Harmonious Kunak Part 2: Cheng Ho's Delegation

Bahasa Melayu

The Idahans

The Madai Caves and its bird nests is probably the most well-known site in Kunak District today, though more often than not it is linked with Lahad Datu rather than Kunak.

It is somehow incomplete to talk about the Madai Caves without mentioning the Idahans, a native of Kunak. They are believed to be the discoverer of the valuable bird nests in those caves back in the 15^th century.

The Idahan clan is a Bumiputera ethnics who collectively claim themselves descendants of a legendary ancestor, Besai, who was said to have originated from Kinabatangan river.

Although the Idahan comprises of only a small percentage of the population of Kunak, it is fair to give more space on subjects pertaining to this community. Apart from being the founder of the bird nests in Madai they are also said to have played a major part in the introduction of Islam to North Borneo in 1408, particularly in the east coast.

It is related by the Idahans that in the old days their ancestors had traded with some powerful group of Chinese traders who came to the east coast of Sabah. It is presumed that the group mentioned was the delegation of the Muslim Chinese Admiral, Cheng Ho, who made his first voyage to Sulu region around 1405 A.D.

Admiral Cheng Ho and his fleet
(Image as seen at: Cheng Ho)

At first, bird’s nests have very little commercial value until the Idahan ancestors showed them to Chinese traders. The Cinese were already familiar with the product which they previously knew from elsewhere. They asked if more could be gathered and promised they would return regularly to trade for them with Chinese goods.

Upon realizing that the Chinese had a keen interest on the nests, the Idahan ancestors were quite cautious about disclosing the exact locations of the nesting caves, but assured them of a continuous supply if the Chinese agreed to wait at the coast.

A Village in Madai 1960
(More stories at: semuakunak.blogspot) 

Personally, I believe that the story of trade with Chinese traders in the old days is quite authentic, for in 1998 I came across an area in an oil palm plantation in Silabukan, literally littered with fragments of Chinese porcelain which (to me) had the distinctive features of that from the Ming Dynasty.  The site is only a few hundred meters from shore.

I was then the Assistant Manager of that plantation. The plantation workers also mentioned about some sort of spears and canons, apart from other relics, had also been discovered in that particular site and procured by authorities of Sabah Museum.  Stories also went around the plantation that on extreme low tide, structures that resemble the mast and hull of a ship could be seen not far from the shore.

The present day Idahan population are mainly in Lahad Datu District. Nevertheless, there are still several families who remained in Kunak, particularly in kampongs not far from Madai Hills. Also, there are some Idahans who built a second houses within the vicinity of the caves, which they only occupy during harvesting seasons.

Generally, the Idahan population in Kunak has blended well and inter-married with other ethnics and not easy to distinguish them from other bumiputeras. 

Harmonious Kunak Part 1: Introduction

Bahasa Melayu

The quiet and peaceful town at the mouth of Lahad Datu Bay (formerly Darvel Bay) in Sabah is literally unknown to people outside Tawau Residency. It is not even shown on maps of Sabah until much recently. The town is Kunak, the administrative center of Kunak District, rich with natural and historical resources.

Prehistoric people roamed this land tens of thousands years earlier. They could have been the ancestors of the indigenous tribes of Borneo or even of other parts of the Malay Archipelago.

The exodus must had taken place over a long period of time involving a few clans at a time. Still some had stayed behind. Those who had migrated as well as their descendants would later on frequented the area to forage the natural resources and do some barter trade with those who had stayed behind.

A Bugis Ship

A Bajau Boat

Free trade among the indigenous of the Malay Archipelago continued even after the arrival of the Europeans, pioneered by the Portuguese who anchored at Malacca harbor in 1511.

Following the Anglo-Dutch Treaty in 1824 the Malay Archipelago was divided into three foreign dominions, namely, British (over the area of present Malaysia and Singapore), Dutch (Indonesia) and Spanish (the Philippines).

Indonesia declared independence from the Dutch on August 17 1945 while the Philippines were granted their independence by the United States of America on July 4 1946. North Borneo (Sabah) was still under British rule. At that however, many citizens of both nations were in Kunak, as fishermen, merchants or working in timber camps and plantations owned by the British. In fact, they formed the majority of the population in the region.

Inhabitants of Kunak working as lumberjacks with
British-owned Timber Companies

Main Population of Kunak

When North Borneo gained independence and took up the name Sabah with the formation of the Federation of Malaysia on September 16, 1963, many of them decided to become citizens of the new federation, through provisions in Article 26 Malaysia Agreement 1963.  Thus, until this very day their descendants formed the majority of the population of Kunak.

Some however were reluctant fearing that by doing so, they might be barred by the Philippines and Indonesian authorities from visiting their relatives in their respective country of origin. That concern proved to be unfounded.