the island of Borneo. It is...
(now Sabah). In 1882, the Company founded a small settlement in the area known as
Gaya Bay which was already inhabited by the
BajauThe Bajau or Bajaw , also spelled Bajao, Badjau, Badjaw, or Badjao, are an indigenous ethnic group of Maritime Southeast Asia...
people. The first settlement was on
Gaya IslandPulau Gaya is a sizeable Malaysian island of 1,465 ha, just 10 minutes off Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and forms part of the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park. Pulau Gaya derived its name from the Bajau word "Gayo" which means big and occupies an area of 15 km² with an elevation of up to 300 metres...
(Pulau Gaya). In 1897, this first settlement was burned and destroyed by the indigenous Bajau freedom fighter led by Mat Salleh.
After the rebellion, the Company decided to relocate the settlement to the more easily defended mainland opposite Pulau Gaya. A nearby fishing village named
Api-Api (see
Original names below), was the next settlement of the Company. This new location was then designated as the main harbour and port, as well as the terminus for the North Borneo Railway. It was expanded and renamed
Jesselton, named after Sir Charles Jessel, the then Vice Chairman of the Company.
Eventually, Jesselton became a major trading post of North Borneo, dealing in
rubberNatural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
,
rattanRattan is the name for the roughly 600 species of palms in the tribe Calameae, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia.- Structure :...
,
honeyHoney is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
, and wax. The new railway was used to transport goods to Jesselton harbour. The Malay and Bajau uprisings during these times were not uncommon, and the Company worked to quell the long-standing threat of piracy in the region.
Jesselton was razed by the retreating British early in World War II to prevent it from falling into the hands of the
JapaneseThe Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
. After the
Japanese takeover of BorneoThroughout much of World War II, British Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak were under Japanese occupation.The Japanese Empire commenced the Pacific War with the invasion of Kota Bahru in Kelantan on 8 December 1941 at 00:25, about 90 minutes before the Attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii at 07:48 on 7...
, it was again renamed Api. Several rebellions against the
Japanese military-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
administration took place in Api. One major rebellion occurred in 1943 by the group called Kinabalu Guerrillas, consisting of local inhabitants. Japanese forces quelled the rebellion after its leader, Albert Kwok, was arrested and executed in 1944. At the later stages of the war, what remained of the town was destroyed again by
AlliedThe Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
bombings as part of the
Borneo CampaignThe Borneo Campaign of 1945 was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area, during World War II. In a series of amphibious assaults between 1 May and 21 July, the Australian I Corps, under General Leslie Morshead, attacked Japanese forces occupying the island. Allied naval and...
in 1945, leaving only three buildings standing. The war in North Borneo ended with the official surrender of the Japanese 37th Army by Lieutenant General Baba Masao in
LabuanLabuan is a federal territory in East Malaysia. It is an island off the coast of the state of Sabah. Labuan's capital is Victoria and is best known as an offshore financial centre offering international financial and business services via Labuan IBFC since 1990 as well as being an offshore support...
on September 10, 1945.
After the war, the British North Borneo Company returned to administer Jesselton but was unable to finance the huge costs of reconstruction. They gave control of North Borneo to the British Crown in 1946. The new colonial government elected to rebuild Jesselton as the capital of North Borneo instead of
SandakanSandakan is the second-largest city in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the north-eastern coast of Borneo. It is located on the east coast of the island and it is the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo...
, which had also been destroyed by the war.
When North Borneo together with Sarawak, Singapore & Federation of Malaya formed the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, the state became known as Sabah and Jesselton remained its capital. Jesselton was renamed Kota Kinabalu on September 30, 1968 and received official city status from the Malaysian government on February 2, 2000.
Etymology
Kota Kinabalu is named after
Mount KinabaluMount Kinabalu is a prominent mountain on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is located in the East Malaysian state of Sabah and is protected as Kinabalu National Park, a World Heritage Site. Kinabalu is the tallest peak in Borneo's Crocker Range and is the tallest mountain in the Malay...
, situated about 50 kilometres east-northeast of the city.
Kinabalu is derived from the name
Aki Nabalu meaning the "revered place of the dead", in which,
Aki means "ancestors" or "grandfather", and
Nabalu being a name for the mountain in the
DusunDusun is the collective name of a tribe or ethnic and linguistic group in the Malaysian state of Sabah of North Borneo. Due to similarities in culture and language with the Kadazan ethnic group, a new unified term called "Kadazan-Dusun" was created. Collectively, they form the largest ethnic group...
language. There is also a source claiming that the term originated from
Ki Nabalu, where
Ki meaning "have" or "exist", and
Nabalu meaning "spirit of the dead".
Kota is a Malay word for a "fort", "town", or a "city". It is also used formally in a few other Malaysian towns and cities, for example, Kota Bahru,
Kota TinggiKota Tinggi is a town in the state of Johor of Malaysia, located around 42 kilometers north-east of Johor Bahru, on the road to Mersing. Hometown of Azizul Hanipah. Kota Tinggi can also be reached by ferry from Changi terminal in Singapore where tourists need to pass through the immigration check...
, and
Kota KemuningKota Kemuning is a township located in the city of Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia along KESAS Highway between Subang Jaya and Bukit Tinggi townships. It is developed by Hicom-Gamuda Development Sdn Bhd, a joint-venture company between DRB-HICOM and Gamuda Berhad...
. It could also be used informally to refer to any towns or cities. Henceforth, a direct translation of the name
Kota Kinabalu into English would be "City of Kinabalu" or "Kinabalu City".
Wendy Suart wrote in her book on
North BorneoNorth Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered Company from 1882 to 1946. After the war it became a crown colony of Great Britain from 1946 to 1963, known in this time as British North Borneo. It is located on the northeastern end of the island of Borneo. It is...
,
The Lingering Eye, "there is in the [Sabah] State Museum a Dutch map of Borneo and the Celebes dated 1657 in which the settlement where Jesselton was to stand is clearly labelled Api Api. It may have some connection with the seaside tree with breathing roots that bears the same name." Another explanation is that the name Api Api is derived from the devastating fire which occurred in the city's early years ('Api' means 'fire' in the Malay language). In Chinese, the city is known as 'Api', which is the
HakkaThe Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
pronunciation for 亚庇 (Simplified Chinese; Traditional Chinese: 亞庇; 'Ya bi' in Mandarin Chinese).
Original names
Besides Jesselton, there have been a number of other theories as to the original name for Kota Kinabalu. The most popular, as mentioned above, is
Api-Api, or simply
Api, which is a Malay word meaning 'Fire'. It was apparently named as such by the mainly Bajau locals to commemorate the burning of the British administrative office on Pulau Gaya (Gaya Island) instigated by Mat Salleh, as well as other incidents of arson normally perpetrated by pirates. There are claims, however, that Kota Kinabalu was actually named after a nearby river called
Sungai Api-Api. Besides Api-Api, another suggested historical name is
Deasoka, which roughly means "below the coconut tree" in the Bajau language. The Bajau locals purportedly used this name to refer to a village on the southern part of the city which was filled with coconut trees. Another name was
Singgah Mata which literally means "transit eye", but can be loosely translated as "pleasing to the eye". It is a name purportedly given by fishermen from Pulau Gaya referring to the strip of land which today is downtown Kota Kinabalu. Today, all these names have been immortalised as names of streets or buildings around the city. Some examples are Lintasan Deasoka, Api-Api Centre and Jalan Singgah Mata.
Capital city
Being the capital city of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu plays an important role in the political and economic welfare of the population in the entire state. It is the seat of the state government where almost all of their
ministriesA ministry is a specialised organisation responsible for a sector of government public administration, sometimes led by a minister or a senior public servant, that can have responsibility for one or more departments, agencies, bureaus, commissions or other smaller executive, advisory, managerial or...
and
agenciesA government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
are based. Most of the
Malaysian federal governmentThe politics of Malaysia takes place in the framework of a federal constitutional monarchy, in which the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is head of state and the Prime Minister of Malaysia is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the federal government and the 13 state governments. ...
agencies and departments are also located in Kota Kinabalu. The Sabah State Legislative Assembly is located at nearby Likas Bay. There are four Members of Parliament (MPs) representing four
parliamentary constituencies in the city: Sepanggar (
P.171), Kota Kinabalu (
P.172), Putatan (
P.173), and Penampang (
P.174). The city also elects 9 representatives to the state legislature from the state assembly districts of Karambunai, Inanam, Likas, Api-Api, Luyang, Tanjung Aru, Petagas, Kepayan, and Moyog.
