The Papar District ( ms, Daerah Papar) 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 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 o ...

, 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,

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 synonym ...

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 ...

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 Papar Town.

Etymology

The name 'Papar' comes from a Bruneian word meaning 'flat or open land'.

History

As with most of the west coast of Sabah, it was originally ruled by the Bruneian sultanate. Its first local leader was Datu Amir Bahar, of Bajau descent. It was then handed to Overbeck and Dent brothers in 1877 by the Sultanate of Brunei. The first British officer to serve in Papar was H.L. Leicester, who took office in February 1878 aiming to increase Papar's revenues. He was replaced by

Alfred Hart Everett Alfred Hart Everett (11 October 1848 – 18 June 1898) was a British civil servant and administrator in Borneo as well as being a naturalist and natural history collector. Career Everett was born on Norfolk Island to British parents: George, the ...

after failing to improve Papar's economic outlook.

Demographics

According to the last census in 2010, the population of Papar district is estimated to be around 124,420 inhabitants, comprising Bruneian Malay (especially in Benoni, Buang Sayang, Bongawan, Kampung Laut, Kelanahan, Kimanis, Kinarut),

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 ...

(especially in Rampazan, Limbahau, Kinarut, Kopimpinan, Lakut, Mondolipau, Koiduan, Ulu Kimanis, Sumbiling, Limputung) and

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 ...

(mainly in Pengalat Besar, Pengalat Kecil, Kawang, Beringgis). A significant number of

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 ...

comprising

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

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

peoples also exists in the district. 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.

Education

Papar is known as the

education hub. Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara ''(National Youth Skill Institute)'' or IKBN and Maktab Rendah Sains MARA ''(MARA Science College)'' or MRSM are the first IKBN and MRSM built in Sabah. There are also Jabatan Pembangunan Sumber Manusia or "JPSM" which has been developed in late 1990s. Papar main secondary schools are SMK Pengalat, SMK Majakir, SMK Benoni, SMK Takis, SMK Kinarut, SMK Bongawan I/II, SM St. Joseph, SM Cheng Hwa, SMK St. Mary and Papar Middle School. Papar has the most religious schools among districts; SMK(A) Tun Datu Mustapha, SMK(A) Limauan, new SMA Toh Puan Hajah Rahmah and SMA Islamiah Papar. Both SMK are under central government administrative while both SMA are under state government administrative. Papar education complex type area is situated at

Kinarut Kinarut is a town in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. It is located about 20 kilometres south of the state capital, Kota Kinabalu, and Kinarut railway station is one of the stops on the Sabah State Railway. Kinarut is under the administration of ...

which includes the IKBN, MRSM, SMK(A) Tun Datu Mustapha and SMA Toh Puan Hajah Rahmah. A number of primary schools also can be found in the district such as SK Sacred Heart Biau, SK Padawan, SK Limputong, SK St. Joseph, SK Benoni, SK Surati (which is also the location of the District Education Office), SK Pengalat, SK Kinarut, SK St. Mary Limbahau, SK Takis, SJKC Cheng Hwa and much more.

Tourism

Tourism is an important industry in Papar, arguably coming after the agriculture industry. Many resorts can be found along the coast. Some of the tourist attractions in the district are: * Beringgis Beach Resort * Borneo Paradise Beach Hotel * Melinsung Bay Beach Resort * Langkah Syabas Beach Resort * Dinawan Island * Kawang Forest Centre * KK Adventure Park * Mai Aman * Utan Paradise Jungle Camp * Kampung Serbang Bongawan * Kinolosodon River * Pantai Manis

Gallery

File:Papar Sabah MasjidDaerahPapar-02.jpg, Papar District Mosque. File:Papar Sabah ChurchOfAscension-01.jpg, Papar Anglican Church of Ascension. File:Papar Sabah BaselChurch-01.jpg, Papar Basel Church. File:Papar CatholicChurch St-Joseph.jpg, St. Joseph Catholic Church. File:Papar Sabah KwongFookKungTemple-01.jpg, Kwong Fook Kung Temple. File:Papar Sabah TownView-01.jpg, Papar town centre.

References

External links

*
Papar District Council
*
Papar District Office
{{Districts of Malaysia