Sabah This Week #10 — 3-16 Sept 2026
🌿 Sabah This Week
Issue #10 · 3-16 Sept 2026
If you have been outside this week you already know the air is bad. Sabah is on a haze alert, the west coast and interior stations are all reading unhealthy, and the state has asked event organisers to move outdoor activity indoors or postpone it. The current numbers and the source are in the roundup below.
So this week’s list leans indoors. The Sabah International Expo fills SICC from Friday, the film festival opens the weekend after, and Hillsong is at SICC on the 13th. The one outdoor trip I would still make is the Sepilok Jazz Festival, and I have put an air quality line on it. Whatever you pick, check the reading before you go.
Daniel
This Week & Weekend
Jazz in the rainforest, in aid of Sabah’s turtles The Sepilok Jazz Festival returns to the Rainforest Discovery Centre for a fifth year, Friday and Saturday. · 4-5 September 2026
The state’s biggest trade fair takes over SICC, and there is a bus for it The 11th Sabah International Expo runs Friday to Sunday, indoors and air conditioned. · 4-6 September 2026
Malaysia’s longest running film festival is back, and it is ours The Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival runs from the 12th to the 19th. · 12-19 September 2026
Hillsong brings the Asia tour to SICC One night only at the convention centre, Sunday the 13th. · 13 September 2026
The bay fills up with art again for a thirteenth year Installation Art by the Bay returns to Dataran Segama from the 16th to the 20th. · 16-20 September 2026
Sabah Fest 2026 Sabah Fest runs through September across Kota Kinabalu, Kudat, Tawau, Sandakan and Kuala Lumpur. · 29 Aug - 29 Sep 2026
2026 Sabah Wushu Championship The state wushu championship is listed for Friday and Saturday. The only source is a Facebook event, so confirm the venue before travelling. · 4-5 September 2026
Decorative Gold Plating Course A one day decorative gold plating course in Kota Kinabalu, Saturday. · Sat, 05 Sep, 2026
Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu Wedding Fair 2026/2027 Le Meridien opens its wedding fair for the weekend. · 5-6 September 2026
FREEDOM250 RUN - Sabah Edition A Merdeka themed run listed for Thursday evening. The only source is the organiser’s Facebook event, so confirm before you turn up. · Thursday, September 3, 2026 at 5:30 PM +08
Sabah International Business Luncheon Talk (SIBLT26) The business luncheon talk that opens Expo week at SICC, Thursday morning. · 3 September 2026
TSS Talk: Staging Indigenous Heritage - Yunci Cai A talk on staging indigenous heritage by Yunci Cai, Thursday. · 3 September 2026
Sabah Moto Day Sabah’s largest two wheel gathering, at Padang Kawad UMS, on the 12th and 13th. An older circulating post gives the 5th and 6th; the organiser’s recent posts and the tourism board both say the 12th and 13th. · 12-13 September 2026
ARTDO International World Conference - Reimagining Human Capital An international human capital conference lands in Kota Kinabalu from Sunday. · Sun, 06 Sep, 2026
Gamuda AI Academy Sabah - Cohort 5 Gamuda’s AI Academy opens its fifth Sabah cohort on Monday. · Monday, September 7, 2026 at 8:00 AM +08
Borneo Empowerment in Standards & Transformation Conference 2026 A standards and transformation conference on the 8th and 9th. · 8-9 September 2026
INTERVARSITY SURGICAL QUIZ 2026 An intervarsity surgical quiz for medical students, Wednesday. · Wed, 09 Sep, 2026
7th Kinabalu Management & Productivity Convention The 7th Kinabalu Management and Productivity Convention, Wednesday. · Wed 9 Sept
IEEE IICAIET 2026 - 8th Int’l Conference on AI in Engineering and Technology An international conference on AI in engineering, 9th to 11th. · 9-11 September 2026
11th Malaysian Conference on Healthy Ageing The 11th Malaysian Conference on Healthy Ageing opens on the 10th. · Thu, 10 Sep, 2026
SSC26-MUGIS SSC26 MUGIS, listed for Friday the 11th. · Fri, 11 Sep, 2026
Sabah Medical Update 2026 Sabah Medical Update 2026, on the 12th. · 12 September 2026
Concert For All 2026 by Cecilia Music Cecilia Music stages Concert For All on the 12th. · 12 September 2026
