Kinarut Mansion (

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

: Rumah Besar Kinarut) is the ruins of a former

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

in the

Graeco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

style near

Kinarut Kinarut is a town in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. It is located about 20 kilometres south of the state capital, Kota Kinabalu, and Kinarut railway station is one of the stops on the Sabah State Railway. Kinarut is under the administration of ...

in the Malaysian 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 ...

History

The building was built in 1910 by German W.F.C. Asimont. Asimont was the first manager of a

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

plantation known as ''Kinarut Rubber Estate'', where the British Society for Manchester North Borneo Ltd located. The plantation is the second largest after Sapong Estate's in the west coast of Sabah and was established in 1910–1911 with an area of more than ten square kilometres. Asimont died 1919 in

Surabaya Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

and was buried in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. Soon after, the abandoned house was destroyed by

North Borneo Chartered Company The North Borneo Chartered Company (NBCC), also known as the British North Borneo Company (BNBC) was a British chartered company formed on 1 November 1881 to administer and exploit the resources of North Borneo (present-day Sabah in Malaysia). ...

authorities in 1923. On 22 August 1994, it was included as one of the historical sites in Sabah. In 2015, the area of the mansion is currently being upgraded to become one of Sabah's main tourism attractions.

Background

This former manor house is situated on a wooded hill near Kinarut above the Kawang River. Built from 1910 to 1914, the house was one of the few stone houses that existed in North Borneo. It was built of brick with white walls by an Indian architect, who use around 200–300 workers from

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

. The manor house with its outdoor facilities spread over an area of about two acres. The main entrance led a 200-metre-long avenue of Greco-Roman columns. The house itself had 45 doors, 152 windows and was illuminated by 42 huge

chandeliers A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent li ...

.Sokial, Page 163, 164, 166 File:Kinarut Sabah TheKinarutMansion-02.jpg, The mansion history inscription. File:Kinarut Sabah TheKinarutMansion-12.jpg, Inscription on the mansion further history. File:Kinarut Sabah TheKinarutMansion-09.jpg, Remains of a

column. File:Kinarut Sabah TheKinarutMansion-06.jpg, Stairs of the mansion ruins. File:Kinarut Sabah TheKinarutMansion-11.jpg, The mansion ruins covered with forest today.

Haunted reputation

Locals living near the mansion area claimed the place is haunted with a "

Hantu Tinggi Hantu Tinggi (Tall Ghost) is a being similar to ' Hantu Raya' or ' genderuwo' but so tall its body from the waist up is hidden by clouds. It only exists in the Western and Eastern regions of Malaysia. In Thailand, Hantu Tinggi likely resembles a cl ...

", a type of Malay ghost in the form of a tall tree who is usually disguised as a normal tree in the heavily forested area. Other passersby claimed to have seen a fast moving apparition and hearing the eerie voice of a

pontianak Pontianak or Khuntien is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, founded first as a trading port on the island of Borneo, occupying an area of 118.31 km2 in the delta of the Kapuas River at a point where it is joined ...

, a Malay female ghost at night. These claims were also supported by media crews who covered information about the mansion and mentioned that they felt "something" was following them through their walk in the area.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Richard Nelson Sokial: ''Colonial Townships in Sabah: West Coast'', Kapitel ''The Kinarut Mansion'', Page 162–167; Homeland Publisher Sdn Bhd, 2012, Page 46,

External links

* {{Malaysian historical architectures and sites Buildings and structures in Sabah Houses in Malaysia Tourist attractions in Sabah