Keningau | |
---|---|
Town and district capital | |
Pekan Keningau Keningau Town | |
Other transcription(s) | |
• Jawi | كنيڠاءو |
• Chinese | 根地咬(Simplified) 根地咬(Traditional) Gēndeyǎo(Hanyu Pinyin) |
Etymology: Derived from koningau, a local cinnamon tree species. | |
Coordinates: 5°20′00″N116°10′00″E / 5.33333°N 116.16667°E | |
Country | Malaysia |
State | Sabah |
Division | Interior |
District | Keningau |
Municipality | 1 January 2022 |
Government | |
• Type | Keningau District Council |
• District Officer | Amat Mohd Yusof |
Population | |
• Total | 173,130 |
Time zone | UTC+8 (MST) |
• Summer (DST) | Not observed |
Postcode | 89xxx0 to 89xx49 |
Area code | 087 |
Vehicle registration | SU |
Website | www.sabah.gov.my/md.kgu www.sabah.gov.my/pd.kgu |
Keningau (Malay : Pekan Keningau) is the capital of the Keningau District in the Interior Division of Sabah, Malaysia. It is the fifth-largest town in Sabah, as well one of the oldest. Keningau is between Tambunan and Tenom. The town had an estimated population of 173,130. [1] Dusuns , Muruts and Lundayehs is the major ethnics in Keningau.
The name Keningau is derived from the locally-abundant Javanese cinnamon tree ( Cinnamomum burmannii ) which is locally known as koningau. The tree is known as 'Kayu Manis' in Malay and is sometimes referred to as the 'king of spices'. Its bark was collected by the British North Borneo Company to be sold as a spice. During the British colonial era, Keningau was one of the most important administrative centres in British North Borneo.
The Japanese used Keningau as one of its main administrative centres during their occupation of North Borneo in World War II.
The Keningau 1 is south of the Keningau Town. There is a vibrant commercial district with some of historical 'shop-houses.'
Keningau 2 is the New Town, to the north of Keningau. The New Town houses the new Keningau Hospital. There are shops, shopping malls, and school.
Keningau's population was estimated in 2010 at 5,565. Of the total, 90% are Dusuns ,Lundayeh and Muruts, 8% are Chinese (of whom most are proportionally divided into Hakkas and Taishanese); the balance is divided between other indigenous Sabahan races and foreign immigrants (legal and illegal) from the Philippines and Indonesia. The latter group forms a disproportionately large part of the population of Keningau as many of these immigrants come to seek employment in the many agricultural plantations in the district.
Apart from their native languages, the indigenous Sabahan ethnicities in Keningau mostly speak English, Malay (albeit a distinct Sabahan creole form of it). The ethnic Chinese population speak Sze Yup (a dialect of Cantonese), Hakka and Mandarin (varieties of Chinese) among themselves, but generally speak Malay when interacting with members of the indigenous races.
Most of the Indonesian and Filipino immigrants speak Malay in addition to their native languages.
Keningau has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.
Climate data for Keningau | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 28.6 (83.5) | 28.7 (83.7) | 29.3 (84.7) | 30.0 (86.0) | 30.1 (86.2) | 29.8 (85.6) | 29.5 (85.1) | 29.5 (85.1) | 29.4 (84.9) | 29.3 (84.7) | 29.2 (84.6) | 29.0 (84.2) | 29.4 (84.9) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.3 (77.5) | 25.3 (77.5) | 25.8 (78.4) | 26.3 (79.3) | 26.4 (79.5) | 26.2 (79.2) | 25.8 (78.4) | 25.8 (78.4) | 25.8 (78.4) | 25.8 (78.4) | 25.7 (78.3) | 25.6 (78.1) | 25.8 (78.4) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.0 (71.6) | 22.0 (71.6) | 22.3 (72.1) | 22.7 (72.9) | 22.8 (73.0) | 22.6 (72.7) | 22.2 (72.0) | 22.2 (72.0) | 22.2 (72.0) | 22.3 (72.1) | 22.3 (72.1) | 22.3 (72.1) | 22.3 (72.2) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 146 (5.7) | 136 (5.4) | 144 (5.7) | 138 (5.4) | 203 (8.0) | 148 (5.8) | 126 (5.0) | 123 (4.8) | 141 (5.6) | 177 (7.0) | 168 (6.6) | 175 (6.9) | 1,825 (71.9) |
Source: Climate-Data.org [2] |
This monument was erected to commemorate Sabah's entrance into the federation of Malaysia by Garukon Gurun, a former Sergeant Major of the legendary North Borneo Constabulary from Kampung Dangulad Keningau. It was unveiled and officiated on 31 August 1964. On the stone is a plaque setting out the federal government's promises to the people of Sabah, as well as the reciprocal promise of Sabahans to remain loyal to the federal government. The stone is in the compound of the Keningau District Office.
Crocker Range National Park covers 1,399 km2, making it the largest park in Sabah. The park consists of hill and montane forest, with many species of flora and fauna endemic to Borneo. Maintenance of this forest cover is essential to ensuring a pure water supply for many of the towns and communities in Sabah.
The park contains at least five species of primates, such as orang-utans, gibbons, furry tarsiers, and sociable long-tailed macaques.
Facilities include an exhibition centre, insectarium, fernarium, observation tower, and trekking trail.
