Sabah This Week #7 — 13–26 Aug 2026
🌿 Sabah This Week
Issue #7 · 13–26 Aug 2026
Merdeka is close enough now that you can feel it in the events calendar — markets going “Merdeka Special”, runs booking out, and the malls all competing for the same weekend.
This fortnight: two big races on the same Sunday at opposite ends of the state, a weekend of indigenous film at the Sabah Art Gallery, and a blood drive that needs about ten minutes of your Saturday. — Daniel
This Week & Weekend
Two travel fairs in one fortnight — this is the Imago one Star Karnival Cuti-Cuti Malaysia sets up at Imago for three days with hotel, airline and tour operator promotions. If you’re planning anything for the school holidays, this is the cheapest hour you’ll spend on it. · 14–16 Aug · Imago Shopping Mall
Ten minutes of your Saturday, one blood bag Blood Hero 2026 sets up at City Mall from 10AM. Sabah’s blood bank runs thin in the long-weekend months and this is the least complicated way to help. · Sat 15 Aug, from 10AM · City Mall, Kota Kinabalu
Mobile Legends, and a mall’s 36th birthday ESPORTNIAC’s Cup of Legends returns to Palm Square as part of Centre Point’s anniversary carnival. Free to watch, loud, and the fourth floor will be packed. · Sat 15 Aug 10AM – Sun 16 Aug 5:30PM · Palm Square, 4th Floor, Centre Point Sabah
A weekend for people who run a small business here Astro AWANI brings Jelajah Jiwa SME to Suria Sabah, themed on agro-food and sustainability — sharing sessions and a room full of other Sabah SME owners. Runs 10AM to 10PM both days. · 15–16 Aug, 10AM–10PM · Suria Sabah Shopping Mall
Sixteen films about land, water and who gets to tell the story Pesta Tingu Wayang brings FreedomFilmFest to the Sabah Art Gallery for a weekend of indigenous cinema and conversation, curated by Cristy Aniko M and Kenneth Lo. Friday runs into the evening; Saturday goes all day. · Fri 21 Aug 5–10:30PM, Sat 22 Aug 11AM–10:30PM · Sabah Art Gallery, Kota Kinabalu
A 5K that starts and ends in the KDCA car park Maryland Fun Run flags off at 6AM in Penampang, open to all ages, finisher medal for everyone who crosses. Short enough to bring the family and still be home for breakfast. · Sat 22 Aug, flag-off 6AM · KDCA Car Park, Penampang
Solo, 2v2 or crew — the street dance floor is open The Annual Street Dance Competition takes over Palm Square from 11AM across two days, with solo, duo and group categories. Registration was still open at the time of writing. · 22–23 Aug, from 11AM · Palm Square, Level 4, Centre Point Sabah
Riverson turns into a Merdeka weekend hangout Makers & Mavens Market is back at The Walk with local makers, artists and small food traders, plus a kids’ colouring contest on the Saturday. The kind of market you go to without a shopping list. · 22–23 Aug · The Walk @ Riverson, Sembulan
Nineteen categories, and a ticket to Mr Malaysia Kota Belud hosts the Mr. Sabah state bodybuilding championship, run by the Sabah Bodybuilding Association with the district office. The winners go on to represent Sabah at Mr Malaysia in Kedah in October. · Sat 22 Aug · Kadamaian Square Hall, Taginambur, Kota Belud
Three thousand runners take over Tawau The Tawau Marathon runs full, half, 10km and a 5km fun run out of the sports complex. If you’re on the east coast, this is the biggest thing happening on your doorstep this month. · Sun 23 Aug · Kompleks Sukan Tawau
A bazaar, a 5K, and every ringgit stays with the Society The Wisma Merdeka Charity Run runs alongside the Sabah Society for the Deaf’s own bazaar at Bukit Padang, and all proceeds go to the Society. Entries for the 5K closed on 20 July, so this one is worth going to for the bazaar and the cause rather than the race — the virtual run is the only entry still open. · Sun 23 Aug, from 6AM · Sabah Society for the Deaf, Bukit Padang
Three days of agriculture at SICC Sabah Agro Expo fills the convention centre with growers, suppliers and machinery. Broader than it sounds if you keep a smallholding or you’re curious where your food comes from. · 21–23 Aug · Sabah International Convention Centre
Spine surgeons from across the region, three days at SICC The Malaysian Spine Society’s congress returns. A professional meeting rather than a public one — but it fills hotels, so book early if you’re travelling into KK that week. · 14–16 Aug · Sabah International Convention Centre
Three days on the future of Borneo’s forests Researchers and forestry people gather at UMS from 8AM. Academic in the main, but the subject is as local as it gets. · Tue 18 Aug · Universiti Malaysia Sabah
What a sustainable tree plantation actually looks like The BFC Conference gathers industry, researchers and practitioners on designing industrial tree plantation systems and landscapes. Niche, but it is the industry that shapes a lot of Sabah’s interior. · Thu 20 Aug · Sabah International Convention Centre
Save the date
- MALAM FYP TIMUR SABAH EDITION Fri 28 Aug · Sabah International Convention Centre
- The Most Beautiful Trail (TMBT) Sat 29 Aug · Kundasang
- Sabah Fest 2026 29 Aug – 29 Sep · Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Kudat, Sandakan & Kuala Lumpur
- 3108 Run Sabah Day 2026 Mon 31 Aug · Kota Kinabalu
- 11th Sabah International Expo 4–6 Sep · Sabah International Convention Centre
- Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) Sat 12 Sep · City Cineplex, City Mall
- Hillsong Worship Asia Tour 2026 Sun 13 Sep · Sabah International Convention Centre
- Installation Art By The Bay 2026 16–20 Sep · Segama Waterfront Boardwalk
- MATTA Fair Sabah 18–20 Sep · Sabah International Convention Centre
- Kota Kinabalu International Book Fair 23–27 Sep · Sabah International Convention Centre
Got an event we should feature? Submit it here →
The Sabah Roundup
Likas Bay is being lined up as a proper waterfront destination.