Local authority and city definition
The city is administered by
Dewan Bandaraya Kota KinabaluDewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu or Kota Kinabalu City Hall is the city council which administers the city and district of Kota Kinabalu in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. This council was established after the city was officially granted city status on February 2, 2000...
(Kota Kinabalu City Hall). The current mayor of Kota Kinabalu is Abidin Madingkir, who took over from Datuk Iliyas Ibrahim on January 31, 2011. Datuk Iliyas in turn became the second
mayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of the city after taking over from Datuk Abdul Ghani Rashid in 2006. The city obtained
city statusThis is a list of cities of Malaysia. In Malaysia, there are populated areas which are granted city status by law . However, there are also highly urbanised and populated areas which does not have city status, but are sometimes colloquially also referred to as cities. City status is granted to a...
on February 2, 2000, and prior to this it was administered by Majlis Perbandaran Kota Kinabalu (Kota Kinabalu Municipal Council/Kota Kinabalu Town Hall).
The city is defined within the borders of what is the
districtDistricts in Malaysia are known as Daerah or Jajahan . A district governed directly by the federal government is known as a Federal Territory, and they are Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Labuan....
, formerly the
municipalityA municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
, of Kota Kinabalu. With an area of 351 square kilometres, it is the smallest but the most populous district in Sabah. It encompasses
Tanjung AruTanjung Aru is a sub-district of Kota Kinabalu of Sabah, in Malaysia. Its main feature is its beach called Tanjung Aru Beach which stretches to over 2 kilometres long. It also has its own township called Pekan Tanjung Aru...
and
KepayanKepayan is a sub-district, or a neighbourhood, within the city of Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia. It is located within Kota Kinabalu city district, and borders on with the district of Penampang. The Sabah Contingent Police Headquarters, as well as Kota Kinabalu Central Prison, are located in Kepayan....
in the south, up to
TelipokTelipok is a town located about 15 kilometres north of Kota Kinabalu, in Sabah, Malaysia. The town is within the administration of Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu and is a sub-district of the city. It is also part of the urban expanse of Kota Kinabalu or part of its metropolitan area...
and
SepanggarSepanggar is a sub-district of Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia. It is located around Sepanggar Bay which houses the Sepanggar Bay Container Terminal, a major naval base for the Royal Malaysian Navy as well as the Sepanggar Bay Oil Terminal...
in the north. The urban expanse of the city however extends into the district of
PenampangPenampang is a district as well as a small town within the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. It has virtually become a suburb of Kota Kinabalu which is Sabah's capital. Its population was estimated to be around 132,002 in 2000, with ethnic Kadazan-Dusun as the majority.The name penampang...
on the south of the city border, which includes the towns of
DonggongonDonggongon is a town in the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. The town is located within the district of Penampang, but today it can be considered as part of the greater metropolitan area of Sabah's capital city, Kota Kinabalu. As of 2007, it has a population of 78,086.Donggongon is a very...
and
PutatanPutatan is a town and a suburb of Kota Kinabalu in the state of Sabah, East Malaysia.-Location:The town was located within the district of Penampang on the coast of the West Coast Division but from March 1, 2007, Putatan became a district on its own....
. The combined area of Kota Kinabalu (district) and the built up areas in Penampang can also be described as Kota Kinabalu (urban area). The district of Penampang has an area of 466 square kilometres, and is administered by Majlis Daerah Penampang (Penampang District Council).
On one end of the scale, Kota Kinabalu may sometimes only refer to, especially by local inhabitants, the city centre or
central business districtA central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
, area near the sea facing Pulau Gaya. On the other end of the scale, it may also refer to the
metropolitan areaThe term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
which includes urban Kota Kinabalu, and the surrounding towns of
PaparPapar is a town as well as a district located in West Coast Division of Sabah, east Malaysia. It is situated 38 kilometres south of Kota Kinabalu and is one of the main stops on the North Borneo Railway line other than Tanjung Aru, Putatan, Beaufort and Tenom in which Papar lies on the middle of...
and
KinarutKinarut is a town just outside Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia. Located about 20 kilometres south of Kota Kinabalu, it is one of the stops for the North Borneo Railway. Popular tourist destinations in Kinarut are the Kindawan Horse Riding Centre, Dinawan Island, Lok Kawi Wildlife Center and...
, in the south, and
TuaranTuaran is a town as well as a district located in West Coast Division, in the northwest of Sabah, East Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Tuaran district has an area of 1,166 square kilometres and an estimated population of 94,100 in 2006. About half the population consists of ethnic Dusun, a third...
and
TamparuliTamparuli is a small town and a sub-district of Tuaran on the west coast of Sabah, Malaysia. It is populated mainly by native Dusuns, while a sizeable Chinese community runs most of the shops in the town proper...
, in the north, being within its zone of influence.
International relations
Several countries have set up their consulate in Kota Kinabalu including
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
,
BruneiBrunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
,
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
,
IndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
,
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Kota Kinabalu currently has four sister cities.
-
YonginYongin is a major city in the Seoul National Capital Area, located in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. With a population of nearly 1 million, the city has developed abrutly since the 21st century, recording the highest population growth of any city in the country. Yongin is home to Everland and...
,
South KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
-
Ratchaburi ProvinceRatchaburi is one of the central provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Pathom,Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram and Phetchaburi...
,
ThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
-
City of RockinghamThe City of Rockingham is a Local Government Area in the far southern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth.-History:In 1896, residents of Rockingham petitioned to establish a road board, which they proposed be called "Clarence" which was the name of the failed settlement of...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
-
VladivostokThe city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
,
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
Geography
Kota Kinabalu is located on the west coast of Sabah. The city lies on a narrow flatland between the
Crocker RangeCrocker Range , is a mountain range on the island of Borneo. Politically, it is within the boundary of the Malaysian state of Sabah, located in the northern half of Borneo. The mountain range separates the east coast and west coast of Sabah. At an average height of 1800m, it is the highest mountain...
to the east and the
South China SeaThe South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
to the west. There are six islands off the coast of the city. The largest is
Pulau GayaPulau Gaya is a sizeable Malaysian island of 1,465 ha, just 10 minutes off Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and forms part of the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park. Pulau Gaya derived its name from the Bajau word "Gayo" which means big and occupies an area of 15 km² with an elevation of up to 300 metres...
, the site of the first British settlement. Approximately 8,000 people live there. The smaller islands, mainly uninhabited, are named Pulau Sapi, Pulau Manukan, Pulau Sulug, Pulau Mamutik and Pulau Sepanggar to the north. Sepanggar island is located north of the National Park opposite Sepanggar Bay.
Flat land is at a premium in the city centre, and there is a strict limit to the height of buildings: the airport is 7 km away, and the city is directly in the flight path. Most of the Central Business District (CBD) today is built on
land reclaimedLand reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
from the sea. The original local plant life has largely disappeared, but several hills within the city (too steep for building) are still clothed with
tropical rainforestA tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator . This ecosystem experiences high average temperatures and a significant amount of rainfall...
. One of these is Signal Hill, which confines the CBD to the shore. In the area of Likas Bay the remnants of an extensive mangrove forest was nearly lost. In 1996, a perceptive state government stepped in and declared 24 acres (97,124.6 m²) of the forest as a protected area. This forest is now known as the Kota Kinabalu City Bird Sanctuary. The sanctuary was given additional protection as a State Cultural Heritage Site in 1998.
The five islands (of Gaya, Sapi, Manukan, Sulug, Mamutik) opposite the city, and their surrounding waters, are also preserved as the
Tunku Abdul Rahman National ParkThe Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park comprises a group of 5 islands located between 3 to 8 km off Kota Kinabalu. The park is spread over 4,929 hectares, two thirds of which cover the sea. Before the Ice Age, it formed part of the Crocker Range mass of sandstone and sedimentary rock on the mainland...
. The park was named in honour the first Prime Minister of Malaysia,
Tunku Abdul RahmanTunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, AC, CH was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the...
. This is a popular recreational spot for tourists and local people. The Kota Kinabalu city centre, mostly business and government, includes Karamunsing, the port area (Tanjung Lipat), Signal Hill, Kampung Air, Sinsuran, Segama, Asia City, Gaya Street (Old Town), Bandaran Berjaya, Api-Api, Sutera Harbour and Sembulan. Outlying neighbourhoods and residential suburbs include Kepayan Ridge, Tanjung Aru, Petagas, Kepayan, Lido, Lintas, Nosoob, Bukit Padang, Luyang, Damai, Likas and Kolombong. The city is growing steadily and the
urban sprawlUrban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...
extends to the towns of
InanamInanam is a town and sub-district of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia. It is situated 10km from Kota Kinabalu city centre.The town population consists of mainly the Dusun, and the Chinese who operate the shops. Of late however there is a large influx of immigrants both from the southern Philippines...
