The Penampang District ( ms, Daerah Penampang) 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 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 ...

n state 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 ...

, 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 approxi ...

which includes the districts of

Kota Belud Kota Belud ( ms, Pekan Kota Belud; ; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Kú-tá Mâu-lu̍t) is the capital of the Kota Belud District in the West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 8,392 in 2010. It is roughly at the mi ...

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 ...

, Penampang, Putatan,

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 Penampang Town.

History

Prior to the formation of Penampang District Council (PDC) in 1978, it was formerly known as Jesselton Rural District Council (JRDC). This auxiliary administrative body covered the whole of Penampang sub-district (including Putatan and

Lok Kawi 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 Kot ...

), Telipok town including areas up to Kampung Likas, Taman Foh Sang and Taman Stephen. The first head of JRDC was the District Officer of Jesselton, Mr. Blow D.S.O while the Chief Executive was the Assistant District Officer. The councillors comprising the district Chiefs namely: OKK Laiman Diki bin Siram, Majimbun Majangkim, Tan Pin Hing, Ewan Empok and Ahsai Ghani; Chinese Kapitan: Foo Ah Kau (Penampang), Wong Nam Fatt (Telipok), Chin Nyuk (Menggatal), Chin Tsun Yin (Inanam) and Ng Swee Hock (Putatan); Property Owners: Mr. W. C. Collard (Lok Kawi Estate) and Julius Makajil (Penampang). In 1966, the Local Government Ordinance 1961 was amended whereby Councilors are to be appointed by the Minister of Local Government Sabah. When the name

Jesselton , 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 ...

was changed to

, Jesselton Rural District Council (JRDC) was also changed to Kota Kinabalu Rural District Council (KKRDC). In 1978, Kota Kinabalu Town Board was upgraded to Kota Kinabalu Municipal Council hence Kota Kinabalu Rural District Council (KKRDC) became Penampang District Council (PDC).

Demographics

According to the last census in 2010, the population of the district is estimated to be around 121,934 inhabitants, with the majority of the population belong to the

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 Bu ...

ethnic groups and the Chinese. These followed by a minority of

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 ...

and Bruneian Malay. The Kadazan-Dusuns mainly practice

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

, the majority of which are

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

. The Chinese (including of Sino-Native backgrounds) mainly practice

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

or Christianity. Malays (mostly of Bruneian descent) and Bajaus are

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

(they domiciled in the sub-district of Putatan and its surrounding town of Petagas). Penampang was one of the important sites for Roman Catholic early mission in North Borneo. St. Joseph's Foreign Mission Society of

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18,4 ...

, a Roman Catholic mission organisation, began its early missionary works in

, Penampang and

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 ...

in early 1880s. In 1927, Penampang became the centre of missionary activities in North Borneo and Labuan when Mgr. A. Wachter was appointed the

Prefect Apostolic An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although i ...

and subsequently made the Penampang mission as his headquarter. The mission work was undoubtedly an important catalyst not only in religion dissemination among the native population of Penampang but also in providing education. The population is divided among the larger communities and the total area of the district as follows:

Economy

Historically, the main economic activity in Penampang has been the cultivation of wet rice and other agricultural-based economies. In recent years, due to rapid economic boom and its close proximity to

, Penampang observes a rapid growth in the

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

and tertiary sectors of economy resulting in a major decline in the traditional agricultural activities. Lands traditionally used for cultivation of wet rice are increasingly sold for commercial and industrial purposes despite prohibition by the local authorities.

Education

S.M. St. Michael is situated in Penampang. It is one of the daily public schools in Sabah. In addition to the school above, Penampang district also hosts to other secondary and primary schools such as SMK Datuk Peter Mojuntin, SMK Bahang, SMK Tansau, SMK Putatan, SMK Limbanak, SJK (C) Yue Min, SK St. Theresa Inobong, SJK (C) Hwa Shiong Putatan, SK Kibabaig, SK St. Joseph, SK Kem Lok Kawi Putatan, SK Penampang, SK St. Anthony Dontozidon, SK Bahang, SK St. Aloysius Limbanak, SK St. Paul Kolopis, SK Putaton Inobong, SK Buit Hill, SK Puuntunoh, SK Tansau, SK Petagas, SK Tombovo, SK Pekan Putatan and SK Sugud to name a few.

