Penampang ( ms, Pekan Penampang) is the capital of the

Penampang District The Penampang District ( ms, Daerah Penampang) is an administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the West Coast Division which includes the districts of Kota Belud, Kota Kinabalu, Papar, Penampang, Putatan, Ranau and Tuara ...

in 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 approxi ...

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 ...

. Its population was estimated to be around 93,616 in 2010, with ethnic

Kadazan The Kadazans are an ethnic group indigenous to the state of Sabah in Malaysia. They are found mainly in Penampang on the west coast of Sabah, the surrounding locales, and various locations in the interior. As a result of integration in culture ...

as the majority. It contains, or is synonymous with, Donggongon, which as of 2007, it has a population of 78,086. The town has virtually become a suburb 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 considered as part of

Greater Kota Kinabalu Greater Kota Kinabalu refers to the dense clusters of regional populated areas surrounding the city of Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia. It comprises the districts of Kota Kinabalu (also the largest city and capital of Sabah), Penampang, Tuaran and Pap ...

area.

Etymology

The name ''Penampang'' came from an old village within the district. The village's name in turn originates from a Kadazan word ''pampang'' meaning a big rock. This is because huge rocks were easily found within the vicinity of the village a long time ago. The name in contemporary usage refers to the district, with the town of ''Donggongon'' as the main town within the district of Penampang. The name Donggongon originates from Kadazan word ''tundo'ongon'' which means a 'shelter' or a 'resting area', referring to its historical role as a stop-over for people from the interior who journeyed down the coast to trade. Penampang as a name reference of this area is of a relatively new origin. Early British explorer, John Whitehead who had explored

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, which is present day Sabah. The territory of North Borneo ...

in the 1880s referred to this district as ''Patatan''.

Owen Rutter Edward Owen Rutter (7 November 1889 – 2 August 1944) was an English historian, novelist and travel writer. After serving with the North Borneo Civil Service from 1910 to 1915, Rutter returned to Britain during the First World War and was commi ...

, a civil servant in North Borneo from 1910 to 1914 similarly referred to this area as ''Putatan''.

Economy

Penampang strives as one of the major industrial and commercial centres within the

greater Kota Kinabalu Greater Kota Kinabalu refers to the dense clusters of regional populated areas surrounding the city of Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia. It comprises the districts of Kota Kinabalu (also the largest city and capital of Sabah), Penampang, Tuaran and Pap ...

area. Many retail stores are found scattered in the district primarily in the Donggongon area, anywhere along Penampang Lama Road and Penampang-KK Bypass Road. The

Mega Long Mall Mega Long Mall is a shopping centre located in Donggongon, Penampang, Sabah, Malaysia, about 10 kilometres from the Kota Kinabalu city centre. It is the longest shopping mall in Sabah. Lawsuit In early 2015, the mall was sued by 102 shop owner ...

is a shopping centre situated in Donggongon with many retail shops such as

Giant Hypermarket GCH Retail (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (doing business as Giant Hypermarket) is a hypermarket and retailer chain now mainly in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Cambodia, and formerly Indonesia and Vietnam. In 2016, Giant was the largest supermarket chain ...

, cinema, restaurants and many others. A second shopping centre

ITCC Mall ITCC may refer to: * Irish Touring Car Championship * Italian Touring Car Championship * 1996 International Touring Car Championship * International T-Class Confederation * International Theological Correspondence College {{dab ...

located at the Penampang-KK Bypass Road which would consist of a hotel, office space, shopping mall and a multi-purpose commercial centre. The Penampang District Police Headquarters, Penampang District Library, and the Penampang Sports Complex are located in Donggongon. It also features a popular weekly ''tamu'' (market) in the town every Thursday and Friday where the market sells a variety of households products, foods, and traditional handicrafts such as bangles, headbands or gongs.

also located in the town together with a number of restaurants, pubs and

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

bars. The Chua Ka Seng supermarket made its presence felt before the Megalong Mall was built. ITCC, a shopping complex is now open for shoppers. Shop owners from the razed Kasiigui had moved to Donggongon. This happened decades ago.

References

Penampang District Towns in Sabah {{Sabah-geo-stub