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Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu is
the capital of Sabah
state in Malaysia.
It is also the capital of the
West Coast Division of Sabah.
The city is located on the northwest
coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. The Tunku Abdul Rahman
National Park lies on one side and Mount Kinabalu, 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
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Flag |
Seal |
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| Nickname(s):
"Nature Resort City", KK |
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Location in Malaysia and Sabah |
| Country |
 Malaysia |
| State |
Sabah |
| Settled by BNBC |
1882 |
| Declared capital of North Borneo |
1946 |
| Granted city status |
February 2, 2000 |
| Government |
| - Mayor |
Datuk Iliyas Ibrahim |
| Area |
| - City |
351 km2 (136 sq mi) |
| Population (2009) |
| - City |
617,9721 |
| - Density |
1,650/km2 (4,260/sq mi) |
| - Urban |
600,000 |
| - Metro |
900,000 |
| Time zone |
MST (UTC+8) |
| Postcode |
88xxx;
89xxx |
| Area code(s) |
088 |
| Website |
http://www.dbkk.sabah.gov.my |
Original names
Besides
Jesselton,
there has been a number of other claims as to the
original name for Kota Kinabalu. The most popular, as mentioned above,
is Api-Api, or sometimes simply Api, which is a Malay word meaning
'Fire'. It was apparently named as such by the mainly Bajau locals to
denote the blazing of the British administrative office in Pulau Gaya
instigated by Mat Salleh,[10] as well as other blazing incidents
normally perpetrated by pirates. There were claims however that it was
actually named after a nearby river called Sungai Api-Api. Besides
Api-Api, another suggested historical name was Deasoka, which roughly
means "below the coconut tree" in the Bajau language.[11] 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 mean "transit eye", but can be loosely
translated as meaning "pleasing to the eye". It is a name purportedly
given by fishermen from Pulau Gaya referring to the strip of land of
what is today Kota Kinabalu city center.[12] Today, all these names
have been immortalised into names of streets or buildings around the
city. Some examples are: Lintasan Deasoka, Api-Api Centre, Jalan
Singgah Mata, and Jesselton Point.
Local authority and city definition
The city is
administered by Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu (Kota
Kinabalu City Hall). The current mayor of Kota Kinabalu is Datuk
Illiyas Ibrahim. He became the second mayor of the city after taking
over the post from Datuk Abdul Ghani Rashid in 2006. The city obtained
city status on February 2, 2000, and prior to this it was administered
by Majlis Perbandaran Kota Kinabalu (Kota Kinabalu Municipal Council).
The city is
defined within the borders of what is the district,
formerly the municipality, of Kota Kinabalu. With an area of 351 square
kilometres, it is the smallest but the most populous district in Sabah.[14] It encompasses
Tanjung Aru and Kepayan in the south, up to
Telipok and Sepanggar in the north. The urban expanse of the city
however extends into the district of Penampang[15] on the south of the
city border, which includes the towns of Donggongon and Putatan. 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).[16]
On one end of the scale, Kota Kinabalu may sometimes only refer to,
especially by local inhabitants, the city centre or central business
district, area near the sea facing Pulau Gaya. On the other end of the
scale, it may also refer to the metropolitan area which includes urban
Kota Kinabalu, and the surrounding towns of Papar and Kinarut, in the
south, and Tuaran and Tamparuli, in the north, being within its zone of
influence.
Climate
Kota
Kinabalu's climate borders between a tropical monsoon climate and a
tropical rainforest climate. Two prevailing monsoons characterise the
climate of this part of Sabah,
the Northeast Monsoon 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.[25] 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 Siberia occasionally can drop the early morning
temperature to 20°C.[26] 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.
A tropical sunset over the sea in Kota Kinabalu
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
The city's
population today is a mixture of many different races and
ethnicities. The city consists of mainly Kadazan-Dusun, Rungus, Murut,
Chinese and Bajaus. The Chinese are mostly Hakkas 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 areMuslims. The Kadazans here mainly
practice Christianity. whilst the Chinese are mainly Buddhists or
Christians. There are a small number of Hindus, Sikhs, Animists, and a
small number of secularists also exist.
