Wednesday, June 27, 2012  The German Connections  Many of us in
Sabah are familiar with the ruins of what was once the
magnificent Kinarut Mansion. Built during the years preceding
WWI by a German named W. F. C. Asimont and partially demolished
by the North Borneo Chartered Company (NBCC) in 1923, the
mansion remains shrouded in mystery. Why did the government
allow Asimont to build such an imposing dwelling only to destroy
it within ten years of its existence? Kinarut Mansion ruins
(Photo credit: Richard Sokial)  Asimont was an expert on rubber
and was hired as the first manager of the Kinarut Estate, a
rubber plantation owned by a British company called Manchester
North Borneo Ltd. It was the second largest rubber estate after
Sapong Estate. Asimont was interned during WWI and, apparently,
that was the last thing people knew about him. There had been
other Germans in NB and they came long before Asimont. Somehow,
like Asimont, their stint in NB had been short and—shall we say,
disastrous?  Twenty-six years