Sabah Ribbon Run 2026 The Sabah Ribbon Run, on the 13th. · 13 September 2026
Borneo Workplace Conference 2026 (BWC26) The Borneo Workplace Conference, on the 15th. · Tue, 15 Sep, 2026
Dive Mabul-Sipadan A Mabul and Sipadan dive trip listed from the 16th. · Wed, 16 Sep, 2026
Program Kongsi Raya, Kaamatan, Gawai & Hari Merdeka A combined Kongsi Raya, Kaamatan, Gawai and Merdeka programme on the 16th. · Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 8:00 AM +08
Save the date
- MATTA Fair Sabah Fri 18 - Sun 20 Sept · Sabah International Convention Centre, Kota Kinabalu
- Possessing Your Inheritance Through Sacrificial Love Fri 18 Sept · Kota Kinabalu
- Jesselton 10KM Series 2026 (Series 2), Yayasan Sabah Sun 20 Sept · Yayasan Sabah Menara Tun Mustapha
- Tropical Rainforest Run 2026 Sun 20 Sept · Tawau Hills National Park
- Kota Kinabalu International Book Fair Wed 23 - Sun 27 Sept · Sabah International Convention Centre, Kota Kinabalu
- HYBRID WALK 2026 DRIVE HOPE CRUSH CHILDHOOD CANCER Sat 26 Sept · Taman Awam Teluk Likas
- LDU Half Marathon Sun 27 Sept · Lahad Datu Town, Sabah, Malaysia
- Ritma Kinabalu - Rhythms of Kinabalu 2026 Fri 2 Oct · Padang Merdeka, Kota Kinabalu
- Join the 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝘂𝗻 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 and be part of a meaningful morning filled with fitness, family fun, and community spir Sat 3 Oct · SM Stella Maris Kota Kinabalu
- Timpohon Run 2 Sat 17 Oct · Kinabalu Park, Kundasang
Corrections, 10 September 2026. Three dates in this issue were wrong and have been fixed above. Timpohon Run 2 was listed as Sat 26 September in Sabah; the organiser, Sri Pelancongan Sabah, has it on Sat 17 October at Kinabalu Park, Kundasang. MATTA Fair Sabah runs Fri 18 to Sun 20 September, not the 18th alone. The Kota Kinabalu International Book Fair runs Wed 23 to Sun 27 September, not the 23rd alone.
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The Sabah Roundup
Sabah’s haze keeps getting worse, not better.
Kota Kinabalu’s two stations were reading 176 at 2pm, with Labuan at 170, Kimanis at 162, Keningau at 159 and Tawau at 151. Anything above 100 counts as unhealthy, and the state says it will act if any station passes 200. The cause is forest and peatland fires in Kalimantan. Sports minister Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan has asked clubs, coaches and event organisers to watch their local reading and move high intensity outdoor activity indoors or postpone it. The disaster management committee singles out children, older people, pregnant women and anyone with respiratory trouble. Figures as reported on 2 September. (The Star)
Sabah CM Hajiji announces RM3,000 aid for each household hit by Kota Kinabalu fire.
RM3,000 per household for the families who lost homes in the Kota Kinabalu fire. (Malay Mail)
AirBorneo plans wider Asian network from Kuching hub.
AirBorneo sketches out a wider Asian network run from a Kuching hub. (KLSE Screener)
RM6.14 million Sabah drug busts.
Police put the value of drugs seized in recent Sabah operations at RM6.14 million. (Daily Express Malaysia)
Sabah poverty figures, tourism ranking among Malaysia’s quieter gains, says World Bank economist.
A World Bank economist points to Sabah’s poverty numbers and tourism ranking as gains that have gone largely unremarked. (The Vibes)
Merdeka and the Sabah perspective.
A Merdeka reflection written from the Sabah side of the story. (Borneo Post)
Exclusive | Malaysia fears military ‘miscalculation’ near Sabah amid US-China rivalry.
Malaysia is watching the waters off Sabah closely as American and Chinese activity increases nearby. (South China Morning Post)
Sabah’s hardcore poverty progress among Malaysia’s ‘quieter’ gains.
The state’s progress on hardcore poverty gets counted among the country’s quieter wins. (Daily Express Malaysia)
Absolute mental focus very important.
A Sabah sports piece on the mental side of competing. (Daily Express Malaysia)
Safa women maintain their winning streak.
Safa’s women keep their winning run going. (Daily Express Malaysia)
Sedco Bazaria builds entrepreneurs.
