Malaysia’s marginalised Sabah sea nomads left homeless after security crackdown

The plight of indigenous yet stateless sea nomads in Malaysia’s Sabah has again come under the spotlight as authorities return to demolish more homes and villages, urging the community to abandon their traditional lifestyle in exchange for official recognition.

The Bajau Laut, an indigenous seaborne community numbering around 3,000, has lived off eastern Sabah for centuries in wooden homes built over water in what have been gazetted as the Tun Sakaran Marine Park since 2004.

A security crackdown on cross-border crime since June has left around 500 Bajau Laut homeless, after authorities burned down and demolished alleged illegal structures in the park in Semporna district.

On Wednesday, Sabah-based activist group Borneo Komrad reported that state authorities were evicting the community in Budgaya island, off the coast of Semporna, and chopping down fruit trees grown by the community there.

“They have been here for over 50 years. [The marine park] came in only in 2004 and they were guaranteed their traditional rights,” the group said.

“But today they are being evicted and the Tun Sakaran Marine Park has the power to turn the area into a commercial tourism spot.”