2013 Lahad Datu standoff
The 2013 Lahad Datu standoff, also known as the Lahad Datu incursion or Operation Daulat (Malay: Operasi Daulat), was a military conflict in Lahad Datu, Malaysia.[8] The conflict began on 11 February, when 235 militants[17] arrived in Lahad Datu by boat, and ended on 24 March.[15][27][28] The militants, self proclaimed as "Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo",[15] were sent by a claimant to the throne of the Sultanate of Sulu.
The militants' stated objective was to assert the territorial claim of the Philippines to eastern Sabah.[29] Malaysian security forces surrounded the village where the group had gathered. After weeks of negotiations and several deadlines for the group to withdraw, the killing of local policemen prompted Malaysian security forces to flush out the militants with a military operation.[30] At the end of the standoff around 72 people were left dead, including 56 militants, 10 Malaysian security force personnel, and 6 civilians. The surviving militants were all either captured or escaped.
The Lahad Datu incursion has had lasting impacts for the people of Sabah.[31] Before this incursion, the government of Malaysia continued to dutifully pay an annual cession payment amounting to roughly $1,000 to the indirect heirs of the Sultan honoring an 1878 agreement, where North Borneo – today’s Sabah – was conceded by the late Sultan of Sulu to a British company.[32][33] However, Malaysia suspended these payments in response to this attack that killed civilians and members of the Malaysian armed forces. Years later, eight of these Sulu heirs, who insisted they were not involved in the standoff, hired lawyers to pursue legal action based on the original commercial deal.[34] The case is still ongoing.
Initiation[edit]
Heirs to the sultanate felt excluded by the framework of a peace deal between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, as announced on 7 October 2012 by Philippine president Benigno Aquino III. In response, Jamalul Kiram III, claiming to be Sulu's legitimate heir, decreed on 11 November 2012 that a civilian and military contingent should assert his territorial rights in North Borneo. He appointed his brother and Raja Muda ("heir apparent" or "crown prince"), Agbimuddin Kiram, to lead the group.[15][40]
Months later on 11 February 2013, Agbimuddin Kiram and at least 101 followers arrived in the village of Tanduo, located near Tungku in Lahad Datu from neighbouring Simunul island, Tawi-Tawi, in the southern Philippines.[28] Around eighty people fled from 15 homes in Tanduo.[41]
Related incidents[edit]
Defacement of Malaysian and Philippine websites[edit]
On 3 March 2013, the Globe Telecom website was defaced by hackers claiming to be from the "MALAYSIA Cyb3r 4rmy".[87] The group left the message, "Do not invade our country or you will suffer the consequences".[87] Global Telecom confirmed the hack, but claimed that no sensitive information was stolen. The website was up again by noon.
In apparent retaliation, hackers identifying themselves as from Anonymous Philippines, attacked several Malaysian websites. They warned Malaysia to "Stop attacking our cyber space! Or else we will attack your cyber world!"[88] The website of Stamford College in Malaysia was hacked with its front page replaced by a note that said: "The time has come to reclaim what is truly ours. Sabah is owned by the Philippines, you illegally [sic] claiming it".[89]
Google search results alteration[edit]
On 4 March 2013, a Google search for the word "Sabah" reflected a cached version of the territory's Wikipedia article. It said the Malaysian control of the state is "illegitimate" and that "in fact, [Sabah] is part of the Sultanate of Sulu". A spokesman for Google Malaysia said they knew of the issue.[89][90]
Protests at a Malaysian embassy[edit]
20 Filipinos protested in front of the Malaysian embassy in Makati on 5 March. They called for an end to the violence, while some expressed support for the cause of Kiram. At least 50 policemen and a fire truck were deployed. The Malaysian embassy later suspended operations in response.[91]
Allegations of political motives[edit]
Razak sought to assess whether opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was involved. This began after Filipino media reported that Anwar might be involved with the incursion and an image of him with Nur Misuari of MNLF began circulating.[92][93] Concurrently, Anwar launched legal proceedings against government-owned newspaper Utusan Malaysia and television station TV3 for trying to link him to the incursions.[94][95] Meanwhile, Malaysian People's Justice Party (PKR) vice-president Tian Chua claimed that the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) had deliberately orchestrated the crisis to frighten the people of Sabah into favouring the ruling coalition.[96] Chua's allegations were met with an outcry by the Malaysian public; citizens and personalities such as Ambiga Sreenevasan and Saifuddin Abdullah called for both parties to forge a bi-partisan consensus to settle the issue.