There is also
a sizeable Filipino 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 beennaturalised
as Malaysian citizens, however there still remains some living without
proper documentation around the city as illegal immigrants.[28] Most of
the Filipino migrants are Suluks coming from the southern parts of
Philippines. There are also a number of Indonesian migrants living
around the city, mostly coming from Flores of the Lesser Sunda
Islands.[29]
There is a
small population of Indians, Pakistanis and Eurasians
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 Korea, Japan, Australia, and
Europe.
Intermarriage
is not an uncommon practice here. The most common of
which are intermarriages between Kadazans and Chinese and they are
known as Sino-Kadazans or simply "Sinos".
Sacred Heart Cathedral
Languages
The people
mainly speak Malay Bahasa Melayu, with a distinct Sabahan
accent. However, as the population of Chinese is almost 50%, many of
them speak also Chinese, English or dialect of their mother tongue when
speaking with person of the same race or ethnicity. Mandarin and
Huìyáng Hakka (惠阳客家话) are still widely spoken among the Chinese.
The number of
Bahasa Kadazandusun 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 language, along with the culture of ethnic
Kadazans.[30] Today most of the people are also able to converse in
basic English.
Transportation
Land
The internal
roads linking different parts of the city are generally
state roads constructed and maintained by the state Public Works
Department. 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 road, 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 highways to distant towns around Sabah and these are
mainly
federal roads maintained by the national Public Works Department.
Highway routes from Kota Kinabalu include:
Kota Kinabalu - Tamparuli -
Ranau - Sandakan - Tawau - Serudong (part of the Pan Borneo Highway)
Kota Kinabalu - Keningau -
Lawas - Brunei - Miri - Kuching - Sematan (part of the Pan Borneo
Highway)
Kota Kinabalu - Keningau -
Kalabakan - Tawau
Public transportation:
Regular bus
services operate around the city. Minibuses or vans are
also used besides buses as an alternative public transportation. 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 (Papar, Tenom, Beaufort, and others). The North Kota Kinabalu Bus
Terminal in Inanam provides intercity buses heading towards
destinations north and north-east of the city (Tuaran, Kudat, Ranau,
Sandakan, Tawau, Semporna, 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 Company. 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 Tenom and several other towns in
between, and it is the only railway system operating in East Malaysia.
Today the railway is known as Sabah
State Railway, 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.[32]
The train station and terminus is located in Tanjung Aru.
Air
Kota Kinabalu
International Airport (KKIA) (ICAO Code : WBKK) provides
flights linking the city with other domestic and international
destinations. It is a secondary hub for Malaysia Airlines and
AirAsia
and it consists of two terminals. It is the second busiest airport in Malaysia after Kuala
Lumpur International Airport and it on of the main
gateways into Sabah
and East Malaysia.[33]
Some destinations include :
Bandar Seri Begawan, Shenzhen, Seoul, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong,
Macau, Manila, Cebu, Singapore, Taipei, Kaohsiung, and other cities,
both within and outside of Malaysia.
It is also a
secondary hub for
MASWings, 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 naval base for the Royal Malaysian Navy, oil
depot and all containerised cargo.[34] 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.[14] It however handles
the most number of containers in the state, with 153,793 Twenty-foot
equivalent units (TEU) of containers handled in 2006. Sepanggar Bay
Port will have the capacity to handle 200,000 TEU annually when its
container terminal is completed.[35] All ports in Sabah are managed and
operated by Sabah
Ports Sdn Bhd.[36]
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 Labuan.
Kota Kinabalu Ferry Terminal provides
daily services to Pulau Manukan,
as well as other islands, throughout the day. On the right is a typical
boat used to ferry passengers around
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 industry. Historically, the secondary sector
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 industryhas become more
apparent, especially with regards to the boom in the tourism
industry.[3] Many state-level, national-level and international
commercial banks, as well as some insurance 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. They are also known as the Jewish of Asia and many books
have been written globally about the Chinese of Sabah.
A number of
industrial and manufacturing companies also have plants
here especially in the industrial districts of Likas, Kolombong, and
Inanam. The ongoing construction of the 8,320-acre 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.[31] Kota Kinabalu also hosts numerous national, regional, and
international conferences or trade fairs every year including the
biennial Sabah
International Expo, the Asia Pacific eTourism Conference
by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the
ASEAN Australian Engineering Congress, and many others. These events
are normally held at the Sutera Harbour resort.