Sedco’s Bazaria programme is credited with bringing new traders through. (Daily Express Malaysia)
Nekmat to ship 12 tonnes of Sabah fish to peninsula.
Twelve tonnes of Sabah fish head to the peninsula under a Nekmat shipment. (Daily Express Malaysia)
Dear Malaysia: Our shared beloved home.
A Merdeka letter on what the country still shares. (Daily Express Malaysia)
Sawit Kinabalu Sandakan Industrial Park to drive Sandakan growth.
A new industrial park at Sandakan is pitched as the town’s growth engine. (Daily Express Malaysia)
15 Keningau KV students bag RM45,000 grant.
Fifteen students from Keningau Vocational College share a RM45,000 grant. (Daily Express Malaysia)
Sabah needs more skilled local workers.
The call for more skilled local workers gets louder as projects come online. (Daily Express Malaysia)
17 areas in Malaysia record unhealthy to hazardous API readings as of 9am.
Nationwide, 17 areas were reading unhealthy or worse on 30 August, before the Sabah picture deteriorated further. (The Star)
Appreciate the double joy: Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister on marking Merdeka and Malaysia Day together. (Daily Express Malaysia)
Viridien and Petronas Launch Exploration Study in Sabah, Malaysia.
Viridien and Petronas begin a new exploration study off Sabah. (Idéal Investisseur)
Projects on track.
The state says its major projects are running to schedule. (Daily Express Malaysia)
‘Emphasise on Sabah brand’ call; Sabah-made items cheaper and have quality.
A push to get Sabah made products in front of Sabah shoppers. (Daily Express Malaysia)
Tourism must benefit communities, says Jafry.
Tourism has to pay back the communities that host it, says Jafry. (Daily Express Malaysia)
US-Backed Balabac Base Forces Malaysia to Reinforce Sabah.
A new base at Balabac has Malaysia reinforcing its side of the Sabah waters. (Defence Security Asia)
CM urges Sabahans to uphold racial unity, patriotism.
The Chief Minister’s Merdeka message asks Sabahans to hold the line on unity. (Daily Express Malaysia)
Learning Through Challenges.
A Daily Express video on learning the hard way. (Daily Express Malaysia)
Bigger worry than ‘party drugs’.
The bigger drug problem in Sabah is not the one making the headlines. (Daily Express Malaysia)
Select right species for Industrial Tree Plantations.
Picking the right species matters for the state’s industrial tree plantations. (Daily Express Malaysia)
Making Sabah the ‘must-visit’ durian state.
Sabah wants to be the durian state people travel for. (Daily Express Malaysia)
Penampang needs more electoral seats: Ambrose.
Penampang wants more electoral seats, says Ambrose. (Daily Express Malaysia)
The harmony we must protect.
A column on the harmony that took work to build. (Daily Express Malaysia)
🚌 Getting Around
There is a Pink Bus straight to the Expo, so leave the car at home
The Sabah International Expo has put on a Pink Bus service to the convention centre for the run of the show, on routes S03 and S05, specifically so visitors can skip the SICC car park. Route maps, the schedule and a nearby-hotel guide are on the organiser’s news page, posted 19 August. (Sabah International Expo)
Fuel: East Malaysian diesel is holding, petrol crept up again
For the week from 27 August: RON95 RM3.82 and RON97 RM4.30, both up five sen, with diesel in Sabah and Sarawak unchanged at RM2.15 and the Budi rate at RM1.99. A new set is announced most weeks, so treat this as the price at the time of writing. (data.gov.my fuel price dataset)
Pan Borneo is being credited with more than a shorter drive
The highway programme gets framed this week around what it changes for the towns along it, not just journey times. (Malaysiakini)
Did You Know?
Sabah is nicknamed the “Land Below the Wind” because it sits just south of the Pacific typhoon belt. The Philippines up north gets hit by typhoons; Sabah is spared them almost entirely.
Keep reading
Best time to visit Sabah. Seasons, rain patterns and festival windows so you pick the right month.
Kaamatan, explained. The story behind Sabah’s harvest festival.
How many tourists actually visit Sabah?. The running numbers, updated as the state publishes them, live on our tourism statistics page.
Quotables
“Hujan emas di negeri orang, hujan batu di negeri sendiri; lebih baik di negeri sendiri.” Though it rains gold abroad and stones at home, there’s still no place like home. (Malay proverb)
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