,
MenggatalMenggatal is a Malaysian town and sub-district on the west coast of Sabah, on the outskirts of the capital, Kota Kinabalu. It is under the jurisdiction of Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu ....
,
SepanggarSepanggar is a sub-district of Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia. It is located around Sepanggar Bay which houses the Sepanggar Bay Container Terminal, a major naval base for the Royal Malaysian Navy as well as the Sepanggar Bay Oil Terminal...
,
TelipokTelipok is a town located about 15 kilometres north of Kota Kinabalu, in Sabah, Malaysia. The town is within the administration of Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu and is a sub-district of the city. It is also part of the urban expanse of Kota Kinabalu or part of its metropolitan area...
and south of the district border to
DonggongonPenampang is a district as well as a small town within the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. It has virtually become a suburb of Kota Kinabalu which is Sabah's capital. Its population was estimated to be around 132,002 in 2000, with ethnic Kadazan-Dusun as the majority.The name penampang...
,
PutatanPutatan is a town and a suburb of Kota Kinabalu in the state of Sabah, East Malaysia.-Location:The town was located within the district of Penampang on the coast of the West Coast Division but from March 1, 2007, Putatan became a district on its own....
, and
Lok KawiLok Kawi is a township in the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia.Located around the border of the districts of Penampang and Papar, and about 15 kilometres south of the state capital Kota Kinabalu, it has become part of the urban expanse of Kota Kinabalu. It also features one of the few Hindu...
.
Kota Kinabalu is generally isolated from the rest of the country; it is located about 1624 kilometres (1,009.1 mi) from
Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
in
Peninsular MalaysiaPeninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
and 804 kilometres (499.6 mi) from
KuchingKuching , officially the City of Kuching, and formerly the City of Sarawak, is the capital and most populous city of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is the largest city on the island of Borneo, and the fourth largest city in Malaysia....
in the neighbouring state of
SarawakSarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
.
Climate
Kota Kinabalu features a
tropical rainforest climateA tropical rainforest climate, also known as an equatorial climate, is a tropical climate usually found along the equator...
, under the
Koppen climate classificationThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
. However, the city has noticeably wetter and drier seasons. Two prevailing monsoons characterize the climate of this part of Sabah, the Northeast
MonsoonMonsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
and the Southwest Monsoon. The Northeast Monsoon occurs between November and March with cooler temperatures and less rainfall, while the Southwest Monsoon occurs between May and September, which brings warmer temperatures and more rainfall. There are also two successive inter-monsoons from April to May and from September to October.
Temperature variation throughout the year is small. However, April and May are generally the hottest months, while December and January are often the coolest. During this period (December and January), some surge of cold winds blowing from
SiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
occasionally can drop the early morning temperature to 20 °C. Rainfall varies markedly through the year. February and March are typically the driest months while rainfall peaks in the inter-monsoon period around October. Relatively humidity is quite high throughout the year.
Demography
There have not been any official or popular adjectives, or demonyms, to describe the people of Kota Kinabalu. A simple way to describe the people of the city can be "
orang K.K.", where
orang means "person" or "people" in Malay. The terms "K.K-ites" and "K.K-ians" have also been used to a limited extent. People from Sabah are called Sabahan.
Ethnicity and religion
Malaysian Census 2010 Report indicates that Kota Kinabalu has a population of 436,100. The city's population today is a mixture of many different races and
ethnicitiesAn ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
. The city consists of mainly Bruneian Malay,
Kadazan-DusunKadazan-Dusun is the term assigned to the unification of the classification of two indigenous tribes in Sabah, Malaysia—the ethnic groups Kadazan and Dusun.- History :...
, Rungus,
MurutMurut may refer to:* Murut people, an ethnic group of the northern inland regions of Borneo* Murutic languages or Murut languages, spoken by those people* Tagol Murut language, the most widely spoken of the Murutic languages* Murut, Azerbaijan, a village...
,
ChineseHan Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
and Bajaus. The Chinese are mostly
HakkasThe Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
and can be found mainly in the Luyang area. The area of Penampang is populated mainly by Kadazans, while the Bajaus mainly reside in Likas, Sembulan and Karambunai. The Malays and Bajaus are Muslims. The Kadazans here mainly practice Christianity, whilst the Chinese are mainly
BuddhistsBuddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
or Christians. There are a small number of Hindus, Sikhs, Animists, and a small number of secularists also exist.
There is also a sizeable
FilipinoThe Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
population in the city. The first wave of migrants arrived in the late 15th century during the Spanish colonisation, while some are refugees arriving in the early 1970s because of the troubles in southern Philippines. A significant number of them today, however, consists of migrant workers arriving from the late 1970s onwards. Most of the earlier migrants have been
naturalisedNaturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
as Malaysian citizens, however there still remains some living without proper documentation around the city as illegal immigrants. Most of the Filipino migrants are Suluks coming from the southern parts of Philippines. There are also a number of
IndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n migrants living around the city, mostly coming from
CelebesSulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
,
JavaJava is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
,
FloresFlores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...
of the
Lesser Sunda IslandsThe Lesser Sunda Islands or Nusa Tenggara are a group of islands in the southern Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands...
.
There is a small population of Indians,
PakistanisAbout 98% of languages spoken in Pakistan are Indo-Iranian , a branch of Indo-European family of languages. Most languages of Pakistan are written in the Perso-Arabic script, with significant vocabulary derived from Arabic and Persian. Punjabi , Seraiki, Sindhi, Pashto, Urdu, Balochi, Kashmiri , etc...
and
EurasiansThe word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
scattered around the city. More recently the number of expatriates living in the city, either temporarily or permanently, have also increased. Most have come from
South KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
,
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Interracial marriages are not uncommon and Kadazan-Chinese intermarriages are particularly common. The mixed race offspring of Kadaza and Chinese are referred to as Sino-Kadazans or simply "Sinos".
Languages
The people of Kota Kinabalu mainly speak Malay
Bahasa MelayuMalay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
, with a distinct Sabahan accent. However, as almost 50% of Kota Kinabalu residents are of Chinese descent, many also speak Chinese dialects.
HuìyángHuizhou , historically known as Waichow, is a city located in central Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. Part of the Pearl River Delta, Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shaoguan to the north, Heyuan to the northeast, Shanwei to the east, Shenzhen...
Hakka (Simplified Chinese: 惠阳客家话; Traditional Chinese: 惠陽客家話) and Mandarin are the main dialects spoken by the Chinese. Additionally, most Chinese are also able to speak the
CantoneseCantonese is a dialect spoken primarily in south China.Cantonese may also refer to:* Yue Chinese, the Chinese language that includes Cantonese* Cantonese cuisine, the cuisine of Guangdong province...
dialect, though with widely varying levels of fluency. Almost all residents are also able to speak the English language, especially the younger generation. However, some find difficulty in speaking fluently due to a limited vocabulary and the general lack of usage of the English language as a conversational lingua franca among Sabahans as a whole.
The number of
Bahasa KadazandusunCoastal Kadazan is a Austronesian language primarily spoken in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the primary language spoken by the Kadazan ethnic group.The language has adopted many loanwords, particularly from other North Borneo indigenous languages and also Malay....
speakers is thought to have dropped significantly throughout Sabah especially in larger towns or cities like Kota Kinabalu. However, some efforts can be seen to have been taken by some to revive the usage of the language. Kadazan has been considered an
endangered languageAn endangered language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use. If it loses all its native speakers, it becomes a dead language. If eventually no one speaks the language at all it becomes an "extinct language"....
, along with the culture of ethnic Kadazans. Today most of the people are also able to converse in basic English.
Economy
Besides being the capital city, Kota Kinabalu is also the main industrial and commercial centre for Sabah. The economy is dominated by the
primary sector of industryThe sector of an economy making direct use of natural resources. This includes agriculture, forestry and fishing, mining, and extraction of oil and gas. This is contrasted with the secondary sector, producing manufactures and other processed goods, and the tertiary sector, producing services...
