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 has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

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

Kota Kinabalu Kota Kinabalu (; formerly known as Jesselton), colloquially referred to as KK, is the state capital of Sabah, Malaysia. It is also the capital of the Kota Kinabalu District as well as the West Coast Division of Sabah. The city is located on the ...

, and Kinarut railway station is one of the stops on the

Sabah State Railway Sabah State Railway () 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 Kinaba ...

. Kinarut is under the administration of the

Papar District The Papar District () is an Districts of Malaysia#Sabah, administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the West Coast Division which includes the districts of Kota Belud District, Kota Belud, Kota Kinabalu District, Kota Kina ...

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 Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

. In the late 17th century, when Sultan Abdul Hakkul Mubin had to withdraw from Chermin Island (Pulau Chermin) during the

Brunei Civil War The Bruneian Civil War ( and in ) was a civil war in the Bruneian Sultanate from 1660 to 1673 between Abdul Hakkul Mubin and Muhyiddin. During Sultan Muhammad Ali's reign, a dispute led to the killing of Pengiran Muda Alam by Pengiran Muda B ...

, 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 ...

Bruneian Malays Bruneian MalaysBrunei Malay in its various forms can be identified with a nation, an ethnic group and a region. (, Jawi: ) are a native Malay ethnic group that lives in Brunei, the federal territory of Labuan, the southwestern coast of Saba ...

, Kadazans and

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

(of whom most are

Hakka Chinese Hakka ( zh, c=, p=Kèjiāhuà; '' Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: '', zh, c=, p=Kèjiāyǔ; '' Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: '') forms a language group of varieties of Chinese, spoken natively by the Hakka people in parts of Southern China, Taiwan, some diaspora areas ...

) There is also a large Filipino refugee settlement in Kinarut, which has reportedly caused

ethnic tension An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more ethnic groups. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic group's position within so ...

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 () is a Malaysian island located in the West Coast on 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 has ...

, Lok Kawi Wildlife Centre and the

Kinarut Mansion Kinarut Mansion (Malay language, 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. Asimon ...

ruins.

Notes

References

{{Sabah Towns in Sabah