Zero Kilometre plaque unveiled in Kota Kinabalu

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Datuk Masidi Manjun

KOTA KINABALU: A Zero Kilometre (0Km) plaque was unveiled yesterday in this capital city of Sabah, and is expected to become another attraction for domestic and international tourists.

The plaque is located in the vicinity of the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) building which had housed the pre-war post office during the British Occupation.

It bears an illustration of Sabah’s highest peak Mt Kinabalu and this city’s official flower, the Borneo Orchid.

An ancient design of the Murut community, called Nantapuan and means a meeting place, serves as the motif around the design.

It is engraved in granite. The rest of the plaque is made of bronze, and it also incorporates the four cardinal points.

The plaque design was created by the Landscape Department of Kota Kinabalu City Hall, with ideas garnered from various parties.

Financial assistance came from both STB and the city hall.

The Institute of Surveyors Malaysia (ISM) Sabah proposed the construction of the plaque in conjunction with its 50th anniversary.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun represented Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman at the unveiling of the plaque yesterday.

In his speech, read out by Masidi, Musa congratulated Kota Kinabalu City Hall, STB and ISM Sabah for collaborating in the initiative.

“The launching today coincides with the date (March 16) in 1918 when this building was officially opened by Governor A C Pearson. I am pleased that the organisers have given much attention to historical values in conjunction with today’s ceremony,” he said.

Kota Kinabalu Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir said that in many countries, Zero Kilometre was a particular location (often in the nation’s capital city and also in individual cities) from which distances were traditionally measured, and the city’s central post office was often used as the marker. — Bernama