. Historically, the
secondary sectorThe secondary sector of the economy or industrial sector includes those economic sectors that create a finished, tangible product: production and construction.-Function:...
dominated the economy, but due to rapid urbanisation and economic development, this sector of economy is slowly diminishing. More recently, a move towards a more
tertiary based industryThe tertiary sector of the economy is one of the three economic sectors, the others being the secondary sector and the primary sector .The service sector consists of the "soft" parts of the economy, i.e...
has become more apparent, especially with regards to the boom in the tourism industry. Many state-level, national-level and international commercial banks, as well as some
insuranceIn law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
companies have their headquarters or branches here.
The overseas Chinese population also contributes to the development of KK since their immigration in the late 19th century. Their original role involved 'koo-li' (slavery work) and today many Chinese work as shopowners.
A number of industrial and
manufacturingManufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
companies also have
plantsA factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
here especially in the
industrial districtIndustrial district was initially introduced as a term to describe an area where workers of a monolithic heavy industry live within walking-distance of their places of work...
s of Likas, Kolombong, and Inanam. The ongoing construction of the 8320 acres (33.7 km²) Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) in Sepanggar is intended to boost the city's industrial and commercial activity making it a major growth centre in East Malaysia, as well for the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area) region. Kota Kinabalu also hosts numerous national, regional, and international conferences or
trade fairA trade fair is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities...
s every year including the biennial Sabah International Expo, the Asia Pacific eTourism Conference by the
United Nations Conference on Trade and DevelopmentThe United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues....
(UNCTAD), the ASEAN Australian Engineering Congress, and many others. These events are normally held at the Sutera Harbour resort.
Land
The internal roads linking different parts of the city are generally
state roadsMalaysian state roads are the secondary roads in Malaysia. The construction of state roads in Malaysia are funded by Malaysian Public Works Department of each states...
constructed and maintained by the state
Public Works DepartmentMalaysian Public Works Department ' or Jabatan Kerja Raya Malaysia ' is the federal government department in Malaysia under Malaysian Ministry of Works which is responsible for construction and maintenance of public infrastructure in Malaysia such as federal and state roads, public government...
. Most major internal roads are dual-carriageways. One of the major road here is Jalan Lintas-Jalan Tuaran Bypass, which together serves almost as a
ring roadA ring road, orbital motorway, beltway, circumferential highway, or loop highway is a road that encircles a town or city...
, circling the city and connecting the districts and suburbs surrounding the city, namely, Putatan, Penampang, Luyang, Likas, Inanam, Menggatal, Sepanggar, and Tuaran. There is currently no freeway in the city nor in any part of Sabah. The city is linked by
highwayA highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
s to distant towns around Sabah and these are mainly
federal roadsMalaysian Federal Roads System , is the main national road network in Malaysia. All Federal Roads in Malaysia are under the purview of Ministry of Works . According to Minister's Function Act 1969, MOW responsible to plan, build and maintain all Federal Roads gazetted under the Federal Road Act 1959...
maintained by the national Public Works Department. Highway routes from Kota Kinabalu include:
- Kota Kinabalu - Tamparuli
Tamparuli is a small town and a sub-district of Tuaran on the west coast of Sabah, Malaysia. It is populated mainly by native Dusuns, while a sizeable Chinese community runs most of the shops in the town proper...
- KudatKudat is a town in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the northern tip of Borneo island. It serves as the administrative center for the Kudat Division, which includes the towns of Kudat, Pitas, Kota Marudu, and some offshore islands....
-Kota MaruduKota Marudu is a tiny district of Kudat Division, Malaysia with approximately 19.17 square kilometres of land and a population in 2000 of more than 58,841 people, made up mainly by Dusun , Rungus, Bajau, Orang Sungai, Suluk, and Chinese .Located in the northern region of Sabah, bordered by the...
- Kota Kinabalu - Tamparuli
Tamparuli is a small town and a sub-district of Tuaran on the west coast of Sabah, Malaysia. It is populated mainly by native Dusuns, while a sizeable Chinese community runs most of the shops in the town proper...
- RanauRanau is a district as well as a town in the East Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo and it is situated in the West Coast Division of Sabah...
- SandakanSandakan is the second-largest city in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the north-eastern coast of Borneo. It is located on the east coast of the island and it is the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo...
- TawauTawau is the administrative center of Tawau Division, Malaysia and the third largest town of Sabah after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan.-Geography:...
- Serudong (part of the Pan Borneo HighwayPan Borneo Highway , also known as Trans Borneo Highway, , ' is a network of federal roads connecting Sarawak, Brunei and Sabah. The Pan Borneo Highway project is a joint project between the governments of Brunei and Malaysia...
)
- Kota Kinabalu - Keningau
Keningau is a sprawling timber and agricultural town and district located in the Interior Division of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo...
- Lawasborder=1 align=right cellpadding=1 cellspacing=0 width=260 style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"|+Lawas...
- BruneiBrunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
- MiriMiri is a city in northern Sarawak, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It is the second largest city in Sarawak, with a population of about 300,000, and the government administrative centre of Miri District in Miri Division....
- KuchingKuching , officially the City of Kuching, and formerly the City of Sarawak, is the capital and most populous city of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is the largest city on the island of Borneo, and the fourth largest city in Malaysia....
- Sematan (part of the Pan Borneo HighwayPan Borneo Highway , also known as Trans Borneo Highway, , ' is a network of federal roads connecting Sarawak, Brunei and Sabah. The Pan Borneo Highway project is a joint project between the governments of Brunei and Malaysia...
)
- Kota Kinabalu - Keningau
Keningau is a sprawling timber and agricultural town and district located in the Interior Division of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo...
- KalabakanKalabakan is a small township and also a parliamentary constituency in Sabah, Malaysia. It is located in the Tawau Division, and is about 55 kilometres from Tawau town.This place is situated in Sabah, Malaysia, its geographical coordinates are 4° 25' 0" North, 117° 29' 0" East and its original name...
- TawauTawau is the administrative center of Tawau Division, Malaysia and the third largest town of Sabah after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan.-Geography:...
Public transportation:
Regular bus services operate around the city. Minibuses or vans are also used besides buses as an alternative
public transportPublic transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
ation. There are two main bus terminals in the central business area. The terminal along Jalan Tun Razak provides internal bus services towards different part of the city and its outskirts. Another terminal near Bandaran Berjaya provides intercity services towards destinations south of the city (
PaparPapar is a town as well as a district located in West Coast Division of Sabah, east Malaysia. It is situated 38 kilometres south of Kota Kinabalu and is one of the main stops on the North Borneo Railway line other than Tanjung Aru, Putatan, Beaufort and Tenom in which Papar lies on the middle of...
,
TenomTenom is a town located in Interior Division of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo. The town was called Fort Birch in the early colonial period. Its population was estimated to be around 46,200 in the year 2000....
,
BeaufortBeaufort which was named after former British Governor L.P. Beaufort is a town and a district located in Interior Division of Sabah in east Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Its population was estimated to be around 61,698 in 2000...
, and others). The North Kota Kinabalu Bus Terminal in
InanamInanam is a town and sub-district of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia. It is situated 10km from Kota Kinabalu city centre.The town population consists of mainly the Dusun, and the Chinese who operate the shops. Of late however there is a large influx of immigrants both from the southern Philippines...
provides intercity buses heading towards destinations north and north-east of the city (
TuaranTuaran is a town as well as a district located in West Coast Division, in the northwest of Sabah, East Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Tuaran district has an area of 1,166 square kilometres and an estimated population of 94,100 in 2006. About half the population consists of ethnic Dusun, a third...
,
KudatKudat is a town in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the northern tip of Borneo island. It serves as the administrative center for the Kudat Division, which includes the towns of Kudat, Pitas, Kota Marudu, and some offshore islands....
,
RanauRanau is a district as well as a town in the East Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo and it is situated in the West Coast Division of Sabah...
,
SandakanSandakan is the second-largest city in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the north-eastern coast of Borneo. It is located on the east coast of the island and it is the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo...
,
TawauTawau is the administrative center of Tawau Division, Malaysia and the third largest town of Sabah after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan.-Geography:...
,
SempornaSemporna is a town located in Tawau Division, in the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Its population was estimated to be around 133,000 in 2006.-History:...
, and others). Taxicabs too can be found around the city.
A railway system formerly known as the North Borneo Railway was established in 1896 by the
British North Borneo CompanyThe North Borneo Chartered Company or British North Borneo Company was a chartered company assigned to administer North Borneo in August 1881. North Borneo became a protectorate of the British Empire with internal affairs administered by the company until 1946 when it became the colony of British...
