Kota Marudu

Kota Marudu
District and Town
Kota Marudu town centre.
Seal
Kota Marudu
Coordinates:
Country	Malaysia
State	Sabah
Division	Kudat
Government
• District Officer	Sualim Sanan
Population (2010)
• Total	66,374
Website	www.sabah.gov.my/md.kmu www.sabah.gov.my/pd.km

Kota Marudu is a town and district located in the Kudat Division of the state of Sabah, Malaysia. The district covers approximately 1,917 square kilometres. It is located in the north of Sabah and is bordered by the districts of Kudat, Kota Belud, Pitas, and Beluran. It is located 130km north of the state capital, Kota Kinabalu, along the federal highway linking Kota Kinabalu with the town of Kudat, near the northern tip of Borneo.

Places of interest in Kota Marudu include Sorinsim Waterfall, located 40 km from the main town, and Taman Sagabon, an agriculture research station on Buyut lake. Kota Marudu also boasts Southeast Asia's largest solar power station.

The district celebrates an annual Maize Festival in honour of the agricultural product's contribution to the district's socioeconomic development. The line-up of activities includes a variety of exhibitions, competitions, traditional sports and a beauty pageant.

Etymology

Kota Marudu was formerly known as 'Bandau', which derives from the Kadazan-Dusun word 'Mondou'. In native folklore, a Mondou is a mythical buffalo-like creature. The district was renamed 'Kota Marudu' after a fort built by local warrior Shariff Osman at Marudu Bay to protect the area from British colonists.

Demographics

In 2010, Kota Marudu's population was estimated at 66,374 people. The main ethnic groups represented in Kota Marudu are the Dusun (particularly the Kimaragang Dusun, Talantang Kota Marudu and Tobilung), Rungus, Bajau, Orang Sungai and the Chinese (particularly the Hakka and Hokkien dialect groups). There is also a significant number of Suluk people, whom the descendant of earlier settler of Limau-limauan, Kudat which in early day move by the seashore to Marudu bay from Kudat.

External links

• (Malay) Kota Marudu District Council
• (Malay) Kota Marudu District Office