For those of you still scratching your heads on what all the fuss about Sabah (or a student looking for a reaction paper) that's hogging the headlines and why people are dying there, here's the timeline and tidbits of Sabah history, including the infamous Jabidah Massacre of 1968.
History of Sabah should be taught, studied and learned lessons from instead of repeating the folly:
1457: Founding of Sultanate of Sulu, with territories south of Mindanao
1658: the Sultan of Brunei ceded Sabah to the Sultan of Sulu in compensation for the latter's help in settling the Brunei Civil War in the Brunei Sultanate.
1878: the Sultanate of Sulu leased Sabah to a British company in return for payment of 5000 Malayan Dollar per year (to which Malaysia still pays up to now to the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu). The rights over Sabah were later transferred to the British North Borneo Company
1946: British North Borneo Company cedes rights over Sabah to Great Britain, making Sabah a British colony.
1957: The Sultan of Sulu revokes the 1878 contract and claims the territory of North Borneo for the Sultanate of Sulu
1963: Sabah became part of the Federation of Malaysia, formed by the imperialist British, even if the rights to the land belong to the Sultan of Sulu
1967: Then Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos hatched a destabilization plan called Operation Merdeka to take Sabah by force from Malaysia
December 1967: Many Tausug and Sama Muslims from Sulu and Tawi-Tawi were recruited and trained from island of Simunul in Tawi-Tawi, south of Mindanao and the nearest Philippine province to Sabah (North Borneo)
January 3, 1968: the recruits boarded a Philippine Navy vessel for Corregidor Island in Luzon for the "specialized training." The name of the commando unit was Jabidah (named after a beautiful woman in Muslim lore)
March 1963: The recruits discovered their true mission: sow terror in Sabah, including fighting their brother Muslims and possibly their own Tausug and Sama relatives living there
March 18, 1968: the trainees on Corregidor, batches of 12, were mowed down with gunfire on Corregidor's airstrip. Only one trainee survived, Jibin Arula, who was wounded in his left knee, swam for his life on Manila bay and was fished out of the waters off Cavite by fishermen the next morning
March 28, 1968: opposition Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., the father of now President Noynoy Aquino, delivered an exposé privilege speech titled “Jabidah: Special Forces of Evil?” about the recruitment of Muslims to infiltrate North Borneo (Sabah)
1969: Enraged by the Jabidah Massacre incident, Nur Misuari, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines (UP), founded the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which fought for a separate Moro homeland in Mindanao, supported by Libya's Muammar Gadaffy, who provided arms, and Malaysia, who helped and trained MNLF fighters in the war against the Philippine government
1977: the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) broke away from the MNLF
1996: MNLF signed peace accord with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines in 1996 under Pres. Fidel V. Ramos)
2012: MILF signed a framework agreement towards peace with the Philippine government under Noynoy Aquino
2013: The Royal Army of the Sultanate of Sulu "invaded" Sabah where "sabah massacre" happened to followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and some Malaysian forces
It was reported that Malaysian-trained fighters of the MNLF joined in the 2013 edition of the "Sabah invasion." Ironic, isn't it?
Years from now, a similar incident will surely happen again until the issue is finally resolved...
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Do you believe Malaysia will let go of Sabah? Will the Philippines someday claim Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and Sabah?
Tutubi doesn't think so. Instead, let's hope for a future of United Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia (if not ASEAN) where a borderless country, single currency, single economy, and free to live and roam with Malaysian and Indonesian brothers who we all share the same race, the same blood!
Instead of hating Malaysians, let's dream of if to happen in our lifetime!
If you're looking for student reaction paper or research paper on the Sabah issue, you're looking at the wrong page. Do your homework for a brighter future!
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