Beaufort ( ms, Beaufort) is the capital of the

Beaufort District The Beaufort District (; ms, Daerah Beaufort) 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. T ...

in the

Interior Division The Interior Division ( ms, Bahagian Pedalaman) is an administrative division of the state of Sabah, Malaysia. It occupies the southwest portion of Sabah, bordered by the neighbouring state of Sarawak on its west. With an area of 18,298 square ki ...

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, 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 Indone ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. It was named after former British Governor

Leicester Paul Beaufort Sir Leicester Paul Beaufort (13 December 1853 – 12 August 1926), was a British barrister and colonial governor of North Borneo. Early life Beaufort was the second son of the Reverend Daniel Augustus Beaufort of Warburton, Cheshire and ...

. Its population was estimated to be around 12,742 in 2010. It is about 90 kilometres south of

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 ...

and about 167 kilometres north of

Long Pasia Long Pasia is a village in Sipitang District, Sabah. Long Pasia is a home town of Lun Bawang/Lun Dayeh tribes and has a population of about 1,000 people, and all of them are Christians of Borneo Evangelical Church (SIB). It is located about s ...

(one of the famous tourist attractions in

). It has shophouses built high above the roads to avoid the periodic floods of the Padas River. The population of Beaufort is composed mainly of

Bisaya Visayans ( Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group, ...

, Brunei Malays,

Kadazan-Dusun Kadazan-Dusun (also written as Kadazandusun or Mamasok Kadazan-Dusun) also less-known as "Mamasok Sabah" are two indigenous peoples of Sabah, Malaysia—the ethnic groups Kadazan and Dusun. The Kadazandusun is the largest native group of Bumip ...

s, Lun Bawang/Lun Dayeh, Muruts and

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

(mainly

Hakkas 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 ...

). Bisaya are the majority ethnic, and the population is scattered around the town. Like other towns in Sabah such as

city (including

Penampang Penampang ( ms, Pekan Penampang) is the capital of the Penampang District in the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 93,616 in 2010, with ethnic Kadazan as the majority. It contains, or is synonymou ...

Tawau Tawau (, Jawi: , ), formerly known as Tawao, is the capital of the Tawau District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the third-largest city in Sabah, after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. It is located on the Semporna Peninsula in the southeast coast of t ...

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 of S ...

Kudat Kudat ( ms, Pekan Kudat) is the capital of the Kudat District in the Kudat Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 29,025 in 2010. It is located on the Kudat Peninsula, about north of Kota Kinabalu, the state cap ...

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 n ...

, Beaufort was one of the major initial Hakka population centres in Sabah and still has a large Hakka minority.

History

Originally set up to help economic development of the interior of Sabah, Beaufort's early prosperity was closely linked to rubber cultivation. During World War II, it was the site of a battle between Japanese and Australian forces in late June 1945. Beaufort Sabah Majlis-Daerah-Beaufort-01

Beaufort Sabah Majlis-Daerah-Beaufort-01

Economy

Its current prosperity depends on the booming palm oil industry, rubber, pineapple, mangoes,

durian The durian (, ) is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus ''Durio''. There are 30 recognised ''Durio'' species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. ''Durio zibethinus'', native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the onl ...

and livestock.

Transportation

Beaufort railway station is a stop on the

Sabah State Railway Sabah State Railway (SSR) is a railway system and operator in the state of Sabah in Malaysia. It is the only rail transport system operating on the island of Borneo. The railway consists of a single 134-kilometre line from Tanjung Aru, Kota Kina ...

(''Jabatan Keretapi Negeri Sabah'') line from Tanjung Aru to Tenom. Beaufort is usually visited by tourists for

white-water rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

through the nearby Padas Gorge on the Padas River, which is rated as a Grade 2 to 4 river.

Healthcare

Medical services are provided by the 140 bed government hospital which has primary care and basic secondary care services. There are three private practitioners within the town area.

Shopping

The open-air market, locally known as ''tamu'', is held weekly from Friday evening until Saturday afternoon. Local produce such as fresh fruits, vegetables, fresh meat and live poultry are sold. There is a recently developed shopping area which includes superstore branches such as Servay, BestMart and CNF Hypermarket. Food and beverage outlets like

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 dessert at d ...

, BTC,

Marrybrown Marrybrown Sdn Bhd ( doing business as Marrybrown) is a Malaysian-owned multinational chain of quick service restaurants originated in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. Being one of the largest global halal fast food-establishments, the chain ha ...

and

KFC KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

are also available.

Cuisine

Beaufort is also known in Sabah for its local cuisine called

ambuyat Ambuyat is a dish derived from the interior trunk of the sago palm. It is a starchy bland substance, similar to tapioca starch. Ambuyat is the national dish of Brunei, and a local specialty in the Malaysian states of Sarawak, Sabah, and the feder ...

. Sweet Sambal bambangan is also a popular option, as well as other local dishes such as tapai manis, jelurut, bingka, rojak, soto, nasi ayam special, cendol pulut, satay, mamak foodstuffs and a Chinese noodle dish called Beaufort Mee, served either dry or with soup. It is also famous for its Beaufort oranges, which are featured as three large sculptures in the centre of the town.

Sister cities

As designated by

Sister Cities International Sister Cities International (SCI) is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between communities in the United States and those in other countries, particularly through the establishment of "sister cities"� ...

, Beaufort is a sister city of: *

Beaufort, North Carolina Beaufort ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Carteret County, North Carolina, Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. Established in 1713 and incorporated in 1723, Beaufort is the fourth oldest town in North Carolina (after Bath, Nor ...

, 2013

References

External links

* {{Sabah Beaufort District Towns in Sabah