. It was built for the main purpose of transporting commodities from the interior to the port in Kota Kinabalu during the British occupation. The railway line connects Kota Kinabalu with
TenomTenom is a town located in Interior Division of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo. The town was called Fort Birch in the early colonial period. Its population was estimated to be around 46,200 in the year 2000....
and several other towns in between, and it is the only railway system operating in
East MalaysiaEast Malaysia, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia located on the island of Borneo. It consists of the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Federal Territory of Labuan. It lies to the east from Peninsular Malaysia , which is located on the Malay Peninsula. The two are...
. Today the railway is known as
Sabah State RailwaySabah State Railway is a railway system and operator in the state of Sabah in Malaysia. It is the currently the only rail transport system operating on the island of Borneo. The railway consists of a single 134 km line from Tanjung Aru, near Kota Kinabalu, to the town of Tenom, in the...
, and it provides daily services for commuters, travellers, as well as for cargo transportation. A separate company operates the leisure tour also called the
North Borneo Railway, which caters mainly for tourists. The train station and terminus is located in
Tanjung AruTanjung Aru is a sub-district of Kota Kinabalu of Sabah, in Malaysia. Its main feature is its beach called Tanjung Aru Beach which stretches to over 2 kilometres long. It also has its own township called Pekan Tanjung Aru...
.
Air
Kota Kinabalu International AirportKota Kinabalu International Airport serves the city of Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah, Malaysia. It is located about 8 km southwest of the city centre. It is the second busiest airport in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur International Airport, handling 4.8 million passengers in 2009...
(KKIA) (ICAO Code : WBKK) provides flights linking the city with other domestic and international destinations. It is a secondary hub for
Malaysia AirlinesMalaysian Airline System Berhad , DBA Malaysia Airlines , is the government-owned flag carrier of Malaysia. Malaysia Airlines operates flights from its home base, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and its eastern hub in Kota Kinabalu. It has its headquarters on the grounds of Sultan Abdul Aziz...
and
AirAsiaAirAsia Berhad is a Malaysian-based low-cost airline. AirAsia is Asia's largest low-fare, no-frills airline and a pioneer of low-cost travel in Asia. AirAsia group operates scheduled domestic and international flights to over 400 destinations spanning 25 countries. Its main hub is the Low-Cost...
and it consists of two terminals. It is the second busiest airport in Malaysia after
Kuala Lumpur International AirportKuala Lumpur International Airport , or KLIA serves the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, and is one of Southeast Asia's largest airports. It is also Malaysia's main international airport. It is situated in the Sepang district, in the south of the state of Selangor, about from Kuala Lumpur...
and is one of the main gateways into Sabah and East Malaysia. Some destinations include :
Bandar Seri BegawanBandar Seri Begawan, with an estimated population 140,000 , is the capital and largest city of the Sultanate of Brunei...
,
ShenzhenShenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...
,
SeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
,
ShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
,
GuangzhouGuangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
,
Hong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
,
MacauMacau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
,
ManilaManila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
,
CebuCebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...
,
SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
,
TaipeiTaipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
,
KaohsiungKaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...
, and other cities, both within and outside of Malaysia. It is also a secondary hub for
MASWingsMASwings Sdn. Berhad is a regional airline operating the Rural Air Services in East Malaysia. It took over the RAS previously operated by FlyAsianXpress. The first flight was on 1 October 2007,which is also the anniversary of the founding of Malaysia Airlines in 1972. Its headquarters are in Jalan...
, which serves flights to smaller towns and rural areas in East Malaysia.
Sea
Kota Kinabalu has two ports: Kota Kinabalu Port and Sepanggar Bay Container Port (SBCP). Kota Kinabalu Port mainly loose/bulk cargo, while SBCP operates as a
navalA navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
base for the
Royal Malaysian NavyThe Royal Malaysian Navy is the naval arm of Malaysian Armed Forces. All commissioned ships of the RMN have the prefix KD , which means Royal Ship.-Straits Settlement Naval Volunteer Reserve:...
,
oil depotAn oil depot is an industrial facility for the storage of oil and/or petrochemical products and from which these products are usually transported to end users or further storage facilities...
and all containerised cargo. In 2004, Kota Kinabalu Port handled about 3.6 million tonnes of freight cargo, the third highest in the state after Sandakan Port, and Tawau Port. It however handles the most number of
containersAn intermodal container is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system...
in the state, with of containers handled in 2006. Sepanggar Bay Port will have the capacity to handle annually when its container terminal is completed. All ports in Sabah are managed and operated by Sabah Ports Sdn Bhd.
Kota Kinabalu Ferry Service is a passenger ferry terminal located at Jesselton Point near the K.K. port. It provides ferry and motorboat services to the nearby islands for tourists as well as for commuters living on the islands. There are also regular scheduled ferry services to
LabuanLabuan is a federal territory in East Malaysia. It is an island off the coast of the state of Sabah. Labuan's capital is Victoria and is best known as an offshore financial centre offering international financial and business services via Labuan IBFC since 1990 as well as being an offshore support...
.
Courts of law and legal enforcement
The
courtA court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
complex is located along Jalan Pantai in the city centre. It contains the
High CourtThe High Courts in Malaysia are the third-highest courts in the hierarchy of courts, after the Federal Court and the Court of Appeal. Article 121 of the Constitution of Malaysia provides that there shall be two High Courts of coordinate jurisdiction—the High Court in Malaya and the High Court...
, Sessions Court, and the Magistrate Court.
The Sabah Police Contingent Headquarters is located in Kepayan. There are two district headquarters in the city, the Kota Kinabalu District police headquarters is located in Karamunsing, and the Penampang District headquarters. Both also operate as police stations. Other police stations are found in KKIA,
Tanjung AruTanjung Aru is a sub-district of Kota Kinabalu of Sabah, in Malaysia. Its main feature is its beach called Tanjung Aru Beach which stretches to over 2 kilometres long. It also has its own township called Pekan Tanjung Aru...
,
PutatanPutatan is a town and a suburb of Kota Kinabalu in the state of Sabah, East Malaysia.-Location:The town was located within the district of Penampang on the coast of the West Coast Division but from March 1, 2007, Putatan became a district on its own....
, and
MenggatalMenggatal is a Malaysian town and sub-district on the west coast of Sabah, on the outskirts of the capital, Kota Kinabalu. It is under the jurisdiction of Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu ....
. Police substations (Pondok Polis) are found in Luyang,
LikasLikas is a sub-district in the city of Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Sabah's largest sports centre, Likas Sports Complex, is located here....
,
TelipokTelipok is a town located about 15 kilometres north of Kota Kinabalu, in Sabah, Malaysia. The town is within the administration of Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu and is a sub-district of the city. It is also part of the urban expanse of Kota Kinabalu or part of its metropolitan area...
, and Babagon. The city's traffic police headquarters is located along Lorong Dewan nearby Gaya Street, and the
marine policeWater police, also called harbour patrols, port police, marine/maritime police, nautical patrols, bay constables or river police, are police officers, usually a department of a larger police organisation, who patrol in water craft...
is located nearby the city ferry terminal along Jalan Tun Razak.
Kota Kinabalu Central Prison is located in
KepayanKepayan is a sub-district, or a neighbourhood, within the city of Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia. It is located within Kota Kinabalu city district, and borders on with the district of Penampang. The Sabah Contingent Police Headquarters, as well as Kota Kinabalu Central Prison, are located in Kepayan....
. Temporary lock-ups or prison cells are found in most police stations around the city.
Healthcare
There are three
public hospitalA public hospital or government hospital is a hospital which is owned by a government and receives government funding. This type of hospital provides medical care free of charge, the cost of which is covered by the funding the hospital receives....
s and one public health clinic in Kota Kinabalu. Queen Elizabeth General Hospital, located along Jalan Penampang is the largest public hospital in Sabah. Built in 1957, it is the most important healthcare centre in the city and one of only three general hospital in Sabah. Another hospital is the Hospital Pakar Likas (Likas Specialist Hospital). Hospital Mesra Bukit Padang (Bukit Padang Mental Hospital) which opened in 1971, provides psychiatric services for the entire state. The health clinic, Klinik Kesihatan Luyang, is located about 6 kilometres from the city centre. There are a number of public dental clinics around the city, and also rural clinics in the outskirts.
