Tuaran Clock Tower: 1967 Landmark with Linangkit Art | Sabah
The Tuaran clock tower was built in 1967 and restored in 2019 with Lotud Linangkit motifs. Its story, photo tips and where to stay nearby in Tuaran, Sabah.
Viannie Undikai
10/15/20263 min read
The tower in 2012, faded and without its clock faces, before the restoration
Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Every town has a heart. In Tuaran, it ticks.
Quick facts: The Tuaran clock tower stands at the roundabout on Jalan Kent in the middle of Tuaran town, Sabah. After it stopped working for more than ten years, there was a plan to pull it down, but residents protested. Tuaran District Council restored it instead, in work lasting almost a year and completed in 2019, with new paint, Linangkit motifs of the Lotud Dusun people and night lighting. The tower was built in 1967, but who commissioned or built it is not recorded in any source we could find. Tuaran Kampung Villa, a private family homestay near Dalit Beach for up to 8 guests, is a short drive away.
For more than ten years, the clock in the middle of Tuaran town stood silent. Its paint faded, its hands stopped, and one day there was even a plan to pull it down to make way for a landscaping project.
But the people of Tuaran said no.
Residents protested, and the Tuaran District Council changed course. Instead of demolishing the old tower, the council spent almost a year restoring it. In 2019, the clock was ticking again, freshly painted, lit up at night and wearing the bright Linangkit patterns of the Lotud Dusun people.
The clock tower at the heart of the Tuaran town roundabout in 2013
Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Dressed in Linangkit
Today the tower wears fresh colours and the patterns of Linangkit, the fine traditional embroidery of the Lotud Dusun people of Tuaran. Lotud women stitch Linangkit by hand as bright, geometric bands on their traditional costume, and it is one of the proudest crafts of this district. Seeing it on the clock tower feels like the town is wearing its own heritage.
New lights now make it glow at night, and the area around it was improved so visitors can stop more easily.
A Perfect Photo Spot
Come early in the morning or in the golden light before sunset, when the red tower and its Linangkit panels shine against the sky. Then wander the old shophouse streets and stop for a plate of Tuaran mee.
Come Home to Tuaran
At Tuaran Kampung Villa, just a short drive from town, I hope you feel what I felt as a child: that Tuaran is not a place you pass through, but a place you belong to. Here, every moment is a memory in the making.
Tuaran Clock Tower FAQ
When was the clock tower restored?
Tuaran District Council restored it over almost a year, and it was working again in 2019 with new paint, Linangkit motifs and night lighting.
When was the Tuaran clock tower built?
It was built in 1967 and stands at the roundabout on Jalan Kent in the centre of Tuaran town.
Who built the Tuaran clock tower?
No official record of who commissioned or built it has been found. Old photos show a Dusun language sign mentioning Chung Khiaw Bank, but it is not clear whether the bank sponsored it.
What is Linangkit?
Linangkit is a fine hand embroidery of the Lotud Dusun people of Tuaran, stitched as colourful geometric bands on traditional costume. Its motifs now decorate the clock tower.
Where can I stay near the Tuaran clock tower?
Tuaran Kampung Villa is a private family homestay near Dalit Beach, a short drive from Tuaran town, for up to 8 guests.
The Tuaran clock tower today, dressed in Lotud Linangkit patterns
Photo: Jilorisa, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
When I was a little girl going to St. John's School in Tuaran, the clock tower in the middle of town was simply part of life. It was where we met, where we turned, where the buses and cars went round. We never thought of it as history. It was just always there.
Built in 1967, a Silent Witness
The clock tower was built in 1967 and stands at the roundabout on Jalan Kent, in the centre of Tuaran town. Since then it has quietly watched generations pass by: farmers coming to town, children walking to school, families heading to the Sunday market.
Here is the interesting part: nobody seems to know exactly who commissioned or built it. I could not find any official record of its builder. Old photos from its early years show a sign on the tower written in Dusun that mentions Chung Khiaw Bank, a bank that served Malaysian towns at the time. Was the bank a sponsor, or was it simply an advertisement? Nobody can say for sure. Some mysteries make a place even more special.
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