Tunku Abdul Rahman University College Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management & Technology, abbreviated TAR UMT, is a non-profit, private university in Malaysia. Named after the country's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, the school was founded in 1969 as Tunku Abd ...

has a branch campus in Donggongon town, while SIDMA College in Bundusan area within the township of Penampang Baru (Bandar Baru Penampang, Koidupan) and INTI College Kota Kinabalu Campus is located in Putatan town.

Tourism

KgKuaiKandazon Sabah Monsopiad-House-of-Skulls-01

Penampang is generally considered as a stronghold of the

community and serves as a main centre for their political and cultural development. The

Kadazandusun Cultural Association 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 people, Kadazan and Dusun people, Dusun. The Kadazandusun is the ...

(KDCA) community hall hosts many of Kadazan-Dusun's traditional festivities, chief among them is the annual

Kaamatan Kaamatan or Pesta Kaamatan is a form of harvest festival celebrated on 30 and 31 of May annually in the state of Sabah and Federal Territory of Labuan in Malaysia. It is normally celebrated by the ethnic Kadazan-Dusuns, as well as by other ...

or 'harvest festival', their most important cultural event. The Monsopiad Cultural Village is in Penampang. Monsopiad was the name of a past warrior who was known for decapitating the heads of his enemy and hanging the skulls at the entrance of his home, to warn his enemies of his powers. The Pogunon Community Museum, a part of Sabah museum institution is situated in Kg. Pogunon, Penampang. In 2000, during a construction of a local kindergarten, three jars and pieces from four jars were discovered including an intact jar from 16th century with human remains inside.

Sabah Art Gallery The Sabah Art Gallery (BSLS; ms, Balai Seni Lukis Sabah) is an art gallery in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal ...

is situated in Penampang. It houses over 3000 paintings, carvings, and sculptures. The building has a unique basket-shaped architecture with decorative cultural motif panels of the indigenous people of Sabah. It is also the first

green building Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planni ...

in Sabah and

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

. St. Michael's Church is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church built from early 1930s until late 1940s. it is the second oldest stone church in Sabah.

Friendship district

Meili In Norse mythology, Meili (Old Norse: , "the lovely one"Simek (2007:210).) is a god, son of the god Odin and brother of the god Thor. Meili is attested in the '' Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and t ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

, China (since 13 April 2016)

Gallery

File:Penampang Sabah PeterMojuntinMemorial-01.jpg,

Peter Mojuntin Datuk Peter Joinod Mojuntin, PGDK (11 October 1939, in Kampung Hungab, Donggongon, Penampang – 6 June 1976, in Sembulan, Kota Kinabalu) was a politician in the Malaysian state of Sabah and Minister of Municipal Administration in the govern ...

statue. File:Masonry constructed Cathedral in Borneo - panoramio.jpg, St. Michael's Church. File:Pogunon Sabah Catholic-Church-St-Joseph-01.jpg, St. Joseph Catholic Church, Pogunon. File:Penampang Sabah JingFuTemple.jpg, Jing Fu Temple. File:Penampang Sabah Sabah-Cultural-Centre-01.jpg, Cultural Hall, Donggongon. File:Penampang Sabah HongkodKoisaan-UnityHall-15.jpg, Hongkod Koisaan (Unity Centre) of the Kadazandusun Cultural Association (KDCA). File:KotaKinabalu Sabah SabahStateArchives-3.jpg, Sabah State Archive building in Penampang. File:Penampang Sabah TownView-02.jpg, Penampang town centre.

References

External links

*
Penampang District Council
{{Districts of Malaysia