Sabah Medical Centre in Damai is the largest
private hospitalA private hospital is a hospital owned by a profit company or a non-profit organisation and privately funded through payment for medical services by patients themselves, by insurers, or by foreign embassies. This practice is very common in the United States and Australia...
in Sabah. Another private centre is the Damai Specialist Centre. There are many other private clinics operating around the city.
Education
There are many government or state
schoolsEducation in Malaysia is overseen by two government ministries. The Ministry of Education handles matters pertaining to pre-school, primary school, secondary school and post-secondary school. Matters regarding tertiary education are dealt with by the Ministry of Higher Education...
in and around the city. Among the well-established and prestigious boarding schools in Sabah is
Sekolah Menengah Sains SabahSabah Science Secondary School also known as Sekolah Menengah Sains Sabah in Malay, is a prominent cluster boarding school in East Malaysia established since 1978 but fully operational on 1 January 1984...
which is located at Bukit Padang. KK's most notable secondary schools are Sekolah Menengah Taman Tun Fuad, Sekolah Menengah Likas, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Perempuan Likas, Sekolah Menengah La Salle,
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan St. Francis ConventSt. Francis Secondary School, Kota Kinabalu is an all girls secondary school and one of the oldest schools in Kota Kinabalu. The students in this school consist of different kinds of races regardless of religion despite being a mission school...
, Sekolah Menengah All Saints, Sekolah Menengah Stella Maris,
Sekolah Menengah Saint MichaelSt. Michael's Secondary School, Penampang commonly known as SM St. Michael is a secondary school in Penampang, Sabah, Malaysia. It was named after Saint Michael the Archangel....
,
Maktab Sabah-Overview:Maktab Sabah / Sabah College is a single-session secondary school located in the city of Kota Kinabalu, in the State of Sabah, Malaysia. The school was established in the year 1957, making Sabah College a historical institution as it was formed during the pre-independence of Sabah.The...
, KK High School, Sekolah Menengah Lok Yuk and Sekolah Menengah Shan Tao. There are also a number of independent private schools in the city. Among them are
Sabah Tshung Tsin Secondary SchoolSabah Tshung Tsin Secondary School is located in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. The principal is Hiew Hoh Shin. The school has two semesters each year. An academic year begins in January, with an approximately two weeks holiday in June, and ends in the beginning of November...
, Kian Kok Middle School, Maktab Nasional and Seri Insan Secondary School. Classes usually begin at 7am and end at 1pm except for boarding schools, in which classes begins as early as 6.30 and end at 2pm. Children aged 7 are subjected to attend primary education which consists of six years learning while those aged 13 could pursue their study in lower secondary education for three years. After completing their Lower Secondary Examination, students enter Upper Secondary education, where they will be streamed into either the Science stream or Arts stream based on their examination result. Students chosen to be enrolled at boarding schools will be placed into the science stream. Currently, there are four boarding schools in Sabah.
There are two international schools teaching the British Curriculum. Sayfol International School Sabah teaches from Kindergarten to GCE A Levels, taken at age 18 (pre - university). Sayfol International School is the sister school to the old-established and highly successful Sayfol International School in Kuala Lumpur. Kinabalu International School (KIS) is part of the Federation of British International Schools in South and East Asia (FOBISSEA). Both these English medium schools are located in Bukit Padang. Another international school is the Kinabalu Japanese School, one of four
Japanese schools, also called Japanese School, is a full day school outside of Japan for native speakers of Japanese. It is an expatriate school, designed for children whose parents are working on diplomatic, business, or educational mission overseas and have plans to go back to Japan for good.The schools offer...
in Malaysia. It caters to children's of Japanese expatriates working and living around the city.
Universiti Malaysia SabahUniversiti Malaysia Sabah or UMS is the ninth Malaysian public university located in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia and was established on November 24, 1994...
(UMS) is the largest university in Sabah and was founded in 1994. Its main campus is located on a 999 acres (4 km²) piece of land, on a hill facing the South China Sea at Sepanggar Bay, about 10 kilometres north of the city centre. It also has a branch campus in
LabuanLabuan is a federal territory in East Malaysia. It is an island off the coast of the state of Sabah. Labuan's capital is Victoria and is best known as an offshore financial centre offering international financial and business services via Labuan IBFC since 1990 as well as being an offshore support...
. It is considered as one of the most beautiful universities in Malaysia. The oldest University in Sabah is
Universiti Teknologi MARAUniversiti Teknologi MARA is a coeducational public university with its main campus located in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.It is the flagship institution of the Universiti Teknologi MARA...
Sabah which was co-founded by UiTM and Yayasan Sabah in 1973. The university has earned local and national reputation. There is also a number of private colleges operating in the city which are
Universiti Tun Abdul RazakUniversiti Tun Abdul Razak is Malaysia's first MSC-status private university. It is named after Malaysia's second prime minister, the late YAB Tun Abdul Razak. It is an ISO 9001:2000-certified private university...
, AlmaCrest International College, INTI College, Kinabalu Commercial College, and Informatics College. An established Public College Tunku Abdul Rahman also available at
DonggongonDonggongon is a town in the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. The town is located within the district of Penampang, but today it can be considered as part of the greater metropolitan area of Sabah's capital city, Kota Kinabalu. As of 2007, it has a population of 78,086.Donggongon is a very...
area. Many affluent residents send their children overseas to pursue either secondary or tertiary education.
Libraries:
The Sabah State Library Headquarters is located off Jalan Penampang and is the largest library in the state. Other public libraries include Kota Kinabalu City (Regional) Library, Penampang Branch Library, and Menggatal Village Library. These libraries are operated by the Sabah State Library department. Other libraries or private libraries can be found in schools, colleges, or university campus.
Cultural
There are a number of cultural venues in Kota Kinabalu. The
Sabah MuseumThe Sabah Museum is the state Museum of Sabah, Malaysia. It is sited on 17 ha of land at Bukit Istana Lama in Kota Kinabalu, the state capital. The complex contains not only the museum proper, but also an ethnobotanic garden, a zoo and a heritage village. The main building also houses the Sabah...
, situated near the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, is the main museum of Sabah. Around the vicinity of the museum is the Science and Technology Centre, Sabah Art Gallery, and the Ethno Botanic Garden. Wisma Budaya Art Gallery in the city centre hosts some national as well as regional art exhibitions. The Hongkod Koisaan building in Penampang is home to the Kadazan-Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA). It hosts the annual
KaamatanThe Kaamatan festival is an annual event in the cultural life of the Kadazandusuns of Sabah since time immemorial. In its deepest sense, Kaamatan festival is a manifestation of Creator and Creation relationship, as well as Inter-Creations relationship...
or
Harvest Festival, and the concurrently held Unduk Ngadau beauty contest in March. Monsopiad Cultural Village (Kampung Monsopiad) features cultural shows relating to the
Kadazan-DusunKadazan-Dusun is the term assigned to the unification of the classification of two indigenous tribes in Sabah, Malaysia—the ethnic groups Kadazan and Dusun.- History :...
culture. It is named after the legendary Kadazan-Dusun headhunting warrior, Monsopiad.
Historical
The
Padang Merdeka or Town Padang (field) is the site where the declaration of Sabah's independence and formation of Malaysia took place. The declaration was announced by Sabah's first
Chief MinisterA Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
,
Tun Fuad StephensTun Haji Mohammad Fuad Stephens, previously known as, Donald Stephens, was the first Chief Minister of the state of Sabah in Malaysia. He played a fundamental role in bringing the state of Sabah into the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. He held the chief minister post until 1964, and again in 1976...
, on September 16, 1963, also known as
Malaysia DayMalaysia Day is held on September 16 every year to commemorate the establishment of the Malaysian federation on the same date in 1963. It marked the joining together of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore to form Malaysia...
. Today the site hosts the annual City Day celebration on February 2,
Merdeka DayHari Merdeka is a national day of Malaysia commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaya from British colonial rule in 1957, celebrated on August 31 each year. It is not to be confused with the formation of Malaysia...
celebration on August 31, and a number of other celebrations and functions.
The Atkinson Clock Tower nearby Bandaran Berjaya, was built by Mary Edith Atkinson in 1905 in memory of her son Francis George Atkinson. It was formerly used as a navigation aid for ships. It is one of only three pre-World War II buildings to survive the war. The Petagas War Memorial, located nearby KKIA, is a reminder of those who died opposing the
Japanese forces-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
during World War II. It is situated at the place where the Kinabalu Guerillas were killed by the Japanese army in 1944. The
Double Six MonumentThe Double Six Monument is a memorial located at Sembulan area in Grace Garden housing complex in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia which marks the site of the June 6, 1976 fatal plane crash known as the Double Six Tragedy bearing the first Chief Minister of Sabah, Tun Fuad Stephens, as well as six...