Wisma Tun
Fuad Stephens
Other
utilities
Courts of law and legal enforcement
The court
complex is located along Jalan Pantai in the city centre. It
contains the High Court, Sessions Court, and the Magistrate Court.[37]
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 Aru, Putatan, and Menggatal.
Police substations (Pondok Polis) are found in Luyang, Likas, Telipok,
and Babagon.[38] The city's traffic police headquarters is located
along Lorong Dewan nearby Gaya Street, and the marine police is located
nearby the city ferry terminal along Jalan Tun Razak.
Kota Kinabalu
Central Prison is located in Kepayan. Temporary lock-ups
or prison cells are found in most police stations around the city.
Education
There are
many government or state schools in and around the city.
Among the well-established and prestigious boarding schools in Sabah is
Sekolah Menengah Sains Sabah
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
Convent, Sekolah Menengah All Saints, Sekolah Menengah Stella Maris,
Sekolah Menengah Saint Michael, Maktab Sabah, 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 School, 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 is also
an international school called Kinabalu International
School (KIS) located in Bukit Padang. KIS is part of the Federation of
British International Schools in South and East Asia (FOBISSEA).
Another international school is the Kinabalu Japanese School, one of
four Japanese schools in Malaysia.
It caters to children's of Japanese
expatriates working and living around the city.
Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) is the
largest university in Sabah
and
was founded in 1994. Its main campus is located on a 999 acre 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
Labuan. It is considered as one of the most beautiful universities in Malaysia.[citation
needed] The oldest University in Sabah is Universiti
Teknologi MARA Sabah
Campus which was co-founded by UiTM and Yayasan Sabah in 1973. The
university has earned local and national
reputation.[citation needed] There is also a number of private colleges
operating in the city which are Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, AlmaCrest
International College, INTI College, Kinabalu Commercial College, and
Informatics College. An established Public College Kolej Tunku Abdul
Rahman also available at Donggongon area. Many affluent residents send
their children overseas to pursue either secondary or tertiary
education.
Notable personalities
Kota Kinabalu
is home to a number of independent musicians who have had
success in West Malaysia
such as singer-songwriters Pete Teo, Taiwan
based Gary Chaw aka Gary Cao/Cao Ge, and acoustic guitar virtuoso Roger
Wang. It is also the native city of Popular Malaysian television
personality, Daphne Iking. Australian-based R&B singer Che'Nelle
(Cheryline Lim) came from Kota Kinabalu.
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History
In the late
1800s, the British North Borneo Company (BNBC) began to
establish colonies throughout North Borneo (now Sabah). In 1882, the
Company founded a small settlement in the area known as Gaya Bay which
was already inhabited by the Bajau people. The first settlement was on
Gaya Island (Pulau Gaya). In 1897, this first settlement was burned and
destroyed by the indigenous Bajau freedom fighter led by Mat Salleh.[5]
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 rubber, rattan, honey, 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 Japanese. After the
Japanese takeover of Borneo, it was again renamed Api. Several
rebellions against the Japanese military 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.[6] At the later stages of the war, what remained of the town
was destroyed again by Allied bombings as part of the Borneo Campaign
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 Labuan 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 Sandakan, which had also been destroyed by the
war.[7]
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.
A bird's eye view of Kota Kinabalu from
Penampang.
Etymology
Kota Kinabalu
is named after Mount Kinabalu, situated about 50
kilometres east-northeast of the city. Kinabalu 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 Dusun language.[8] 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".[9]
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 Tinggi, and Kota Kemuning. 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".
View of Likas
Bay at dawn. On the far right is Mount Kinabalu
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
ministries and agencies are based. Most of the Malaysian federal
government 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.[13]
Location of Kota Kinabalu district and the city within the
Geography
Kota
Kinabalu is located on the west coast of Sabah. The city lies on a
narrow flatland between the Crocker Range to the east and the South
China Sea to the west. There are six islands off the coast of the city.
The largest is Pulau Gaya, the site of the first British settlement.
