Keningau ( ms, Pekan Keningau) is the capital of the Keningau District in the Interior Division of

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

. It is the fifth-largest town in Sabah, as well one of the oldest. Keningau is between Tambunan and

Tenom Tenom ( ms, Pekan Tenom, ) is the capital of the Tenom District in the Interior Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 5,148 in 2010. It is located about 176 kilometres south of Kota Kinabalu and 128 kilometres ...

. The town had an estimated population of 173,130.

Etymology and history

The name ''Keningau'' is derived from the locally-abundant

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

nese

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus '' Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakf ...

tree (''

Cinnamomum burmannii ''Cinnamomum burmannii'' (or ''Cinnamomum burmanni''), also known as Indonesian cinnamon, Padang cassia, Batavia cassia, or korintje, is one of several plants in the genus ''Cinnamomum'' whose bark is sold as the spice cinnamon. The most common ...

'') which is locally known as ''koningau''. The tree is known as 'Kayu Manis' in Malay and is sometimes referred to as the 'king of

spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...

s'. 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 (I persevere and I achieve) , national_anthem = , capital = Kudat (1881–1884);Sandakan (1884–1945);Jesselton (1946) , common_languages = English, Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Murut, Sabah Malay, Chinese etc. , go ...

. The Japanese used Keningau as one of its main administrative centres during their occupation of North Borneo in World War II.

Town divisions

Keningau 1

The Keningau 1 is south of the Keningau Town. There is a vibrant commercial district with some of historical 'shop-houses.'

Keningau 2/New Town

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.

Demographics

Ethnicity and religion

Keningau's population was estimated in 2010 at 5,565. Of the total, 90% are Dusuns and Muruts, 8% are Chinese (of whom most are proportionally divided into Hakkas and

Taishanese Taishanese (), alternatively romanized in Cantonese as Toishanese or Toisanese, in local dialect as Hoisanese or Hoisan-wa, is a dialect of Yue Chinese native to Taishan, Guangdong. Although it is related to Cantonese, Taishanese has littl ...

); the balance is divided between other indigenous Sabahan races and foreign immigrants (legal and illegal) from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

. 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.

Languages

Apart from their native languages, the indigenous Sabahan ethnicities in Keningau mostly speak

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, Malay (albeit a distinct Sabahan creole form of it). The ethnic Chinese population speak Sze Yup (a dialect of Cantonese),

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

and Mandarin (

varieties of Chinese Chinese, also known as Sinitic, is a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family consisting of hundreds of local varieties, many of which are not mutually intelligible. Variation is particularly strong in the more mountainous southeast of mai ...

) 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.

Climate

Keningau has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southe ...

(Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.

Places of interest

Keningau Oath Stone

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

Crocker Range National Park Crocker Range National Park ( ms, Taman Negara Banjaran Crocker) 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 metre mountains in Sabah ...

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.

Keningau Handicraft Centre

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.

Kapayan Recreation Resources

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.

Matanoi Hill

Also known as Bukit Matanoi. It is located in Apin - Apin, Keningau. It is 23 km from Keningau town.

Bukit Trig

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.

Keningau Mall

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

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.

Communications and transportation

Road

Keningau is along the following highways: *

Kota Kinabalu , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...

Papar The Papar (; from Latin ''papa'', via Old Irish, meaning "father" or "pope") were, according to early Icelandic sagas, Irish monks who took eremitic residence in parts of what is now Iceland before that island's habitation by the Norsemen ...

Kimanis Kimanis (Chinese: 金馬利) is a town and also a parliamentary constituency in Papar District, West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. It is located approximately 45 kilometres south of the city of Kota Kinabalu, halfway between Papar and ...

-Keningau ( Kimanis-Keningau Highway) *

- Tambunan-Keningau-

) (

Malaysia Federal Route 500 Federal Route 500 (formerly Sabah State Route SA3) is a federal highway in Sabah, Malaysia, connecting Kota Kinabalu to Tenom Tenom ( ms, Pekan Tenom, ) is the capital of the Tenom District in the Interior Division of Sabah, Malaysia. It ...

) * Ranau- Tambunan-Keningau-

-Kemabong ( Interior North-South Highway) * Keningau- Sook-

Nabawan Nabawan ( ms, Pekan Nabawan) is the capital of the Nabawan District in the Interior Division of Sabah, Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three f ...

Kalabakan Kalabakan is a town and the capital of Kalabakan District, Sabah, Malaysia. It is located in the Tawau Division, and is about 55 kilometres west of the town of Tawau Tawau (, Jawi: , ), formerly known as Tawao, is the capital of the Ta ...

- Tawau * Keningau- Sook-Tulid-

Telupid Telupid ( ms, Pekan Telupid) is the capital of the Telupid District in the Sandakan Division of Sabah, Malaysia. History Telupid was first settled around 1940s and became the major route for the Sandakan Death Marches during World War II. At ...

