Bugis of Sabah
Encyclopedia
The Bugis
people are one of the ethnic groups of Sabah
, Malaysia. The population is mainly concentrated on the east coast of Sabah, especially the districts within the Tawau Division
. The Bugis people can be easily identified by their slang, which is quite different from the slang of the native people of Sabah.
during the 16th Century as merchants and fisherman, but there is no strong evidence to support that. Only in 1840 was their arrival in Sabah
acknowledged. Ranggu (an area in Tawau) is said to be the first place they resided. They mainly work as merchants but some are also paid to fight against the pirates of the Sulu Sea
by the Sultanate of Sulu.
In the modern day, the Bugis people are considered non-native ethnics of Sabah due to the high number of Indonesian immigrants of which many are Bugis. Since 1970, several groups of Indonesian Bugis have been invited to Tawau in Sabah to work as contract workers for British Rubber and Abaka (BAL) Plantation at Table Estates, Imam Estate, Tiger Estate, Burut Estate and Merotai Estate. At that time, all of them decided to work in Sabah temporarily. But soon, they changed their plan and stayed in Malaysia until they become Malaysian citizens.
The major history of the existence of Indonesian Bugis in Sabah was after 1980. It was the time when Sabah became adeveloping country. Because of the economic problem in South Sulawesi, there are a lot of Bugis in Indonesia who came from Sulawesi to find jobs in Sabah, especially at Tawau, as construction workers, plantation workers, transportation workers and market sellers. Now there are more than 500,000 of them around Sabah. There was also a very large number of non-registered and illegal Bugis immigrants coming from South Sulawesi, Indonesia.
There is a problem of illegal Bugis Indonesian immigrants in Sabah, especially Tawau. Some of them used false documents in application for citizenship of Malaysia or Mycard. Many of these immigrants were caught by the police. Many Indonesian people have arrested for having forged My Card or passport.
The expansion of the Bugis influence to Sabah began in the 20th century when members of the tribe migrated from Sulawesi
to Java, Sumatra
, Peninsular Malaysia
and Borneo
. Some Bugis men left their origin's place forever, came to Tawau and make a new family by marriage with native citizens.
In 1980, some moved to Tawau, where they settled at Ranggu, which was founded by the chief village K. K. Salim's grandmother of Sungai Imam village, Bombalai. The settlers were traders, and later others came as workers on plantations established by the British. Later, Petta Senong, who was a member of the Bone royalty, resided in the same village. He was sent by the Sulu government to stop the piracy around the Sulu Sea. The Bugis continued to explore new places to develop Tawau town; among the Bugis settlers were Puang Ado, Wak Neke (Jawa), Wak Gempe (Jawa) and Haji Osman (Suluk).
Looking at this tribe's social aspects, because of their close connection with custom and culture they placed strong emphasis on an individual's status as well as family relationships. The Bugis prefer to marry among themselves and they are strongly against divorce because they believe it can destroy family relationships and it is discouraged by their religion, Islam
.
Bugis
The Bugis are the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi, the southwestern province of Sulawesi, Indonesia's third largest island. Although many Bugis live in the large port cities of Makassar and Parepare, the majority are farmers who grow wet rice on the...
people are one of the ethnic groups of Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
, Malaysia. The population is mainly concentrated on the east coast of Sabah, especially the districts within the Tawau Division
Tawau Division
Tawau Division is one of the five administrative sub-divisions of Sabah, east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It occupies a total of 14,905 square kilometers or 20% of Sabah's territory...
. The Bugis people can be easily identified by their slang, which is quite different from the slang of the native people of Sabah.
History
The Bugis people probably arrived in SabahSabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
during the 16th Century as merchants and fisherman, but there is no strong evidence to support that. Only in 1840 was their arrival in Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
acknowledged. Ranggu (an area in Tawau) is said to be the first place they resided. They mainly work as merchants but some are also paid to fight against the pirates of the Sulu Sea
Sulu Sea
The Sulu Sea is a body of water in the southwestern area of the Philippines, separated from the South China Sea in the northwest by Palawan and from the Celebes Sea in the southeast by the Sulu Archipelago. Borneo is found to the southwest and Visayas to the northeast.Sulu Sea contains a number of...
by the Sultanate of Sulu.
In the modern day, the Bugis people are considered non-native ethnics of Sabah due to the high number of Indonesian immigrants of which many are Bugis. Since 1970, several groups of Indonesian Bugis have been invited to Tawau in Sabah to work as contract workers for British Rubber and Abaka (BAL) Plantation at Table Estates, Imam Estate, Tiger Estate, Burut Estate and Merotai Estate. At that time, all of them decided to work in Sabah temporarily. But soon, they changed their plan and stayed in Malaysia until they become Malaysian citizens.
The major history of the existence of Indonesian Bugis in Sabah was after 1980. It was the time when Sabah became adeveloping country. Because of the economic problem in South Sulawesi, there are a lot of Bugis in Indonesia who came from Sulawesi to find jobs in Sabah, especially at Tawau, as construction workers, plantation workers, transportation workers and market sellers. Now there are more than 500,000 of them around Sabah. There was also a very large number of non-registered and illegal Bugis immigrants coming from South Sulawesi, Indonesia.
There is a problem of illegal Bugis Indonesian immigrants in Sabah, especially Tawau. Some of them used false documents in application for citizenship of Malaysia or Mycard. Many of these immigrants were caught by the police. Many Indonesian people have arrested for having forged My Card or passport.
The expansion of the Bugis influence to Sabah began in the 20th century when members of the tribe migrated from Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
to Java, Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
and Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
. Some Bugis men left their origin's place forever, came to Tawau and make a new family by marriage with native citizens.
In 1980, some moved to Tawau, where they settled at Ranggu, which was founded by the chief village K. K. Salim's grandmother of Sungai Imam village, Bombalai. The settlers were traders, and later others came as workers on plantations established by the British. Later, Petta Senong, who was a member of the Bone royalty, resided in the same village. He was sent by the Sulu government to stop the piracy around the Sulu Sea. The Bugis continued to explore new places to develop Tawau town; among the Bugis settlers were Puang Ado, Wak Neke (Jawa), Wak Gempe (Jawa) and Haji Osman (Suluk).
Looking at this tribe's social aspects, because of their close connection with custom and culture they placed strong emphasis on an individual's status as well as family relationships. The Bugis prefer to marry among themselves and they are strongly against divorce because they believe it can destroy family relationships and it is discouraged by their religion, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
.