Kota Belud is a town located in West Coast Division

West Coast Division

West Coast Division is an administrative division of Sabah, east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It occupies the northwest portion of Sabah. With an area of 7,588 square kilometres, it occupies 10.3% of Sabah's territory...

, in the center of Sabah

Sabah

Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...

, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

. Its population was estimated to be around 72,337 in 2000, almost evenly divided between ethnic Dusun

Dusun

Dusun is the collective name of a tribe or ethnic and linguistic group in the Malaysian state of Sabah of North Borneo. Due to similarities in culture and language with the Kadazan ethnic group, a new unified term called "Kadazan-Dusun" was created. Collectively, they form the largest ethnic group...

 and Bajau

Bajau

The Bajau or Bajaw , also spelled Bajao, Badjau, Badjaw, or Badjao, are an indigenous ethnic group of Maritime Southeast Asia...

 with a sizeable proportion of Chinese

Chinese people

The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....

 ethnicity. It is along the main road connecting Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu , formerly known as Jesselton, is the capital of Sabah state in East Malaysia. It is also the capital of the West Coast Division of Sabah. The city is located on the northwest coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. The Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park lies on one side and Mount...

 and Kudat

Kudat

Kudat is a town in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the northern tip of Borneo island. It serves as the administrative center for the Kudat Division, which includes the towns of Kudat, Pitas, Kota Marudu, and some offshore islands....

.

Kota Belud is noted for its huge tamu, or open air market, which is held every Sunday. The Harvest Festival

Harvest festival

A Harvest Festival is an annual celebration which occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times throughout the world...

known as Pesta Kaamatan, and "Tamu Besar" is an annual event in Kota Belud.