Sandakan Sandakan (, Jawi: , ) formerly known at various times as Elopura, is the capital of the Sandakan District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second largest city in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu. It is located on the Sandakan Peninsula and east coast ...

(Keningau-Sandakan Highway)

Public transportation

Long-distance coaches link Keningau with the cities of

, Lahad Datu and Tawau. In the town, public transportation is provided by minibuses and taxis.

Air

Keningau Airport ( Malay: ''Lapangan Terbang Keningau'') was last serviced by commercial flights in the 1970s. It is currently under private ownership.

Radio

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 Ai FM (Chinese name: 爱 FM, literally "Love FM") is a Malaysian Mandarin-language radio station for Malaysian Chinese community operated by Radio Televisyen Malaysia Radio Televisyen Malaysia ( en, Radio Television of Malaysia, abbreviated ...

TraXX FM TraXX FM is a 24/7 English-language radio station operated by Radio Televisyen Malaysia. Established on 1 April 2005, it was previously known as the English Language Service in 1946, the Blue Network in 1959 and Radio 4 in 1993. The station's ...

, Klasik FM, Nasional FM, Sabah FM & Sabah V FM. Some places in Keningau can connect to

Astro Radio Astro Radio Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Airtime Management and Programming Sdn Bhd or AMP Radio Networks) is a Malaysian radio network company which operates radio broadcasting services and more since 1996. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of A ...

, 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

Public services

Courts of law and legal enforcement

The Keningau

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

complex is on Jalan Nyamok (Nyamok Road). It houses the

High High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

, 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.

Healthcare

There are plenty of public health clinics, one

public hospital A public hospital, or government hospital, is a hospital which is government owned and is fully funded by the government and operates solely off the money that is collected from taxpayers to fund healthcare initiatives. In some countries, this typ ...

, 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.

Libraries

Keningau_Sabah_PerpustakaanWilayahKeningau-03

The Keningau Regional Library is one of three regional libraries in Sabah, the others being in

and Tawau. These libraries are operated by the Sabah State Library.

Sports

The Keningau Sports Complex has facilities for

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

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.

Education

There are many government or state

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

in and around the town. The primary school in the town was # Sekolah Kebangsaan Ambual # Sekolah Kebangsaan St.James # Sekolah Kebangsaan Apin-Apin # Sekolah Kebangsaan Banjar # Sekolah Kebangsaan Batu Lunguyan # Sekolah Kebangsaan Rancangan Biah # Sekolah Kebangsaan Binaong # Sekolah Kebangsaan Bingkor # Sekolah Kebangsaan Bonor # Sekolah Kebangsaan Bulu Silou # Sekolah Kebangsaan Bundu Apin-Apin # Sekolah Kebangsaan Bunsit # Sekolah Kebangsaan Kawakaan # Sekolah Kebangsaan Dalit # Sekolah Kebangsaan Delayan Tulid # Sekolah Kebangsaan Kabatang Baru # Sekolah Kebangsaan Kalampun # Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampong Baru # Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampong Biah # Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampong Keningau # Sekolah Kebangsaan Karamatoi # Sekolah Kebangsaan Jaya Baru # Sekolah Kebangsaan Pekan Keningau # Sekolah Kebangsaan Inandung # Sekolah Kebangsaan Bariawa Ulu # Sekolah Kebangsaan Kapayan Baru # Sekolah Kebangsaan Lanas # Sekolah Kebangsaan Liau Apin-Apin # Sekolah Kebangsaan Luagan # Sekolah Kebangsaan Magatang # Sekolah Kebangsaan Mansiat # Sekolah Kebangsaan Membulu # Sekolah Kebangsaan Menawo # Sekolah Kebangsaan Merampong # Sekolah Kebangsaan Mamagun # Sekolah Kebangsaan Pasir Putih # Sekolah Kebangsaan Pohon Batu # Sekolah Kebangsaan Kuala Kahaba # Sekolah Kebangsaan Senagang # Sekolah Kebangsaan Sinaron Tengah # Sekolah Kebangsaan Sodomon # Sekolah Kebangsaan Sook # Sekolah Kebangsaan Membulu # Sekolah Kebangsaan Tuarid Taud # Sekolah Kebangsaan Tulid # Sekolah Kebangsaan Ulu Liawan # Sekolah Kebangsaan Ansip # Sekolah Kebangsaan Malima # Sekolah Kebangsaan Penagatan # Sekolah Kebangsaan Sinua # Sekolah Kebangsaan Meninipir # Sekolah Kebangsaan Malaing # Sekolah Kebangsaan Bunga Raya # Sekolah Kebangsaan Sinulihan Baru # Sekolah Kebangsaan Simbuan Tulid # Sekolah Kebangsaan Ulu Senagang # Sekolah Kebangsaan Gaulan # Sekolah Kebangsaan Petikang Laut Keningau # Sekolah Kebangsaan Binuwou Tengah # Sekolah Kebangsaan Rancangan Belia Tuilon # Sekolah Kebangsaan Binakaan # Sekolah Kebangsaan Bunang Sook # Sekolah Kebangsaan Lintuhun Baru # Sekolah Kebangsaan Nangkawangan # Sekolah Kebangsaan Nandagan # Sekolah Kebangsaan Binanon # Sekolah Kebangsaan Pangas # Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Keningau II # Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (C) Yuk Yin # Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (C) Yuk Kong # Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (C) Cheng Ming For the

