KOTA KINABALU: A historic colonial building that once hosted meetings for the formation of Malaysia has been destroyed in a midnight fire.
The 12.30am blaze yesterday damaged 80% of the Kota Kinabalu Community Hall, located in the heart of the central business district here.
No casualties were reported.
The Sabah Fire and Rescue Department’s operations department assistant director Muhammad Taqiuddin Victor Doon said in addition to most of the hall, the blaze also destroyed the adjacent recycling store of the Kota Kinabalu City Hall.
He added that they used single stream water jets to put out the fire.
Firemen from three stations in Kota Kinabalu and the neighbouring Penampang district had rushed to the scene after receiving a distress call at 12.44am yesterday.
The building, which is located at Jalan Dewan on the foothill of Signal Hill, is under the Kota Kinabalu City Hall’s jurisdiction.
City hall authorities said they are assessing the damage to restore the building.
An investigation is underway to find out the cause of the fire.
Opened in 1958 by British North Borneo Governor Sir Roland Turnbull, the building was once known as the Jesselton Community Hall (the colonial name of Kota Kinabalu).
According to historical records, its steel fabricated framework came from Melbourne, Australia.
The design of the hall was considered advanced for its time, featuring a “pin-based gable frame with a 15-degree pitch” which allowed the structure to have no pillars within the hall.
Over the past six decades, it has served as a key venue for many community and political gatherings as well many events linked to pre- and post-formation of Malaysia, as well as exhibitions and sports events like boxing, badminton and basketball.
In the early 2000s, the state government made proposals to demolish the hall and rebuild it as it was tucked in a corner of the busy central business district.
However, heritage conservation activists objected and the idea was shelved.