Approximately 8,000 people live there.[18] The smaller islands, mainly
uninhabited, are named Pulau Sapi, Pulau Manukan, Pulau Sulug, Pulau
Mamutik and Pulau Sepanggar to the north.[19] 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 reclaimed 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 rainforest. 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.[20] In 1996, a perceptive state government stepped in and
declared 24 acres 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.[20]
Sunset over Sutera Harbour, Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu
city centre
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 Park. The park was named in honour the first
Prime Minister of Malaysia,
Tunku Abdul Rahman. This is a popular
recreational spot for tourists and local people.[21] 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 sprawl extends to the towns of Inanam,
Menggatal, Sepanggar, Telipok and south of the district border to
Donggongon, Putatan, and Lok Kawi.[22]
Kota Kinabalu
is generally isolated from the rest of the country; it is
located about 1,624 kilometres (1,009 miles) from Kuala Lumpur in
Peninsular Malaysia[23]
and 804 kilometres (499 miles) from Kuching in
the neighbouring state of Sarawak.[24]
Moro dwellings off the coast
of Pulau Gaya
Culture and
leisure
Attractions and recreation spots
Cultural
There are a
number of cultural venues in Kota Kinabalu. The Sabah
Museum, 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 Kaamatan 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-Dusun
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 Minister,
Tun Fuad Stephens, on September 16, 1963, also known as Malaysia Day.
Today the site hosts the annual City Day celebration on February 2,
Merdeka Day 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 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 Monument, located in Sembulan, a memorial which marks
the site of the June 6, 1976 plane crash known as the Double Six
Tragedy most notably the first Chief Minister of Sabah, Tun Fuad
Stephens.
Leisure and conservation areas:
The boardwalk in Kota Kinabalu at
dusk
Sunset at Tanjung Aru beach. Pulau Sulug
can be seen on the left and Pulau Manukan on the right of the horizon.
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
Division and the Interior Division. The railway journey ends in the
town of Tenom. Sutera Harbour Golf & Country Club near the city
centre was built wholly on reclaimed land. It features a golf and
country club, a marina, and two hotels.
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.[42] The beach
is over 2 kilometres in length and is complemented with a number food
and drink stalls, 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, it is the only remaining patch of
mangrove forest that once existed extensively along the coastal region
of Kota Kinabalu.[43] 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 Kawi, about 20 kilometres south of the
city, is the first zoo in Sabah.
Set on a 280-acre piece of land, it is
arguably the largest zoo in Malaysia.[44]
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.
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 Park, located about 70
kilometres away from the city near Keningau, is a popular spot for
jungle trekking and camping. Kota Kinabalu is also the gateway to one
of the most popular national parks in Malaysia, Kinabalu
National Park.
The park is a two hour drive away from the city and it contains Mount
Kinabalu which is the fifth highest peak in South-East Asia, and the
highest in Malaysia.
The Rafflesia Forest Reserve near Tambunan, 30
kilometres away from Kota Kinabalu, is also within the Crocker Range
National Park boundary. The world's largest flower species, the
Rafflesia, 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:
Other
buildings and sites in the city are the stilt villages found in
the areas of Sembulan, Tanjung Aru, Kampung Likas, and Kampung Pondo in
Pulau Gaya. These houses are built on coastal shallow waters and are
typical homes for the Bajau and Suluk inhabitants. The Sabah State
Mosque 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. Tun Mustapha Tower (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 tallest building on Borneo island.
Tun Mustapha
Tower
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.[45]
The weekly Gaya Street Sunday Market
features a gathering of locals hawkers 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.
Filipino Market along the waterfront
Entertainment:
There
are four cinemas in Kota Kinabalu - 2 Golden Screen Cinemas (commonly
known as GSC), Cathay Cineplex and Growball. GSC is located inside
Suria Sopping 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.
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 range,
and hockey fields. It is the largest sports complex in the state and
has hosted numerous national as well as international sporting events.
Likas Stadium is home for Sabah
FA football team ( Sabah
Rhinos) which
is currently competing in the Malaysian Premier League. 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 Games, international tournaments such as the
1994 Karate World Championships[46] and the 2008 BWF Super Series
Masters Finals badminton tournament.[47] It is also the starting point
of the annual international Borneo Safari 4x4 Challenge.[48] Kota
Kinabalu also hosts and is one of the circuits for the F2 Powerboat UIM
World Cup Series in December every year since 2007.
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.[50] 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 Press 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.
Healthcare
There are
three public hospitals 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.[39]
Sabah
Medical Centre in Damai is the largest private hospital in Sabah.
Another private centre is the Damai Specialist Centre. There are many
other private clinics operating around the city.[40]
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.[41] Other libraries or private libraries can
be found in schools, colleges, or university campus.
UMS Chancellory Building
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