First Time Landed In Sabah, Bah! - Part 1

I recently went to Sabah for the very first time, sweet! However, it was not for a holiday, it was for work. So I just had a quick walk through around the capital, Kota Kinabalu (KK) and also Kota Marudu within the 3 days and 2 nights stay.

Actually, this was not supposed to be my first visit. I should have visited Sabah 3, 4 years ago when I bought the AirAsia promotional tickets. But as you know, buying cheap tickets 6 months earlier does not guarantee that you will fly on that date, and that happened to me. As the date drew nearer, I had to attend to another important matter, and hence, I had to cancel my flight. Same thing happened to my Sarawak trip as well. Too bad, my tickets got 'burnt'! I had been to all states in Malaysia (Peninsular) except for Sabah and Sarawak. So I was very pleased that I had finally landed in Sabah, although for a short trip.

Anyway, I didn't start right away with KK when I arrived. I had to travel to Kota Marudu, which is 3 hours away from KK for my work - a Financial Inclusion project. Financial Inclusion has always been one of the priorities in the country, which would enable local communities at suburban and rural areas to make basic banking transactions at their convenience, without travelling far from home (far as like more than 50 km). To support this initiative, post outlets, convenient stores and qualified sundry shops are appointed to become the agents to provide the basic services on behalf of the bank. Of course, they had to go through thorough assessment and evaluation to qualify them to become an agent. Mana boleh main tibai buat je kan :)

I travelled to Kota Marudu by a shuttle van. Some of the photos during the trip to Kota Marudu:

The peak of Mount Kinabalu from far, surrounded by clouds. View from the nearest area to Kota Marudu. I snapped this photo from inside the shuttle while it was moving!

The kampung (village) houses, with paddy field lying ahead of it and the beautiful Mount Kinabalu as the background

We finally reached to Kota Marudu for the Financial Inclusion awareness event. The Kota Marudu community was lovely! They were really supportive and were present at the event. Some of the photos at the event:

Traditional dance by a group of students at the opening of the event. Very graceful and talented.

A young Sabahan reading interestingly on financial education and management. Way to go!

Kota Marudu community listening attentively on Financial Inclusion matters and Financial Education. Lovely people!

After the event, I happened to sit down with the community leaders for lunch and refreshment. They were extremely pleasant and I can see that they care deeply for their community. They had my respect when they told me that they are responsible for their community in ensuring security and welfare. They are always on their toes when there are issues and concerns, especially when it comes to banking and finance. They are the people that the community trust to channel their feedback and seek for advice on how best to solve the matter. R.E.S.P.E.C.T!

During the lunch and refreshment, two things caught my eyes - purple drink and corn! I was curious so I asked Encik (Mr) Mat, one of the community leaders, what was that purple drink? "Oh, itu air keladi bandung," he replied. "Hmm..jagung ni pulak?" I asked him further. "Dekat sini, jagung hasil tanaman paling banyak sekali, so selalunya kita serve jagung rebus kalau ada event kat sini," he explained more. 

The purple drink was a combination of yam and milk, and it tasted so good! I just loved it! I've never liked sirap bandung (rose syrup with milk) but the yam drink was just different. It suited my taste bud. Serving corn is a norm at Kota Marudu when they have events because corn is one of their main agriculture outputs. 

Encik Mat and the others were friendly and I knew how passionate they are when I heard the way they talked. Out of interest, I just asked what does the people in Kota Marudu and nearest area do for living. Encik Mat shared the interesting fact that 30% of the people are involved in fishery, 30% in agriculture and another 30% works in the office. It is quite a balanced division of percentage I thought, and Encik Mat concurred with me. 

The programme finally ended and I was pleased that this event had achieved its objective, thanks to Kota Marudu people! 

On my way back to Kota Kinabalu, I observed that on the left and right side of the road, it was full with more trees rather than development. I love trees and I love green for sure, but I believe Kota Marudu and other places in Sabah have great potential to be developed plus benefit its people in so many ways.

I finally bid my goodbye to Kota Marudu. I certainly hope to come back here again, and this time to see more development. 

Stay tuned for the more adventurous part in First Time Landed In Sabah, Bah! - Part 2 :)