Sent 24 September 2026

Sabah This Week #13 - 24 Sept-7 Oct 2026

Mid-Autumn falls this week, and the fortnight after it is one of the fullest Kota Kinabalu gets before the year-end rush. Welcome to the free weekly list of what is actually on.

Lanterns and mooncakes come first, then the book fair’s last days, a science weekend at the museum, and a four-day coffee festival. Early October belongs to Ritma Kinabalu, three days of stage shows, crafts and music out on the padang.

Daniel

This Week & Weekend

Three days of Sabah on one field, from ten in the morning to eleven at night A state cultural festival with stage performances, exhibitions, a craft and folk games village, an ethnic costume contest and two nights of concerts. · 2-4 October 2026 · Padang Merdeka, Kota Kinabalu

Official Rhythms of Kinabalu 2026 poster from JKKN Sabah

Last days of the book fair, with more than a hundred exhibitors An international book fair with more than a hundred exhibitors from Malaysia and abroad and over fifty activities, from colouring competitions and storytelling to forums and book talks. · 23-27 September 2026, 9:30am-10pm · Sabah International Convention Centre, Kota Kinabalu

Official Pesta Buku Antarabangsa Kota Kinabalu 2026 poster from Penerbit UMS

Urban Tamu Mid-Autumn Festival poster Mooncake weekend at Urban Tamu The weekend market’s Mid-Autumn edition, with food, local merch, live music and workshops, open from late morning to early evening. · 26-27 September 2026, 11am-6pm · The Walk, Riverson, Kota Kinabalu

Borneo Coffee Collective poster Four days of coffee, from bean to cup A coffee festival with specialty brews, roasters, aroma experiences, competitions, coffee education, machines and workshops. The mall has not said whether any part of it is ticketed. · 1-4 October 2026 · Suria Sabah Shopping Mall, Kota Kinabalu

Borneo Lab at Sabah Museum Complex poster A science weekend at the museum The state museum department’s public science programme, with talks, exhibitions, a mental health awareness corner and a blood donation drive. · 25-27 September 2026, 8am-4pm · Sabah Museum Complex, Kota Kinabalu

Dr Jason Leong In Laughing Memory poster A comedy special about grief, from a doctor turned comedian Dr Jason Leong’s new stand-up hour, In Laughing Memory, in English and recommended for 16 and over. Tickets are RM88 to RM128 and were listed as going fast. · 25 September 2026, 8:30pm · Sabah Theological Seminary, Kota Kinabalu

MAD SABAH comedy tour banner Sabahan stand-up, the night after Jason Leong The MAD SABAH comedy tour’s home-town night, with two more Sabah shows later on the tour (see Save the date). The organiser lists no ticket price, so check before you go. · 26 September 2026, 8pm · Sabah Theological Seminary, Kota Kinabalu

Childhood Cancer Awareness Campaign poster Give blood, colour in, and meet Darth Vader A childhood cancer awareness day with a blood donation drive, storytelling, a kids’ colouring contest (RM10 to enter, limited places) and a costume photoshoot in the afternoon. · 27 September 2026, 10am-4pm · City Mall Main Hall, Kota Kinabalu

Pesta Kelapa Sabah 2026 poster A coconut fair that wants to take the humble kelapa global A coconut industry fair with a food and drink expo, SME and cooperative exhibitions, short courses, and cultural performances and competitions. The organiser’s poster is mostly a call for vendors, so expect it to be more trade fair than village fete. · 24-27 September 2026, 10am-10pm · Dewan Raya Kampung Penapah Kondis, Penampang

LDU Half Marathon 2026 banner A half marathon that flags off at three in the morning A 21km half marathon in open and veteran categories run by the local runners’ club, with a 5km fun run starting later. We could not confirm whether entries are still open. · 27 September 2026, 3:00am flag-off · Lahad Datu Sport Complex, Lahad Datu

STELLArian Fun Run 2026 poster A 5km school fun run, with only a couple of days left to enter A 5km fun run raising money for the school’s parent-teacher development fund, with a one-hour cut-off. Registration closes this week, before race packs are collected. · 3 October 2026, 7am flag-off · SM Stella Maris, Kota Kinabalu

Help clean up the city City Hall’s round of the national mega clean-up programme, a volunteer morning rather than a show. The council calendar gives no start time. · 26 September 2026 · Perdana Park, Tanjung Aru