, located in Sembulan, a memorial which marks the site of the June 6, 1976 plane crash known as the
Double Six TragedyThe Double Six Tragedy, also known as the Double Six Crash, was a plane crash which took place on June 6, 1976 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The plane, operated by Sabah Air, coming from Labuan crashed in the sub-district of Sembulan in Kota Kinabalu upon approaching Kota Kinabalu International Airport...
most notably the first Chief Minister of Sabah,
Tun Fuad StephensTun Haji Mohammad Fuad Stephens, previously known as, Donald Stephens, was the first Chief Minister of the state of Sabah in Malaysia. He played a fundamental role in bringing the state of Sabah into the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. He held the chief minister post until 1964, and again in 1976...
.
Leisure and conservation areas
There are many leisure spots and conservation areas around Kota Kinabalu. Anjung Samudra (KK Waterfront) is a waterfront entertainment spot in the city centre which features restaurants, cafes, pubs, and a nightclub. The Royal Sabah Turf Club in Tanjung Aru hosts weekly horse racing events but had since closed and moved to Tambalang Race Course in Tuaran due to the expansion of Kota Kinabalu International Airport. The North Borneo Railway which begins its journey from Tanjung Aru station, offers scenic tour of the countryside in the
West Coast DivisionWest Coast Division is an administrative division of Sabah, east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It occupies the northwest portion of Sabah. With an area of 7,588 square kilometres, it occupies 10.3% of Sabah's territory...
and the
Interior DivisionInterior Division is an administrative division of Sabah, east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It occupies the southwest portion of Sabah, bordering on Sarawak...
. The railway journey ends in the town of
TenomTenom is a town located in Interior Division of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo. The town was called Fort Birch in the early colonial period. Its population was estimated to be around 46,200 in the year 2000....
. Sutera Harbour Golf & Country Club near the city centre was built wholly on reclaimed land. It features a
golf and country clubA country club is a private club, often with a closed membership, that typically offers a variety of recreational sports facilities and is located in city outskirts or rural areas. Activities may include, for example, any of golf, tennis, swimming or polo...
, a
marinaA marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
, and two hotels.
Tanjung AruTanjung Aru is a sub-district of Kota Kinabalu of Sabah, in Malaysia. Its main feature is its beach called Tanjung Aru Beach which stretches to over 2 kilometres long. It also has its own township called Pekan Tanjung Aru...
, located about 6 kilometres from the city centre, is one of the beaches in the West Coast. It derived its name from casuarina trees (locally called Aru trees) that grows on the shoreline. The beach is over 2 kilometres in length and is complemented with a number food and drink
stallsA market stall is a typically immobile, temporary structure erected by merchants to display and shelter their merchandise in a street market or other setting. Stalls are easily erected, taken down or simply moved on wheels...
, restaurants, and night entertainment clubs. Within the Tanjung Aru vicinity lies the Kinabalu Golf Club, Prince Philip Botanical Park, K.K. Yacht Club, and Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Beach Resort. This beach is famous for its sunset.
Located within the Likas Bay area is the Kota Kinabalu City Bird Sanctuary. With an area of 24 acres (97,124.6 m²), it is the only remaining patch of mangrove forest that once existed extensively along the coastal region of Kota Kinabalu. It was designated in September 1996 by the State Government to assist and foster a better understanding and awareness of the value of wetlands area. The Sabah Zoological and Botanical Park (Lok Kawi Wildlife Park) in
Lok KawiLok Kawi is a township in the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia.Located around the border of the districts of Penampang and Papar, and about 15 kilometres south of the state capital Kota Kinabalu, it has become part of the urban expanse of Kota Kinabalu. It also features one of the few Hindu...
, about 20 kilometres south of the city, is the first zoo in Sabah. Set on a 280 acres (1.1 km²) piece of land, it is arguably the largest zoo in Malaysia. The Green Connection aquarium just outside the centre of KK showcases the fish, coral and reptile biodiversity of Sabah, with exhibits on many of the aquatic ecosystems of Sabah. At The Green Connection you can see 5 of the
top ten wildlife Icons of Borneo: Sharks, Rays, Coral, Fish and Snakes.
Tun Fuad Stephens Park, located in Bukit Padang, is a popular jogging and hiking spot among locals. It is surrounded by forests and also features a man-made lake. It has a few food stalls and restaurants. Tunku Abdul Rahman Park is a National Park consisting of the islands of Sapi, Mamutik, Manukan, Sulug and Gaya. It is a popular spot for snorkelling. The park is about 15 to 30 minutes boat ride away from the city ferry terminal. Babagon River, in Penampang, and Kiansom Falls near Inanam are also popular places for picnics and leisure bathing.
Outside the city,
Crocker Range National ParkCrocker Range National Park was established in 1984, although the area had previously been under protection as a forest reserve. It covers the north-south Crocker Range, of 1200-1800 meter mountains in Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo, which separate the western coastal plain with the...
, located about 70 kilometres away from the city near
KeningauKeningau is a sprawling timber and agricultural town and district located in the Interior Division of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo...
, is a popular spot for jungle trekking and camping. Kota Kinabalu is also the gateway to one of the most popular
national parkA national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
s in Malaysia,
Kinabalu National ParkKinabalu National Park or Taman Negara Kinabalu in Malay, established as one of the first national parks of Malaysia in 1964, is Malaysia's first World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO in December 2000 for its "outstanding universal values" and the role as one of the most important biological...
. The park is a two hour drive away from the city and it contains
Mount KinabaluMount Kinabalu is a prominent mountain on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is located in the East Malaysian state of Sabah and is protected as Kinabalu National Park, a World Heritage Site. Kinabalu is the tallest peak in Borneo's Crocker Range and is the tallest mountain in the Malay...
which is the 10th highest peak in South-East Asia, and the highest in Malaysia. The Rafflesia Forest Reserve near
TambunanTambunan is a valley district located in the Interior Division of the state of Sabah. The district covers an area of 1,347 km2.. Its population was estimated to be around 27,852 in 2000, based on the 2000 Population and Housing Census conducted by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia....
, 30 kilometres away from Kota Kinabalu, is also within the Crocker Range National Park boundary. The world's largest flower species, the
RafflesiaRafflesia is a genus of parasitic flowering plants. It contains approximately 28 species , all found in southeastern Asia, on the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand and the Philippines.Rafflesia was found in the Indonesian rain forest by an Indonesian guide working for Dr...
, can be found here. Nearby here is the Gunung Emas Highland Resort which is another spot famous for its scenery and cool climate. The Tuaran Crocodile Farm, about 30 kilometres north of the city, has around 1000 crocodiles in its enclosure, making it the largest of its kind in Sabah.
Other sights
Tun Mustapha TowerThe Yayasan Sabah Tower is located in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. It was built in 1977 and it is the second tallest building in the island of Borneo after Wisma Sanyan in Sibu and followed by the Ministry of Finance Building, Brunei in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam...
(formerly Sabah Foundation Building) is about a 10-minute drive from the city centre. This 30-storey glass building is supported by high-tensile steel rods, one of only four buildings in the world that is built with this method. At 122 metres, it is the second tallest building in the island of
BorneoBorneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
after
Wisma SanyanWisma Sanyan is the tallest building in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia as well as the island of Borneo. Located in Sibu town, the building has the capacity to hold 10,000 people at any single time. The building is also the 40th tallest building in Malaysia.Opened in 2001, the building serves many...
in
SibuSibu may refer to:*Sibu, Sarawak in Eastern Malaysia*Sibu Division*Sibu , an impact crater on Mars*Pulau Sibu, an island off the eastern coast of peninsular Malaysia*Sibu , name of a goddess in the Bribri tribe, in Costa Rica...
and followed by the Ministry of Finance Building, Brunei in
Bandar Seri BegawanBandar Seri Begawan, with an estimated population 140,000 , is the capital and largest city of the Sultanate of Brunei...
, Brunei Darussalam.
Other buildings and sites in the city are the
stilt villagesStilt houses or pile dwellings or palafitte are houses raised on piles over the surface of the soil or a body of water. Stilt houses are built primarily as a protection against flooding, but also serve to keep out vermin...
found in the areas of Sembulan, Tanjung Aru, Kampung Likas, and Kampung Pondo in
Pulau GayaPulau Gaya is a sizeable Malaysian island of 1,465 ha, just 10 minutes off Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and forms part of the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park. Pulau Gaya derived its name from the Bajau word "Gayo" which means big and occupies an area of 15 km² with an elevation of up to 300 metres...