secondary schools A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

#Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama (SMKA) Keningau # Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan Ken Hwa # Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Apin-Apin # Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bingkor # Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Gunsanad # Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Gunsanad II # Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Keningau # Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Keningau II # Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sook # Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan St. Francis Xavier # Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tulid # Kolej Vokasional Keningau 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.

Culture and leisure

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. A new project a new mall with 400 units of store will develop in the future in Keningau, the rumours name of the new mall is Aeon Mall Keningau Shopping Centre. This mall will share similarities as Imago KK Times Square in

and become the biggest shopping mall in Interior Division after Keningau Mall and will become the first Aeon Mall located in Sabah.

Cuisine

Keningau offer wide choices of popular local delicacies such as

Char Kway Teow ''Char kway teow'' () is a stir-fried rice noodle dish from Maritime Southeast Asia and is of southern Chinese origin. In Hokkien and Teochew, ''char'' means 'stir-fried' and ''kway teow'' refers to flat rice noodles. It is made from flat ...

, 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. Many Muslim-owned Mamak Stall open for 24 hours that offer varieties of Indian food throughout the city Fast food restaurant also available such as KFC,

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and desse ...

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

. Other franchise found includes Secret Recipe, Tealive, Share Tea, U-Tea

Notable residents

; Architecture & Engineering * Garukon Gurun, the designer of the Keningau Oath Stone * Gounon Lulus, the builder of the North Borneo Railway from Jesselton to Tenom with Arthur Joseph West ; Economics & Business * Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup JP, economist, lawyer, politician (current MP of Pensiangan) ; Entertainment *

Daphne Iking Daphne Eleanor M Iking (born Daphne M Iking), known as Daphne Iking, is a Malaysian television personality, an emcee and an occasional actress. Early life Daphne was born in Keningau, Sabah, Malaysia to a former nurse, Naili Juliah Ganahong (b ...

, Malaysian TV personality (birthplace and maternal hometown, paternal hometown in Tambunan) ; Politics * Tun

Ahmad Koroh Tun Ahmad Koroh (born Thomas Koroh; 1 January 1925 – 25 June 1978) was the fifth Governor of the Malaysian state of Sabah. He was the nephew of Sedomon Gunsanad Kina and the second Governor to die in office just like his predecessor, Tun Moh ...

, governor and head of state of Sabah ( Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah) * Tun Adnan Robert, governor and head of state of Sabah ( Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah) * Tan Sri

Joseph Kurup Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Kurup (born 15 December 1944) is a Malaysian politician who served as 1st and founding President of the Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition from March ...

, politician, lawyer * Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima

Musa Aman Musa Bin Haji Aman ( Jawi: موسى بن حاج أمان; born 30 March 1951) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 14th Chief Minister, State Minister of Finance from March 2003 to May 2018, Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assem ...

, businessman, politician (maternal hometown, paternal hometown in

Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions * ...

district) * Datuk Seri Panglima Dr.

Maximus Ongkili Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Maximus Johnity Ongkili (born 26 October 1953) is a Malaysian politician who has served as Chairman of the Energy Commission of Sabah (ECOS) since February 2023. He served as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department ...

, politician, researcher (settled only in this town during his adolescence for his secondary education, but his hometown is still in Tambunan) * Datuk Orang Kaya Kaya (OKK)

Sedomon Gunsanad Kina Sedomon Gunsanad Kina MBE (1894-1966) was a native chief of Keningau, in North Borneo, who later became a politician in unified Malaysia. He was the son of Gunsanad Kina and the older brother of G.S Sundang. Background Sedomon was given the t ...

, the founding member of the Federation of Malaysia, the epigraphist of the Oath Stone and 20 Point * Datuk

Stephen R. Evans Datuk Seri Panglima Stephen Robert Evans (died 2017) SPDK, JP is a politician, public administrator and author from Sabah, Malaysia. Evans was born in Kampong Bariawa Laut, a small village in Keningau District, North Borneo (now Sabah). His ...

, politician, public administrator and author ; Sports * Alto Linus,

and Malaysian footballer * Maxsius Musa,

and Malaysian footballer

References

External links

{{Authority control Keningau District Towns in Sabah