Preservation of Sulu
Sultanate History and Rights by DD Krishna D. Kiram
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100035615757316
The journey to Sabah of Datu Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram and his 235
followers, Part 4
Honoring
the Legacy, Sacrifices and Patriotic Acts of Datu Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram,
Guro Bata Abdulhan Saradi, Guro Bata's Wife, his Son and the other 232
Followers during the 2013 Sabah Stand Off at Tanduo, Lahad Datu, Sabah.
That
day served as a recollection in History of the Bangsa Suluk/Sug People and the
Sultanate of Sulu, despite the magnificent odds faced by them and the
difficulty to be able to escape from the mighty Malaysian Thirteen BN Military
Forces during the February-March 2013 Sabah Stand-Off.
In
the early morning of Day 6, March 6, 2013, Datu Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram and
his surviving and remaining followers reached the unguarded beach, a kilometer
away from the intense Malaysian military operations throughout the Battle Zone
in Tanduo Village. They used the darkness of nights to make a breakthrough and
the thickly forested as shelter to cover their presence and kept them
un-noticed by the huge number of Malaysian Mitary Forces combing the Tanduo
village during the day.
Feeling
a little space of freedom of movement, Raja Muda emerged himself from the
thickly forest along the beach shoreline. He was immediately identified and
recognized by the two followers, who from that day commenced their trip was
uncertain of their mission to get through and get the Datu Raja Muda except
merely was dependent on Devine blessings.
Acting
on the dictate of their conscience, the two followers drifted their banca in
the guise of fishermen about 100 meters away from the shoreline. As the Datu
Raja Muda recognized them while paddling fastly the banca towards him, he
commanded the followers hiding themselves to come out.
The
banca can only carry a maximum of five persons. The given circumstance
manifested again the followers' sense of patriotism and in upholding more
importantly their voluntary services to the Sulu Sultanate and the Datu Raja
Muda. Without further delay as time was of the essence, the followers reached
the collective consensus. Once again, their dedications dictated them to
forcibly carry the Datu Raja Muda into the banca to leave with his two sons.
Raja
Muda's journey back to Tawi-Tawi occurred in broad daylight. Even prior to the
outbreak of the 2013 Sabah Stand Off into a violent conflict on March 1, 2013,
the Malaysian Royal Navy Boats were already stationed in the Lahad Datu Sea
vicinity to monitor and stop food supplies and possible rapid deployment of
reinforcing forces to the Datu Raja Muda. In the same process, Malacanang also
sent the Philippine Navy Boat assigned to bring back to Tawi-Tawi the Datu Raja
Muda and his followers. While crossing the Sabah and Sulu Sea, they pretended
and acted as marginalized fishermen. They stopped and made themselves looked
like fishermen whenever they saw Malaysian Royal Navy ship patrolled and
crossed with their path in the territorial sea of Sabah. The Datu Raja Muda
landed in an island in Tawi-Tawi nearest to the sea border of Sabah (North
Borneo). The Sulu Sultanate’s supporters in the island kept the Raja Muda and
his son’s presence unnoticeable from the other residence.
Datu
Raja Muda Agbimuddin's natural tendency to withdraw safely all the surviving
followers still remained in seclusion in the thickly forested beach, a
kilometer away from the battle zone, was his primodial consideration. His
thoughts for them became his mental and physical exhaustion and greater than
during the inhumane bombardment of the three Malaysian jet fighter planes, the
day and night massive shelling and combing of the area by the thirteen
Battalions of Malaysian Military and Police in the battle zone and against the
pounding of massive shelling of their helpless situation in Tanduo village.
The
Datu Raja Muda was bewildered as to whether or not to keep and maintain the
secrecy of his presence and security in the island or to exercise his fresh
freedom of mobility to openly and quickly secure means of transportations to
withdraw the surviving followers.
On
Day 7 of March 7, 2013, a day after he was withdrawn, he ordered three batches
of non-powered engine bancas to sail in the night. The bancas were paddled by
volunteering residence of the island at the direction of two same persons that
withdrew the Raja Muda. They passed through un-noticeably by the Malaysian or
Philippine Navy boat guarding and monitoring closely the expected possible exit
passage of the Datu Raja Muda.
As
the Datu Raja Muda was not present to make the decisions and to direct
dispositions of remarkable tolerance as the three bancas cannot transport them
all, the followers showed once more their sense of volunteerism. The degree of
executing the withdrawal was very fast without time consumed in respect to the
question of who will join first.
The
three un-motorized bancas left the beach before mid-night of March 7, 2013,
with still twenty-three surviving followers remained in the thick-forested
beach. They utilized traditional compass liked the stars and sparkling lights
of underlying islands to determine the directions of their path to freedom.
Amidst the darkness and stillness of the night that almost made them deaf
coupled with the strong sea current between Sabah and Tawi-Tawi, they have to
re-route their courses upon seeing lights appeared from a suspected boats and
horizons. The situations surrounding them brought the three bancas apart from
each other. For nearly five hours, they sailed and paddled their bancas through
the Sabah Sea without having been detected by the Malaysian Royal Navy.
One
of the bancas carrying 37 surviving followers realized upon daybreak that they
paddled their bancas' course towards the Philippine Navy. They were intercepted
and treated as humanely as possible and as Filipino citizens by Officers and
Men and Women in Uniform in the Philippine Navy boat. They were brought to its
Base in Bata-Bata, Panglima Sugala, Tawi-Tawi, for interrogation. The
litigation of the case of the thirty-seven followers, where three of them
already succumbed to natural death, is not yet resolved despite of no witnesses
against them since 2013.
Un-perturbed
by faith of the 37 followers, another three un-motorized banca, a little bit
smaller than the first three bancas, left from the island in the evening of Day
8 of March 8, 2013. The mission was to get through and bring back the last 23
remaining followers still in the beach of Sabah.
At
this stage, the evacuation and survival of the 23 were done despite the
absolute subjectivity of their physical strength during the more than 10 hours
paddling the bancas in a round trip. Just liked the blowing of the winds to
preserve the freshness of the sea from the foulness as a result of a prolonged
calm, urged them, as volunteers, to save the 23 lives in accordance with the
fundamental and absolute ideality and destiny of the Sulu Sultanate’s hope for
the survival of its ancestral rights and patrimony. That subjectivity in the
recent time was fought against the Thirteen (13) Battalions Malaysian Forces
that led the 2013 Sabah Stand Off watered by blood and soul of the 235
followers.
To be
continued.
Abraham
J. Ibarani-Idnirani
Chairman
Center
for Studies of History of
Sulu
Archipelago
March
13, 2021
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Image by Wikimedia Commons, Cccefalon
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