Save the date

MIC DROP comedy night with Kumar Thu 8 Oct · Hilton Kota Kinabalu
31st Merdeka Day Regatta 2026 9-11 Oct · Kinabalu Yacht Club, Tanjung Aru
Tamu Besar Kota Belud 2026 10-18 Oct · Kota Belud
Timpohon Run 2 Sat 17 Oct · Kinabalu Park, Kundasang (entries have closed)
Mt Kinabalu International Climbathon Sun 18 Oct · Kinabalu Park, Kundasang
MAD SABAH x Bruhaha comedy night Sat 10 Oct, 8pm · People Coffee Roaster, Putatan (Sandakan show 9 Oct, Sabah Hotel)
Sabah PlayVerse 24-25 Oct · Sabah International Convention Centre, Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu Sunset Ride Sat 24 Oct · KK Sentral
Borneo Safari 2026 Flag-off Sun 25 Oct · Sabah Tourism Board 0KM, Kota Kinabalu

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The Sabah Roundup

A Tambunan karateka won Malaysia’s first gold of the Asian Games.
Adeola Fay Robert took the women’s kumite under-55kg title at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, the country’s first gold of the meet. (Daily Express Malaysia)

Tourist numbers are up 4.1 per cent this year.
Assistant Minister Andi Md Shamsureezal Mohd Sainal gave the January to August figure, with international arrivals up about 6.9 per cent and local visitors up 2.1 per cent. (Malay Mail)

Sepilok Jazz drew nearly 3,000 people, and still lost money.
Organiser Alexander Yee says attendance rose from 2,200 last year and the line-up grew to 105 musicians, but RM110,000 in ticket sales did not cover the cost of putting it on. (NST)

The Bornean elephant has lost more than 60 per cent of its Sabah habitat.
That is the IUCN figure behind a push led by conservationist Farina Othman, who says conflict starts when people do not feel safe around the roughly 1,000 elephants left in the wild. (Malay Mail)

Scientists say the small quakes around Keningau deserve a closer watch.
A magnitude 3.4 tremor early this month was felt across Keningau, one of several since 2023, and scientists quoted by the paper say the interior has been overlooked in monitoring even though a stronger quake could cut off roads. (South China Morning Post)

A consumer group wants help with electricity bills in the hot season.
David Chan of the Sabah Malaysia National Consumers’ Foundation is asking for targeted rebates for vulnerable households and help for small businesses, pointing to the 25 per cent discount Sarawak gives its domestic users. (The Star)

Talks have started on giving Sabah and Sarawak more seats in Parliament.
Minister Mustapha Sakmud says the two states hold 56 seats, 25.3 per cent of the Dewan Rakyat, and the proposal put to the Election Commission is to take that to 35 per cent. No timetable has been given. (The Edge Malaysia)

Kitingan wants Budget 2027 to close the funding gap.
STAR president Jeffrey Kitingan says Sabah and Sarawak together receive 12 to 15 per cent of development allocations, and wants the state’s 40 per cent revenue entitlement calculated and paid from this year. (The Star)

The Chief Minister is pitching Sabah as Malaysia’s bridge to China.
Hajiji Noor calls China one of the state’s most important trading partners and is inviting investment in tourism, renewable energy, agriculture, fisheries, logistics, digital services and the blue economy. (Malay Mail)

An anti-crime group wants more security at east coast resorts.
Mohd Zaki Harry Susanto of the Sabah Drug and Crime Prevention Organisation says regular deployments by Esscom could boost tourist confidence and deter offenders. (Daily Express Malaysia)

Sabah Electricity was acquitted of a workplace safety charge.
A Sessions Court in Sandakan acquitted the utility without calling its defence, in a case under the Occupational Safety and Health Act over cable works at a substation in 2022. (Daily Express Malaysia)

🚌 Getting Around

Chinese arrivals are up by a quarter, and more flights are being chased
Minister Jafry Ariffin says 484,699 visitors from China arrived between January and July, up 25.5 per cent, as air links to China expand. (NST)

A state delegation is making the case for a Kota Kinabalu to Guiyang route
Tourism minister Jafry Ariffin, promoting the route in China with a state delegation, says a direct flight opens the door but travellers need a reason to keep coming. (Daily Express Malaysia)

Fuel: RON95 went up 35 sen and RON97 went up 37 sen
For the week from 17 September: RON95 RM4.37 and RON97 RM4.87, RON95 up 35 sen and RON97 up 37 sen, with 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)

Did You Know?

Tenom’s oldest roastery still roasts over a wood fire. Yit Foh, founded in 1960, roasts its beans in drums over a fire fed only with rubber tree wood, according to FMT, and the tourism board counts it among the pioneer producers of Tenom coffee.

Keep reading

A guide to coffee in Sabah. Where Tenom coffee comes from and where to drink it, ahead of the coffee festival.

The Sabah State Museum. What is inside, what it costs and what else is nearby, if the science weekend gets you through the door.

Tamu markets across Sabah. The weekly markets worth knowing, with Tamu Besar Kota Belud coming up.

Quotables

“Bersatu teguh, bercerai roboh.” United we stand, divided we fall. (Malay proverb)

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