KOTA KINABALU: Culture and Leisure
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:
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.[45] 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 (97,000 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 Kawi, about 20 kilometres south of the city, is the first zoo in Sabah. Set on a 280-acre (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 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 10th 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 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.
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 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.
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, hockey fields and a new Youth Challenge park comprising of 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 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 and the 2008 BWF Super Series Masters Finals 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 Powerboat UIM 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 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. The winner of the 6th season of Akademi Fantasia, Stacy Angie is from Kota Kinabalu, formerly based on 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 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.
