KAMPUNG Sembulan Tengah is located next to the Coastal Highway and was once the main focus in this area, even before the Malaysian era.
It used to be a clean village in the 1960s and 1970s with an idyllic sea view, but reclamation projects in the 1990s robbed the area of its beauty.
Now, it has become one of the most unpleasant places to live in Kota Kinabalu. A large number of residents have moved to other areas, leasing their property to outsiders, including illegal immigrants, as long as they pay their rent on time every month.
The village has been declared a black area in the city due to the increase in crime, perhaps coincidentally, with a similar increase in the number of illegal immigrants - often from low-income groups.
The harsh living conditions in their country of origin has prompted them to migrate to areas that are undergoing development or urbanisation.
With the combination of low income and rising cost of living they had to find cheap housing, including squatter areas. - September 20, 2020.
A girl smiles as she carries her brother in Kampung Sembulan, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. - The Malaysian Insight pic by Irwan Majid, September 20, 2020.A girl walks to school in Kampung Sembulan Tengah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. - The Malaysian Insight pic by Irwan Majid, September 20, 2020.Children hang out at a pile of wooden rubbish in Kampung Sembulan Tengah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. - The Malaysian Insight pic by Irwan Majid, September 20, 2020.A man feeds her mother biscuits in Kampung Sembulan Tengah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. - The Malaysian Insight pic by Irwan Majid, September 20, 2020.Residents of Kampung Sembulan Tengah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, watch children play football in an open area. - The Malaysian Insight pic by Irwan Majid, September 20, 2020.The village has been declared as a black area in the city, due to the increase in crime, perhaps coincidentally, with the increasing number of illegal immigrants. - The Malaysian Insight pic by Irwan Majid, September 20, 2020.A mother sits with her children outside their house in Kampung Sembulan Tengah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. - The Malaysian Insight pic by Irwan Majid, September 20, 2020.Residents buying food a shop in Kampung Sembulan Tengah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. - The Malaysian Insight pic by Irwan Majid, September 20, 2020.Kampung Sembulan Tengah used to be a clean village in the 1960s and 1970s with an idyllic sea view, but reclamation projects in the 1990s robbed the area of its beauty. - The Malaysian Insight pic by Irwan Majid, September 20, 2020.
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