Tourists say Sabah is the epitome of 1Malaysia unity

By Wendy Radin
Pictures by Oliver Majaham

Food is a tourist draw. And hawker food, as varied as Malaysia’s multi-racial people, has always been a hit not just with foreigners but the local people. Swede Peter Magnusson, 51, was amazed by what he found in Kota Kinabalu, capital of Sabah. He testified to tourism, culture and environment minister Masidi Manjun’s statement that Sabahans are the best Malaysians, giving force to prime minister Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia unity policy.

“Before I came to Kota Kinabalu, friends and other tourists told me that Sabahans are friendly and helpful,” he told Insight Sabah. “Now I’m convinced. I’m amazed by how the different people, no matter what their race, religion and culture, mix so freely with one another. This is what we in Sweden can learn from you.”

Magnusson, who is a consultant on youth and cultural matters in his country, was here for the second time with his two children Johanna, 13, and Samuel, 17. It was his first visit to Lido Square in Jalan Penampang when Masidi launched the yearly 1Malaysia fabulous hawker food festival on December 17. His favourite food is nasi lemak (spicy rice cooked in coconut milk) and laksa (noodles in spicy coconut broth).

Masidi said hawkers are important to the state’s economy as everyone has to eat. There are about 200 day hawkers and 40 night hawkers selling all kinds of food at Lido Square.

James Chan Chau Vun, chairman of the Perlido Association, said his association has 170 members. He said that about 10,000 people come to Lido Square during the festival which ends on December 31.

“It has taken us about three months to organise this event,” he said. “We have more food varieties compared to last year’s and we’ve been promoting it aggressively so that more people will come here.”

Lee Teong Chwee, president of the federation of Malaysia Hawkers Association, expects more tourists to Sabah to savour its street food as Malaysia Airlines and budget airline Air Asia are flying to more cities from Kota Kinabalu. More than 600,000 foreigners have come to Sabah this year, he said.

Ng Hai Huat, 28, is a happy hawker. He has a barbecue stand from which he sells barbecued seafood such as jumbo prawns, stingrays and shell fish. He serves about 800 dishes a day, 1,000 on weekends, and rakes in between 1,200 and 1,500 ringgit ($387 and $484) a day.

At his stall, a kilogramme of tiger prawns go for 150 ringgit, stingray or grouper costs about 30 ringgit a kg. Business is so good that Ng is planning to open a stall at the Waterfront in Kota Kinabalu. – Insight Sabah