Kinarut is a town in the state of

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. It is located about 20 kilometres south of the state capital,

Kota Kinabalu , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...

, and

Kinarut railway station Kinarut railway station ( ms, Stesen Keretapi Kinarut) is one of eleven minor railway station on the Western Sabah Railway Line located in Kinarut, Papar, Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region ...

is one of the stops on the

Sabah State Railway Sabah State Railway (SSR) is a railway system and operator in the state of Sabah in Malaysia. It is the only rail transport system operating on the island of Borneo. The railway consists of a single 134-kilometre line from Tanjung Aru, Kota Kina ...

. Kinarut is under the administration of the

Papar District The Papar District ( ms, Daerah Papar) is an administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the West Coast Division which includes the districts of Kota Belud, Kota Kinabalu, Papar, Penampang, Putatan, Ranau and Tuaran. Th ...

Etymology

Several theories exist as to the etymological origins of the name 'Kinarut'. One such theory is that it refers to a street in the town which was formerly called China Road. Another theory is that it originated from the Dusun word ''Kinorut'' which means 'cutting using a knife'.

History

Kinarut originally belonged to the Sultanate of Brunei. In the late 17th century, when Sultan Abdul Hakkul Mubin had to withdraw from Chermin Island (Pulau Chermin) during the

Brunei Civil War The Brunei Civil War was a civil war fought in the Bruneian Empire from 1660 to 1673. Causes During the reign of the thirteenth Sultan Muhammad Ali, there was a disagreement between the son of the Sultan, ''Pengiran Muda'' ("prince") Bong ...

, he built a base in Kinarut at a strategic location protected by two rivers. He remained there for ten years as the Sultan of Kinarut, during which incidents of piracy in the surrounding seas decreased significantly. With help from the local Bajau and Dusun people, he managed to counter several attacks from Sultan Muhyiddin.

Demographics

A 2010 census estimated the population of Kinarut at 18,029. This population consists mainly of

Bajau The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the exonym ...

s, Bruneian Malays, Kadazans and

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

(of whom most are

Hakka Chinese Hakka (, , ) forms a language group of varieties of Chinese, spoken natively by the Hakka people throughout Southern China and Taiwan and throughout the diaspora areas of East Asia, Southeast Asia and in overseas Chinese communities around th ...

) There is also a large Filipino refugee settlement in Kinarut, which has reportedly caused ethnic tension among locals.

Attractions

Kinarut is noted for its weekly ''tamu'', an open air market dominated by native sellers which is held every Saturday. It is also close to

Dinawan Island Dinawan Island ( ms, Pulau Dinawan) is a Malaysian island located in the West Coast on the state of Sabah. It is located about 3.5 kilometres from the township of Kimanis Kimanis (Chinese: 金馬利) is a town and also a parliamentary cons ...

, Lok Kawi Wildlife Centre and the

Kinarut Mansion Kinarut Mansion ( Malay: Rumah Besar Kinarut) is the ruins of a former manor house in the Graeco-Roman style near Kinarut in the Malaysian state of Sabah. History The building was built in 1910 by German W.F.C. Asimont. Asimont was the firs ...

ruins.

Notes

References

{{Sabah Towns in Sabah