Also known as Pusat Kraftangan Keningau, it is in Keningau New Town. It just 4.8 km from Keningau town. It is known for its scenic beauty and recreational facilities. It comprises recreational of traditional art, visual art, and all traditional things.
The recreation resources located at Apin-Apin. It takes 25 minutes from Keningau Town to this location. It also has an alternate road with 26 km for people who want to go there to avoid the crowded traffic jam at the main road.
Also known as Bukit Matanoi. It is located in Apin - Apin, Keningau. It is 23 km from Keningau town.
Bukit Trig is where people can go hiking. It is at Apin-Apin, Keningau, 20.2 km from Keningau Town. It is known for its beauty.
The main shopping area in Keningau is the Keningau Mall. It is a 4 storey building, launched in 2010, located in Keningau Town and is the first shopping mall in the Interior Division of Sabah.
Tamu Ground Keningau is a weekly market held twice a week, Thursday and Sunday. As early as 5 am, traders begin to set up their stalls on Tamu Ground open space. Stalls available selling fresh local crops, freshwater fishes, seafoods, cheap gadgets and even souvenirs. Keningau's weekly tamu is a great place to experience the original local North weekly market scene.
Keningau is along the following highways:
Long-distance coaches link Keningau with the cities of Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Tawau. In the town, public transportation is provided by minibuses and taxis.
Keningau Airport (Malay: Lapangan Terbang Keningau) ( IATA : KGU, ICAO : WBKG) was last serviced by commercial flights in the 1970s. It is currently under private ownership.
Keningau has its own radio station, Keningau FM (which is government-owned and operated by RTM), the national public broadcaster (with frequency of 94.70 MHz or 98.40 MHz) with shows in Malay, Murut and Dusun languages. Keningau can connect to other radio station such as Ai FM, TraXX FM, Klasik FM, Nasional FM, Sabah FM & Sabah V FM. Some places in Keningau can connect to Astro Radio, Hitz FM, Era FM and MY FM. In addition, VOK FM is the first commercial radio station to launch in Keningau on 106.6 MHz
The Keningau court complex is on Jalan Nyamok (Nyamok Road). It houses the High, Sessions, and Magistrates courts.
The police headquarters is on Jalan OKK Sodomon (OKK Sodomon Road). There are police substations or pondok polis (literally 'police huts') in Apin-Apin, Bingkor and Sook.
There are plenty of public health clinics, one public hospital, one maternal and child health clinic, four village clinics, one mobile clinic and one 1Malaysia clinic in Keningau.
Keningau Hospital is a 212-bed hospital and it is a district hospital providing specialist services for outpatients and inpatients. It is the main hospital in the Interior Division and is visited by patients from the surrounding districts of Nabawan, Sook, Pensiangan, Tambunan and Tenom.
There are many pharmacies available in Keningau.
The Keningau Regional Library is one of three regional libraries in Sabah, the others being in Sandakan and Tawau. These libraries are operated by the Sabah State Library.
The Keningau Sports Complex has facilities for badminton, tennis, volleyball and basketball as well as two stadiums for hockey and football. There is a 25m swimming pool. It hosted the 5th Sabah Games (SAGA) in 2011 and 9th Sabah Games (SAGA) in 2019.
Keningau Football Stadium has a capacity of 10,000. It is the home stadium for KDMM F.C.
There are many government or state schools in and around the town. The primary school in the town was
For the secondary schools
For higher/tertiary education, there are GIATMARA Keningau, Geomatika Commercial College and Sidma College. Universities such as the Open University Malaysia and UNITAR University have a campus here. Kolej Vokasional Keningau (KV Keningau) also offer higher education in diploma level.
The main shopping area in Keningau is the Keningau Mall. Launched in 2010, it is located in Keningau Town and become the first shopping mall in Interior Division. In 2016, a new mall called Keningau Giant Mall has been launched and become the second main shopping destination for Keningau. It is located at the central of Keningau New Town.
Keningau offer wide choices of popular local delicacies such as Char Kway Teow, Chinese Dim Sum, Nasi Lemak and local Kuih Muih
There are also variety of restaurants/vendors in Keningau that offer Western food, Chinese, Indian, Muslim, Japanese, even Indonesian and Philippines cuisines.
Kota Kinabalu, colloquially referred to as KK, is the state capital of Sabah, Malaysia. It is also the capital of the Kota Kinabalu District as well as 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 to its west and Mount Kinabalu, which gave the city its name, is located to its east. Kota Kinabalu has a population of 452,058 according to the 2010 census; when the adjacent Penampang and Tuaran districts are included, the metro area has a combined population of 628,725. The 2020 Census revealed an increase in the municipal population to 500,421, while the wider area including the Penampang and Putatan districts had a population of 731,406.
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Bingkor is a small township in Keningau District, Interior Division, Sabah, Malaysia. The majority of the population are Dusuns and Murut, which consists of part of the Borneo Dayak ethnic group. The Dusuns are divided into Dusun Gana and Dusun Kuyau, while the Murut is Nabai or Murut Keningau. Both these sub-Dusun families and the Murut people also represent the image of Keningau as a central district.
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The Keningau District is an administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the Interior Division which includes the districts of Beaufort, Keningau, Kuala Penyu, Nabawan, Sipitang, Tambunan and Tenom. The capital of the district is in Keningau Town. The town comprises a majority native Dusun as well as Murut population with significant Chinese minorities.
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Media related to Keningau at Wikimedia Commons