KUALA LUMPUR – Amid public uproar over the ongoing demolition of stateless Bajau Laut homes in Pulau Bodgaya, Semporna, police are claiming that the issue is being manipulated by certain parties.
In particular, Sabah police chief Datuk Jauteh Dikun dismissed claims that authorities had demolished the Kg Alab home of one Sitti Bandorah Mahalil, the widow of the late Abdul Azis Sarikon – a sergeant who was killed during the 2013 Sulu intrusion.
Denying that police demolished the water village home in question, Jauteh highlighted that Sitti Bandorah was not living in the home belonging to her father which was built in the 1980s, as it was instead occupied by her siblings and nephews.
In a press conference on December 19, the state’s top cop also said investigations revealed that Sitti Bandorah lives in her home on the mainland and owns several other houses.
He noted that based on feedback from Sitti Bandorah conveyed to Semporna’s acting district police chief after the issue gained traction online, she indicated that she visits the area occasionally and “admitted” there were some misunderstandings during the process.
He also said the fact that Sitti Bandorah has a child who is a senior police officer reinforces the possibility that certain parties are “manipulating” the issue to weaken police’s operations to address squatter colonies of undocumented immigrants in Sabah.
“I believe this issue has been exploited by certain groups to undermine the efforts of the police in reducing or eliminating colonies of undocumented migrants’ squatter settlements,” he was quoted as saying by Utusan Borneo.
While Jauteh said that police have not received any formal reports, he cautioned that police are not ruling out potentially taking action against those found to have played a role in exploiting the issue.
Stressing that enforcement officers had not issued any threat against involved individuals during the demolition operation, Jauteh said that only “a few” unoccupied houses believed to belong to undocumented individuals near the area were dismantled.
This, he said, is because police are acting on standing directives not to demolish homes owned by citizens or locals.
When contacted by Scoop, Syahfeeq Rondin, an activist in the social advocacy group Borneo Komrad, insisted that while police are claiming that they are only targeting non-citizens’ homes, the residences of some locals have been affected by the operations.
Asserting that Sitti Bandorah’s home was partially demolished by enforcement personnel before a sudden halt in operations, he said that it is unfair to make assumptions about her connection to the home without fully understanding the matter.
“(Sitti Bandorah) grew up living in that house. Police can’t just say that it’s not her house when it’s actually her ancestral home,” Syahfeeq said.
“She and her siblings are citizens, yet their house was partly demolished as part of the operations. Authorities have left the home alone for now, but what will happen to homes in the neighbouring village, where many citizens also stay?” he questioned.
He also reiterated his objection to authorities chopping down trees in the village’s vicinity, saying: “These are big trees which have probably been here for the past 10 to 30 years. It’s possible that these (treees) are some of the earliest evidence of residents’ habitation.
“Now the first trees planted by (current residents’) parents have fallen,” he said, adding that the plants, some of which are mango trees, act as a main source of income and sustenance for villagers.
Law enforcement officers, including the police and Sabah Parks Department personnel, are understood to have barged into Sitti Bandorah’s home on the morning of December 17, ordering the residents to pack and leave.
The family and their fellow villagers had refused to leave their homes despite police threatening to arrest all of them and warning that they would return the next day to finish off their operations.
Sitti Bandorah also reportedly said that several officers, some of whom were from the paramilitary wing General Operations Force which her late husband had served, were rude to her and her family when faced with defiance.
The eviction and demolishment measures against the stateless Bajau Laut, as well as the rest of the Adat Laut community from Pulau Bodgaya, is due to the Sabah Parks Department’s claim that their homes allegedly encroach into the Tun Sakaran Marine Park (TSMP) area.
Syahfeeq previously told Scoop that this is the fourth raid held this year alone against the community, with previous operations executed earlier between June and August.
He also urged the state government to consider the community’s intention to fight for their rights to live in the disputed area by filing a court case which would determine whether the Adat Laut community or the marine parks are the actual “intruders”.
Calling on the state government to instruct local authorities to halt the operations while waiting for the court case, he pointed out that the state would face repercussions in the long term if the court were to rule in the community’s favour.
He also speculated that there is a “huge possibility” that local authorities continue to target the community due to their assumption that the Adat Laut communities are unaware of their rights – despite having lived in TSMP areas as well as the vast sea area for decades.
In June, Scoop reported that authorities demolished 138 “illegal” houses in the TSMP between June 4 and 6. The operation involved multiple agencies, including Sabah Parks, police, marine police, the Semporna district office, Eastern Sabah Security Command, the Immigration Department, the National Registration Department and the Semporna District Council.
Public outcry ensued after videos emerged showing the demolished houses being burned, with human rights lawyers Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh condemning the actions as “barbaric.”
Widespread public and media attention was given to subsequent operations, including the August 14 incident which saw four individuals, including villagers and Borneo Komrad activists, reportedly detained by Sabah Parks enforcement personnel after allegedly intervening in the demolition of illegal structures on Pulau Bodgaya.
The Adat Laut community continued to be subjected to the operations despite the assurance given by Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor on July 6 that the welfare of the community, who hold a special stateless status, remains a priority for both the federal and state governments. – December 22, 2024