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Ranau
is a town in Sabah, Malaysia. It is
situated in the West Coast Division, commencing in the northern part of
the Division and continuing in a southerly direction, while bordering the
Sandakan Division to the east until it meets the Interior Division border.
Ranau sits 108 km (67 mi) east of Kota
Kinabalu and 227 km (141 mi) west of Sandakan.
The population almost entirely Dusun ethnic community.
Ranau is
governed under a district office form of local government headed by a
District Officer. There is only a Magistrates’ Court in the district but
there is also a Native Court, having jurisdiction on matters of native law
and custom.
Ranau is noted for its hilly geographical structure and is the largest
producer of highland vegetables in the state of Sabah.
Tourism and highland agriculture are the major industries, as the district
is at 1,176 m above sea level. Its many tourist destinations attracted
half a million tourists in 2009. These include Mount Kinabalu (the tallest
mountain on Borneo), Kinabalu Park, Poring Hot Springs, Kundasang War
Memorial, Death March Trail, Mesilau, and Sabah Tea Garden.
Ranau's
diverse flora ranges from rich tropical lowland and hill rainforest to
tropical mountain, sub-alpine forest and scrub on the higher elevations
and particularly abundant in species with examples of flora from as far as
China,
Australia and the Himalayas, as well as pan-tropical flora.
Kinabalu Park has been recognised by UNESCO as a Center of Plant Diversity
for Southeast Asia. In December 2000, the Kinabalu Park was designated by
UNESCO as Malaysia's first World Heritage Site.
Ranau is an important agricultural and tourism center in Sabah and this
two sectors have been the main economy backbone for the district. Most of
the tourism business are centred around the highlands of Kundasang, a
sub-district in Ranau while agriculture business is widespread all over
Ranau.
Therefore
most people of Ranau work as farmers or operators of their own business
although there are white-collar workers as well mainly in the government
sectors such health, education, service and administration, national
registration department (JPN) and a few in the banking sector.
Sources:
Wikipedia
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