DBKK and Sedcovest Holdings have agreed to work together on Anjung Selera and Anjung Perdana, with a joint committee now looking at how to link the two — timed at Visit Sabah Year 2027. (Daily Express)
Free university in Sabah is being looked at, not decided.
The federal minister for Sabah and Sarawak affairs says the state government is reviewing whether to extend free education to the tertiary level, the way Sarawak already has. Worth watching if you have kids finishing school. (Daily Express)
Malaysia’s household debt has gone from RM1.53 trillion to RM1.73 trillion in about three years.
Economists still call the level manageable, but this piece argues the Sabah question isn’t the debt figure — it’s the local cost of living that keeps pushing families toward it. (Daily Express)
Kota Kinabalu hit the “extreme” band on the UV index.
The reading hit 11 at noon on Monday and stayed extreme until about 1PM, and MetMalaysia expects high readings nationwide for roughly a week. Midday is the part of the day to plan around. Hat, sunscreen, shade. (The Star)
Satellite internet straight to your phone is getting tested in Sabah.
The communications minister says sites here will be used to trial direct-to-device connectivity under JENDELA Phase II, part of a rollout covering more than 300 locations nationwide. (Bernama)
Foreign ambassadors were taken to the east coast to see the security situation for themselves.
Now in its third year, the ESSCOM-run programme has already led some countries to soften their travel advisories — and arrivals from China, Europe and East Asia have risen since. (Malay Mail)
No kidnap-for-ransom case has been reported in the east coast security zone since January 2020.
The Chief Minister wants foreign missions to register that record so the travel advisories still sitting over eastern Sabah can be reassessed. (Asia News Network)
TotalEnergies is drilling ultra-deepwater off Sabah.
The French major is targeting what it calls a large prospect on the same block as its earlier Tepat oil and gas discovery. Deepwater activity off our coast is where a lot of Sabah’s oil-and-gas jobs come from. (Upstream)
A 352-room Avani hotel is coming to Luyang.
Minor Hotels is putting its Avani brand into The Logg Luyang, an integrated development by KTI Landmark about ten minutes from the airport — the brand’s first property in Sabah. (Hospitality Net)
Sabah’s digital economy forum closed with a push to make it a regional hub.
The tenth MDEF wrapped at ITCC with the argument that digital transformation has to strengthen actual businesses, not just adopt technology for its own sake. (Daily Express)
Did You Know?
The Kinabatangan is Malaysia’s second-longest river at around 560km, and the floodplain along its lower reaches holds one of the densest concentrations of wildlife in Southeast Asia — pygmy elephants, orangutans and proboscis monkeys all squeezed into the forest the plantations left behind.
Article Highlights from SabahGuide
Fresh reads from our main site, sabahguide.com
Kaamatan, explained. The story behind Sabah’s harvest festival.
Heads up: Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday falls on Tue 25 Aug — a public holiday in Sabah.
We’re building: The Sabah Toolkit
Free, practical tools for everyday Sabah life. First three on the workbench:
- Sabah Holiday & Long-Weekend Planner — every Sabah public holiday for the year (Kaamatan, Governor’s Birthday, Good Friday — the ones the Peninsula doesn’t get) plus the smartest long-weekend combos.
- Budi Diesel Checker — find out in seconds if you qualify for subsidised RM2.10 diesel, and what you’ll actually pay.
- KK Take-Home Pay Calculator — EPF, SOCSO and PCB sorted, so you know what really lands in your account.
Which would you use first — or what tool do you wish existed? Hit reply and tell me — your vote shapes what ships first.
Quotables
“Alang-alang menyeluk pekasam, biar sampai ke pangkal lengan.” If you’re going to reach into the jar, reach all the way in. — Malay proverb
Over to you
Two races on the same Sunday, at opposite ends of Sabah — Tawau, Bukit Padang, or watching from the kopitiam? — hit reply; best answers get a shout-out next week.
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