• Burmese
Friday, July 11, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
17 °c
Falkenstein
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Asia

Violence Spreads in Borneo as Five Malaysian Police Killed

Niluksi Koswanage by Niluksi Koswanage
March 4, 2013
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Violence Spreads in Borneo as Five Malaysian Police Killed

The coffins of two Malaysian police officers who were killed in a standoff between Malaysian security forces and armed followers of the Sultanate of Sulu are carried after their arrival at an airport in Subang

3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

KUALA LUMPUR — Gunmen have killed five policemen in Malaysia’s Sabah State where members of an armed faction from the Philippines are staking an ancient claim to the remote corner of Borneo island and have been facing off with security forces.

The violence could reignite tension between the Philippines and Malaysia, threaten growing economic interests in the resource-rich region and even lead to a delay in a Malaysian general election.

The shootings late on Saturday followed the killings on Friday of two policemen and 12 members of the faction, who are followers of the sultan of Sulu, a south Philippine region, who occupied a Sabah village in February to press their claim.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar Junta Chief Thanks Trump for Shutting Down VOA and RFA

Myanmar Junta Chief Thanks Trump for Shutting Down VOA and RFA

July 11, 2025
0
KIA Denies Rumor Chief Under House Arrest in China

KIA Denies Rumor Chief Under House Arrest in China

July 11, 2025
137
‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

July 11, 2025
145

The killing of the five policemen in an ambush about 150 km away from the main standoff, adds to fears that insecurity is spreading in a region that has been of increasing interest to investors.

Malaysia’s inspector general of police, Ismail Omar, tried to ease any worries on Sunday, saying things were under control.

“I don’t want speculation that Sabah is in crisis,” Ismail told a news conference in the town of Lahad Datu. “We have our security forces at three places to respond.”

Sabah is a crucial state in a general election that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak must call by the end of April and which could be the closest in the country’s history.

If security in Sabah worsens, he could be forced to delay the election and he would be vulnerable to criticism over the government’s handling of the problem. Najib has promised “drastic action” if the group does not leave.

The confrontation had threatened to damage ties between the Philippines and Malaysia. The neighbors have periodically been at odds over security and migration problems along their sea border.

A surge in recent decades of Philippine immigrants to Sabah, many of whom work in palm oil plantations, has sparked resentment and promised to be a hot election issue even before the Sulu sultanate supporters arrived.

Investors will also be concerned about the bloodshed.

Oil majors like ConocoPhillips and Shell have poured in large sums to develop oil and gas fields in Sabah. Chinese companies have been investing in hydro-power and coal mining.

Ismail said two gunmen had been killed in Saturday’s encounter, while three had been arrested near Lahad Datu. Two army battalions had been sent and were on standby, he said.

He declined to comment on a report in Philippine media quoting the sultan’s family in Manila as saying Filipinos in Sabah were holding four security officials hostage.

Sabah is a stronghold of the ruling National Front coalition but the opposition has started to make inroads, partly on concern over immigration. The government has been accused of handing out citizenship rights to thousands of immigrants in exchange for votes since the 1990s.

For generations Borneo, one of the world’s biggest islands, was a forbidding expanse of jungle, thinly populated by head-hunting tribesmen, and claimed by Muslim sultans and later European colonialists based in coastal trading towns.

Colonial Britain and the Netherlands carved up the island in the nineteenth century and Malaysia and Indonesia took their shares upon independence. Britain agreed to independence for the tiny oil-rich sultanate of Brunei on Borneo’s west coast.

But under a pre-colonial pact between sultans, Sulu, in the Philippines, was awarded control of the northern corner of Borneo, in what would later become Malaysia.

A British trading company agreed during colonial times to pay Sulu a nominal lease for Sabah—it now amounts to 5,300 ringgit ($1,700) a year—and the claim of the ancient Sulu sultanate on Sabah was all but forgotten, until February.

Then, about 150 followers of the Sulu sultanate, which has no power but commands respect in the southern Philippines, sailed in and occupied a Sabah village, staking their claim and demanding a renegotiation of Sabah’s lease.

Malaysia has said the demands will not be met. Both Malaysia and the Philippines have called on the gunmen to go home.

The trouble looks to be at least partly the result of efforts to forge peace in the southern Philippines, in particular a peace deal signed between the Philippine government and Muslim rebels last October to end a 40-year conflict.

Jamalul Kiram, a former sultan of Sulu and brother of the man Philippine provincial authorities regard as sultan, said the peace deal had handed control of much of Sulu to Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels, ignoring the sultanate.

The sultan loyalists had gone to Malaysia to revive their claim to Sabah as a protest in response to what they saw as the unfair peace deal, he said.

Additional reporting by Manuel Mogato in Manila.

Your Thoughts …
Niluksi Koswanage

Niluksi Koswanage

Reuters

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.5k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
89.8k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
87.1k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
59k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
47k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.8k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
'Execution Parade' of Four behind Mekong Murders Angers Chinese

'Execution Parade' of Four behind Mekong Murders Angers Chinese

Thailand's Prime Minister Vows to End Ivory Trade

Thailand's Prime Minister Vows to End Ivory Trade

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

2 days ago
956
‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

2 days ago
951

Most Read

  • Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

    Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Deploying Conscripts in Major Push to Reclaim Lost Territory

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Junta Bombing of Resistance-Held Areas in Mandalay, Karenni Kills Seven Civilians

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Two Prominent Myanmar Ex-Political Prisoners Die Hours Apart in Yangon

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Chin Resistance Tensions Boil Over as CNA Seizes Rival’s Myanmar HQ

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.