Beaufort, Malaysia

Beaufort Town
Pekan Beaufort
District Capital
Beaufort main road
The main road to Beaufort.
Coordinates: 5°20′44.84″N 115°44′40.43″E / 5.3457889°N 115.7445639°E / 5.3457889; 115.7445639Coordinates: 5°20′44.84″N 115°44′40.43″E / 5.3457889°N 115.7445639°E / 5.3457889; 115.7445639
Country  Malaysia
State  Sabah
Division Interior
District Beaufort
Population (2010)
 • Total 12,742

Beaufort (Malay: Pekan Beaufort) is the capital of the Beaufort District in the Interior Division of Sabah, Malaysia. It was named after former British Governor Leicester Paul Beaufort. Its population was estimated to be around 12,742 in 2010.[1] It is located about 90 kilometres south of Kota Kinabalu and it is located about 167 kilometres north of Long Pasia, (one of the famous tourist attractions in Interior Division), thus, with shophouses built high above the roads to avoid the periodic floods of the Padas River. The population of Beaufort is composed mainly of Bisaya, Brunei Malays, Kadazan-Dusuns, Lun Bawang/Lun Dayeh, Muruts and Chinese (mainly Hakkas). Bisaya are the majority ethnic, and the population which scattered around the town. Like other towns in Sabah such as Kota Kinabalu city (including Penampang), Tawau, Papar, Kudat and Tenom, Beaufort was one of the major initial Hakka population centres in Sabah and boasts a large Hakka minority to this day.

History

Originally set up to help economic development of the interior of Sabah, Beaufort's early prosperity was closely linked to rubber cultivation. During World War II, it was the site of a battle between Japanese and Australian forces in late June 1945.

Economy

Its current prosperity depends on the booming palm oil industry, rubber, pineapple, mangoes, durian and livestock.

Transportation

Beaufort railway station is a stop of the Sabah State Railway (Jabatan Keretapi Negeri Sabah) line from Tanjung Aru to Tenom. Beaufort is usually visited by tourists for white-water rafting through the nearby Padas Gorge on the Padas River which is rated as a Grade 2 to 4 river.

Others

Healthcare

Medical services are provided by the 140 bedded government hospital which has primary care and basic secondary care services. There are three private practitioners within the town area.

Shopping

The open-air market, locally known as tamu, is held weekly on from Friday evening until Saturday afternoon. Local produce such as fresh fruits, vegetables, fresh meat and live poultry are sold.

Nowaday, a new shopping areas was developed and some superstores establishing their branch such as Servay, BestMart and CNF Hypermarket. Food and beverage outlets like Pizza Hut, BTC, Marrybrown and KFC are also available.

Cuisine

Beaufort is also known in Sabah for its local cuisine called ambuyat. Sweet Sambal bambangan also an attracted dishes for the one to try. More local home made also available like tapai manis, jelurut, bingka, rojak, soto, nasi ayam special, cendol pulut, mamak foodstuffs and Chinese dish called Beaufort Mee, a noodle dish served either dry or with soup. It is also famous for its Beaufort oranges, which are featured as 3 large sculptures in the centre of the town.

Sister cities

As designed by Sister Cities International, Beaufort has maintained sister cities with:

References

  1. ↑ "Population by ethnic group, Local Authority area and state, Malaysia" (PDF). Department of Statistics, Malaysia. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  2. ↑ "Uma-Bawang, Malaysia & Berkeley, California". Sister Cities International. Retrieved 7 May 2015.

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