Daily Express Subscriber
Sign in to your account.

MANY are of the view that development of Kota Kinabalu into a modern city since 2000 has been slow.

Tourist have started to fill the city with their presence and Koreans are visibly among the most in number.

“It is a good sign that tourists are coming back to KK again,” said Betty Remy, a hotelier.

Although going through modern transformation, the city keeps its historical buildings.

Large sign of “Sabah Maju Jaya” positioned in front of KK City hall (DBKK), became a favourite spot for photo-taking by locals and tourists alike.

People were probably attracted to its soft and alluring colours and its gigantic size.

Another signage, “I Love KK” a spot-on for passers-by, many would pause for a snap or two and young people regarded it as “instagram-able” sight and picture friendly.

The decades-old Wisma Sabah, still standing tall among other new sights around it, having its building decorated with mural painting yet another charm in the city.

“Enough development for KK, maybe you can develop Sandakan instead,” said Lai, a resident of Sandakan who recently visited KK.

Many had echoed what Phil Wang, a Sabahan-born comedian who opined that the city need not have to build more shopping malls but more cultural centres.

A senior citizen, Stephen Lee, said:  

“There is no necessity for more shopping complex but more trees.

That would be more enticing and in a long run people would become healthier.

When you have more buildings like the malls, air-conditioners would be installed and while you feel cool (with the air-con) in the process it actually produces heat and that will damage the environment slowly,” he said.

A resident of Signal Hill said he was glad that some of the Chinese traditional shops still exist in KK.

“I am happy to get my supply in the Chinese medicine shop in Gaya Street. I am not sure how long more would they keep up with it, as many businesses are now into other stuff,” he said.

A few Chinese eateries in the city also keep the deity in their respective shops. They believed that it would protect them from any harmful situation.

A frequent coffee drinker patronizing the eatery said the owner is probably still holding to the belief and pay respects to their deity as it is an inheritance from their forbears.

The city would became merrier on the weekends. Many would gather at the Memorial of Albert Kwok area for some shows and at one of the Sundays, a local Sabahan (or Sarawakian) played traditional music at the open space and produced very alluring music akin to a sound from Sape (an instrument like a guitar produced in Sarawak).

Local vendors would be seen selling all kinds of stuff the traditional way, sitting by the side ways and their products displayed on the ground.

“KK is a mixture of modern and old. We like to witness both and have the pleasure to just see the happenings around us.

“We love to listen to the music played by the local people,” said Belgian couple Nikkie and Ludo who had been visiting KK for the past 10 years.

They also appreciated historical buildings like the hotel they stayed on the first time.

“We used to stay in others hotels in previous visits. But after finding out about this one, we immediately loved it.

We love to see old architecture buildings as they are unique and look enchanting,” said Nikkie.

But the absence or other infrastructure such as better mode of transportation deferred many people, including tourists, visiting places around Sabah.

“We wanted to visit places like Tenom, Sandakan etc. So we paid a hefty sum for the fare,” said one traveller from a neighbouring country.

“Many would like to have MRT (mass rapid transit), LRT (light rail transit) available in Sabah as it is another option for cheaper mode of transportation.