The Kota Belud District ( ms, Daerah Kota Belud) is an

administrative district Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

in the

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 ...

n state of

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 ...

, part of the

West Coast Division West Coast Division ( ms, Bahagian Pantai Barat) 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 approxim ...

which includes the districts of Kota Belud,

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 of S ...

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 ...

Putatan Putatan ( ms, Pekan Putatan) is a municipality in the capital of the Putatan district in the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 100,000 in 2021. It is one of the satellite town of Kota Kinabalu me ...

Ranau 'Ranau'' ( ms, Pekan Ranau) is the capital of the Ranau District in the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 8,970 in 2010. Climate Ranau has a tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest cl ...

and

Tuaran Tuaran ( ms, Pekan Tuaran) is the capital of the Tuaran District in the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 128,200 in 2019 with half the population consists of ethnic Dusuns, most of the Lotud eth ...

. The capital of the district is in Kota Belud Town.

Etymology

Kota Belud gained its name from the combination of two words in

Bajau language Bajaw is the language of the Bajaw, widely known as the ' sea gypsies' of Maritime Southeast Asia. Differences exist between the language's varieties in western Sabah, Mapun (previously Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi/Sulu) in southern Philippines, easter ...

. ''Kota'' means "fort" while ''Belud'' means a "hill" which consequently giving the meaning of "fort in a hill".

History

In the past before the existence of a government body, there was often hostility between the races of different villages in the area. In order to defending themselves, they had to find a place to survive their opposition attacks. Hence, the Bajaus have chosen a hill as their fortress which subsequently known as "Kota Belud".

Demographics

According to the last census in 2010, the population of Kota Belud district is estimated to be around 91,27, mainly

Bajau The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the exonym ...

Illanun The Iranun are a Moro ethnic group native to Mindanao, Philippines (in Maguindanao del Norte: Barira, Buldon, Parang, Matanog, Sultan Mastura, and Sultan Kudarat; North Cotabato: Alamada, Banisilan, Carmen, Libungan, and Pigcawayan; Lan ...

people and

Dusun Dusun is the collective name of a tribe or ethnic and linguistic group in the Malaysian state of Sabah of North Borneo. Collectively, they form the largest ethnic group in Sabah. Dusun has been recognised as among the indigenous community of ...

. As in other districts of Sabah, there are a significant number of illegal immigrants from the nearby southern

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 ...

, mainly from the Sulu Archipelago and

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

, many of whom are not included in the population statistics.

Mukim in Kota Belud District

1 Mukim Ambong 2 Mukim Bandar Kota Belud 3 Mukim Dudar 4 Mukim Kaguraan 5 Mukim Kadaiman 6 Mukim Kadamaian 7 Mukim Kebayau 8 Mukim Kedatuan 9 Mukim Kelawat 10 Mukim Kulambai 11 Mukim Kinasaraban 12 Mukim Lasau 13 Mukim Mangkulat 14 Mukim Pirasan 15 Mukim Rampayan 16 Mukim Rosok 17 Mukim Sembirai 18 Mukim Taginambur 19 Mukim Taun Gusi 20 Mukim Tempasuk

Notable Person

Politicians

Mohammad Said Keruak Tun Mohammad Said bin Keruak (15 November 1925 – 17 November 1995) was a Malaysian politician who served as the 7th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah from January 1987 to December 1994 and 4th Chief Minister of Sabah briefly from November 1975 ...

- The seventh

Head of State A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

and the Fourth

Chief Minister of Sabah The Ketua Menteri Sabah or Chief Minister of Sabah is the head of government of the Malaysian state of Sabah. Since September 2020, the position has been held by Hajiji Noor from the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), Perikatan Nasiona ...

Salleh Said Keruak Datuk Seri Panglima Md Salleh bin Md Said ( Jawi: محمد صالح بن محمد سعيد; born 10 July 1958), commonly known as Salleh Said Keruak, is a Malaysian politician who was Chief Minister of the state of Sabah from 1994 to 1996. He ...

- The Ninth

, the former Speaker of the

Sabah State Legislative Assembly The Sabah State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Undangan Negeri Sabah, Kadazandusun language, Kadazandusun: ''Langga' Tinukuan Pogun Sabah'') is a part of the legislature of Sabah, Malaysia, the other being the List of Yang di-Pertua Negeri of ...

, the former

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and the Malaysian Minister of Communication and Multimedia. *

Pandikar Amin Mulia Pandikar Amin bin Mulia ( Jawi: ڤنديكر أمين بن مليا; born 17 September 1955) is a Malaysian politician who has served as President of United Sabah National Organisation (New) (USNO Baru) since February 2021. He served as 8th S ...

- The Eight

Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat The Speaker of the House of Representatives ( ms, Yang di-Pertua Dewan Rakyat) is the highest-ranking presiding officer of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. He is responsible for convening sessions of the Dewan Raky ...

, the lower house of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Abdul Rahman Dahlan Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Abdul Rahman bin Dahlan ( Jawi: عبدالرحمن بن دحلان; born 24 November 1965) is a Malaysian politician. He is the former Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and the Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Ho ...

n Minister

Sportsman

* Dass Gregory Kalopis - the former Malaysian Football Player *

Matlan Marjan Matlan Marjan is a former professional football player from the state of Sabah, Malaysia. He is renowned for scoring 2 goals against England for Malaysia in a friendly match on 12 June 1991, the only Malaysian to have done so. He has a younger ...

- the former Malaysian Football Player * Zainizam Marjan - the former Malaysian Football Player

Singer

Gary Chaw Gary Chaw (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Tshâu Kak; born 9 July 1979 in Kota Belud, Sabah, Malaysia), also known as Gary Cao or Cao Ge or by his alter ego Cao Xiaoge, is a Malaysian Chinese singer-songwriter based in Taiwan, who has had achieved success in ...

- Only Malaysian that have won 19th Golden Melody Awards 'Best Male Mandarin Singer', one of the most prestigious award in Chinese song industry

Gallery

File:KotaBelud Sabah -Masjid-02.jpg, Kota Belud Mosque. File:PurakOgis Sabah CatholicChurchStWilliam-02.jpg, St. William Catholic Church. File:Taginambur Sabah GerejaSIB-01.jpg, Taginambur Borneo Evangelical Church. File:Sabah James-Brooke-Range-01.jpg, James Brooke Range.

References

External links

*
Kota Belud District Office
{{Districts of Malaysia