Lok 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. Nearby towns include Putatan in the north, and Kinarut in the south.
West Coast Division is an administrative division of Sabah, Malaysia. It occupies the northwest portion of Sabah. With an area of 7,588 square kilometres, it occupies 10.3% of Sabah's territory. It also has approximately 30% of Sabah's total population, with the main indigenous inhabitants comprising the Bajau, Bruneian Malay, Dusun, Illanun, Kadazan and Kedayan, as well with a significant numbers of Chinese. The division is divided into the districts of Ranau, Kota Belud, Tuaran, Penampang, Papar, and the state capital Kota Kinabalu. The main towns are as in the names of the districts, plus other towns including Putatan, Inanam, Telipok, Tamparuli, and Kinarut.
Sabah is a state of Malaysia located on the northern portion of Borneo. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's Kalimantan region to the south. The Federal Territory of Labuan is an island just off the Sabah coast. Sabah shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the west and the Philippines to the north and east. Kota Kinabalu is the state capital city, the economic centre of the state and the seat of the Sabah state government. Other major towns in Sabah include Sandakan and Tawau. As of the 2015 census in Malaysia, the state's population is 3,543,500. Sabah has an equatorial climate with tropical rainforests and abundant animal and plant species. The state has long mountain ranges on the west side which form part of the Crocker Range National Park. Kinabatangan River, second longest river in Malaysia runs through Sabah and Mount Kinabalu is the highest point of Sabah as well as of Malaysia.
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of 13 states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital and largest city while Putrajaya is the seat of federal government. With a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the world's 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia. In the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries, with large numbers of endemic species.
Originally a small village, Lok Kawi now features a small industrial estate as well a modern residential development. It is also the site for the Lok Kawi Army Camp (Kem Tentera Lok Kawi) and the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. [1] Lok Kawi also features one of the few Hindu temples in Kota Kinabalu, the Sri Subramaniyar Temple.
In the 1920s, the author W. Somerset Maugham was a frequent visitor to Lok Kawi: his niece was married to the manager of Lok Kawi Estate. [2]
William Somerset Maugham, CH, better known as W. Somerset Maugham, was a British playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest-paid author during the 1930s.