. These houses are built on coastal shallow waters and are typical homes for the
BajauThe Bajau or Bajaw , also spelled Bajao, Badjau, Badjaw, or Badjao, are an indigenous ethnic group of Maritime Southeast Asia...
and Suluk inhabitants.
The
Sabah State MosqueSabah State Mosque is the state mosque of Sabah, located at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Sembulan, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. It was constructed in 1974...
in Sembulan is the largest mosque in Sabah. The City Mosque on Likas Bay is another significant landmark in the city.
The Signal Hill Observatory near the CBD offers a scenic view of the city centre, the islands, and the sea.
Shopping
Kota Kinabalu also features a number of shopping malls, which attract many visitors. These include Kompleks Karamunsing, Centre Point, Wisma Merdeka, Warisan Square, Plaza Wawasan, Kompleks Asia City, City Mall, KK Plaza, and the largest hypermall in 1 Borneo. Newly constructed Malls in Kota Kinabalu includes Suria Shopping Mall which currently holds GSC Kota Kinabalu and also Megalong Shopping Mall situated in the district of Penampang. Karamunsing, where Kompleks Karamunsing is situated, is an area that has more computer shops per capita than anywhere else in Sabah. The weekly Gaya Street Sunday Market features a gathering of locals
hawkersA hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with peddler or costermonger. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells items or food that are native to the area...
selling a wide range of items from traditional ethnic cultural souvenirs to pets and flowers. The Kota Kinabalu Handicraft Market (formerly known as the Filipino Market) features vendors selling traditional handicrafts, souvenirs and foodstuffs.
Entertainment
There are five cinemas in Kota Kinabalu - 2 Golden Screen Cinemas (commonly known as GSC), Cathay Cineplex, Growball Cineplex and Megalong Cineplex. GSC is located inside Suria Shopping Mall and in another inside 1Borneo. Both GSC outlets holds 8 cinema halls respectively. Suria Shopping Mall has 2 3D halls while 1 Borneo has 1 3d hall. Growball Cineplex and Megalong Cineplex also have 1 3d hall at each cineplex respectively. Suria Mall and Sutera Harbour Marina contain bowling alleys, and pool tables.
Sports
The Likas Sports Complex in Kota Kinabalu provides various sporting and recreational facilities for public use. It has, among others, a 20,000-seater football (soccer) stadium, badminton, tennis, and squash courts, a gymnasium, an Olympic size swimming pool, a
driving rangeA driving range is an area where golfers can practice their swing. It can also be a recreational activity itself for amateur golfers or when enough time for a full game is not available. Many golf courses have a driving range attached and they are also found as stand-alone facilities, especially...
, hockey fields and a new Youth Challenge park consisting of an international standard skate park and indoor climbing centre
www.sicc.com.my. It is the largest sports complex in the state and has hosted numerous national as well as international sporting events.
Likas StadiumLikas Stadium is located in the area of Likas in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. It is mainly used for association football and athletics and it is located within Likas Sports Complex...
is home for
Sabah FAThe Football Association of Sabah is a registered football association affiliated with the Football Association of Malaysia. The association's football team competes in Malaysia's football league representing the state of Sabah in Borneo. Sabah FA is a professional football club and one of the 14...
football team (Sabah Rhinos) which is currently competing in the
Malaysian Premier LeagueMalaysia Premier League is the second-tier football league in Malaysia. The league is currently named Astro Premier League Malaysia...
. There is another sports complex in Penampang which also has a full-sized football stadium.
There are four golf courses in Kota Kinabalu; Sabah Golf and Country Club in Bukit Padang, Kinabalu Golf Club in Tanjung Aru, Sutera Harbour Golf and Country Club, and Karambunai Golf and Country Club.
Kota Kinabalu has played host to a number of national sporting events such as the 2002
Sukma GamesSukma Games is a sporting event in Malaysia held once every two years. Sukma is an acronym for Sukan Malaysia; literally Malaysian Games. The first Games was held in 1986 in Kuala Lumpur...
, international tournaments such as the 1994
Karate World ChampionshipsThe WKF Karate World Championships also known as the World Karate Championships; are the highest level of competition for Karate. The competition is held in a different Country every two years. The most recent events include Madrid in 2002; Monterrey in 2004; Tampere in 2006; Tokyo in 2008, and...
and the 2008
BWF Super Series Masters FinalsThe BWF Super Series Masters Finals is an annual badminton tournament held at the end of the year where the players compete for total prize money of US$500,000, the biggest total prize money event in BWF calendar....
badminton tournament. It is also the starting point of the annual international Borneo Safari 4x4 Challenge. Kota Kinabalu also hosts and is one of the circuits for the F2
PowerboatPower boating describes activities performed in a motorized boat. Generally, a power boat has a high power-to-weight ratio and a hull design that allows for easy planing, which allows for higher speed and improved handling. Also, the shape of the actual boat is usually very streamlined, which...
UIMThe Union Internationale Motonautique is the international governing body of powerboating, based in the Principality of Monaco. It was founded in 1922, in Belgium, as the Union Internationale du Yachting Automobile....
World Cup Series in December every year since 2007.
Notable personalities
Kota Kinabalu is home to a number of independent musicians who have had success in West Malaysia such as singer-songwriters
Pete TeoPete Teo , is a leading English language singer-songwriter in Malaysia. He is also an acclaimed film composer and music producer as well as a sought-after actor in what has become known as 'New Wave Malaysian Cinema'.-Biography:...
, Taiwan based
Gary ChawGary Chaw was born on 9 July 1979 in Kota Belud, Sabah, Malaysia, also known as Gary Cao or Cao Ge. He is a Malaysian Chinese Golden Melody Awards singer-songwriter based in Taiwan, who has had achieved success in Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. He is renowned for his stage presence,...
aka Gary Cao/Cao Ge, and acoustic guitar virtuoso Roger Wang. It is also the native city of Popular Malaysian television personality,
Daphne IkingDahlia Daphne Eleanor Mozes Iking is a Malaysian television personality, an emcee and an occasional actress. She is known for NTV7 program The Breakfast Show and TV3 reality game show Explorace.-Television and Other Ventures:...
. Australian-based
R&BContemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
singer
Che'NelleCheryline Lim known by her stage name Che'Nelle, is an Australian recording artist. in 2005 she was signed to Virgin Records America, an imprint of EMI.-1983-2005: Early life:...
(Cheryline Lim) came from Kota Kinabalu. The winner of the 6th season of Akademi Fantasia,
Stacy AngieStracie Angie Anam , is a Malaysian singer, who rose to fame after winning the sixth season of Akademi Fantasia, receiving 43 percent of over 3.8 million votes. Her debut album, Aku Stacy, was released on March 9, 2009.-Biography:...
is from Kota Kinabalu, formerly based on
PenampangPenampang is a district as well as a small town within the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. It has virtually become a suburb of Kota Kinabalu which is Sabah's capital. Its population was estimated to be around 132,002 in 2000, with ethnic Kadazan-Dusun as the majority.The name penampang...
.
Music
Kota Kinabalu is home to one of Asia's favourite Jazz Festival. Called the KK Jazz Festival, it became an annual event that promises to be a spectacular world-class affair. International performers such as Son2nos (Venezuela), award-winning Korean jazz diva Nah Youn Sun, Hong Kong's own Junk Unit, Malaysia's Double Take, Atilia and Mood Indigo from UK have all previously performed at the festival.
Bandwidth Street PressBandWidth Street Press Magazine is a free monthly tabloid-sized music and lifestyle magazine established in March 2009 and based in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. It is distributed throughout Kota Kinabalu and surrounding districts. As of August 2011, the magazine expanded it's territory to the...
is Kota Kinabalu's only free to pick up monthly magazine that promotes local Sabah music inside their contents. The magazine which was launched in March 2009, was supported by the local government and was referred by Sabah's Minister of Culture, Environment & Tourism, YB Datuk Masidi Manjun, as a publication that will introduce and promote new local musicians while serving up the latest information on the local entertainment scene.
Others
- Sabah State Government and DANCED (Danish Co-operation for Environment and Development): Sabah Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM)
- Department of Statistics Malaysia, Sabah: "Monthly Statistical Bulletin, January 2007: Sabah". ISSN 18231659
External links
- http://www.suteraharbour.com