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.