On the eve of its 2013 general election, Filipino senatorial candidates from the opposition blamed President Aquino for sending unclear messages to the Kiram family.[97] They added that the President was in danger of facing an impeachment for "betrayal of public trust".[98] Meanwhile, President Aquino blamed unnamed members of the previous Gloria Macapagal Arroyo government as conspirators; while Aquino did not name anyone due to lack of evidence. Kiram's daughter Princess Jacel challenged Aquino to prove his allegations. Former National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales denied that he was the one Aquino was accusing.[99] Jamalul Kiram III unsuccessfully ran for senator under Arroyo's TEAM Unity during the 2007 Senate Elections.
Use of commercial aircraft by the Malaysian Army[edit]
On 5 March, flights of AirAsia were used to transport Malaysian troops to Sabah. An online debate ensued over whether the move highlighted patriotism of a Malaysian-based airline or the military's lack of resources. Some Malaysians wondered why the government did not mobilise its fleet of C-130 Hercules transport planes. Others lauded AirAsia for its efforts in assistance.[100] The Defence Ministry stated that it used AirAsia was simply expedient. Malaysian defence minister Zahid Hamidi pointed out that each RMAF C-130 Hercules was capable of carrying only 90 soldiers each, while AirAsia had jets capable of transporting up to 200 soldiers each. The Malaysian Defence Ministry pointed out that chartering civilian jetliners is a common practice in other countries,[101] including those of NATO.[102]
Assembly at the Philippine embassy[edit]
On 8 March 2013, Malaysians assembled outside the Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur. The event, called Ops Bunga (Operation Flower), encouraged participants to place flowers at the embassy's doorstep as a show of the Malaysian public's solidarity towards Filipinos in Malaysia. Organisers also urged people to offer prayers to the Malaysian security officers who died in the conflict.[103]
Allegations of police brutality[edit]
On 10 March 2013, reports of police brutality by Malaysian police officials emerged over a crackdown on suspected Kiram III supporters, causing a mass migration of Filipinos from Sabah to Sulu.[104] One refugee stated that Malaysian police had shot and killed many Filipino civilians irrespective of their MyKad status and detained many others. It was stated that those detained were not treated properly.[105] A Royal Malaysian Police official denied the allegations.[106]
Aftermath[edit]
Arrest and prosecution[edit]
After Operation Daulat was launched, 443 individuals were held for various offences while 121 were held under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA).[7][24][109] The total number arrested under SOSMA later decreased to 104, mostly Filipinos who were suspected of having links to Kiram III. These included family members of Kiram III who had entered the state of Sabah using assumed identities.[110] 149 Sulu gunmen were arrested and eight were charged with waging war against the King, a charge that carried the death penalty in Malaysia.[8][111][112]
On 6 August, the Kota Kinabalu High Court convicted Corporal Hassan Ali Basari, a Malaysian Special Branch officer, of intentionally withholding information about the intrusion of Sulu gunmen at Lahad Datu between January and March 2013.[113] The Malaysian Special Branch is the country's main internal security and domestic intelligence agency. The prosecution successfully argued that Hassan's intention not to inform his superiors resulted in casualties and fatalities on the Malaysian side. Hassan was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment, the maximum permitted jail term.[114][115]
Burials[edit]
In 2013 during the ensuing conflict, Malaysian authorities announced that deceased militants would be buried in the state if their bodies were not claimed by their relatives, in compliance with the Geneva Conventions.[116][117]
Death of Kiram III[edit]
On 20 October 2013, Jamalul Kiram III died of multiple organ failure in Simunul, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines.[118] His family stated that they would continue their main objective to reclaim Sabah.[119] The Royal Malaysia Police in Sabah responded by stating that they "would continue to be alert for any intrusion".[120]
On 13 January 2015, Agbimuddin Kiram – who led the group to invade Sabah under the instruction of the late Jamalul Kiram III – died of cardiac arrest in Tawi-Tawi where he had been in hiding.[18]
United Nations – Ban Ki-moon called for an end to the conflict. He urged all sides to engage in dialogue to resolve the situation peacefully.[170] On 8 March 2013, Ban met with Hussein Haniff, the Malaysian Permanent Representative to the United Nations on the conflict. A statement from the UN Secretariat said that the Secretary-General "reiterated his hope that the situation will be resolved as soon as possible and that efforts will continue to be made to ensure that human rights will be respected and loss of life will be prevented."[171]
