The standoff between the Malaysian authorities and the armed Filipinos has continued with still no solution in sight.
Nunukan, Malaysia (ANTARA News) - The Nunukan Police in East Kalimantan Province are anticipating an exodus of Indonesian migrant workers from Lahad Datu, the Malaysian state of Sabah, following a conflict between the Malaysian security forces and a group of armed Filipinos.

A coordinating meeting to anticipate such an exodus was held in the Nunukan police office on Monday, Head of the Tunon Taka Harbor Security Police Unit Adjunct Commissioner Sumarwanta said here on Tuesday.

The meeting was attended by representatives of Nunukan seaport administration, customs and excise office, shipping company PT Pelindo IV and Nunukan police.

The standoff between the Malaysian authorities and the armed Filipinos has continued with still no solution in sight.

However, there is no information about possible repatriation of Indonesian migrants workers from Sabah to Nunukan so far, he added.

He was informed that around 600 Indonesian migrant workers have been moved from the conflict locations to safer areas, but they still receive their salaries.

Some 27 people including eight Malaysian policemen have been killed, sparking a political crisis ahead of elections for both the Philippine and Malaysian governments and raising concerns of instability in resource-rich Sabah state, Reuters reported.

While the violence has been contained so far to a small corner of Sabah, it signals that militants left out of a peace deal between Manila and the Philippines` main Muslim rebel group could be renewing their focus on the region.

Prolonged insecurity could also affect Sabah`s huge palm oil industry and dampen growing investor interest in energy and infrastructure projects in the state, although the main oil fields are far from the trouble.

The group, numbering about 180, say they are descendants of the sultanate of Sulu in the southern Philippines, which ruled parts of northern Borneo for centuries. They are demanding recognition and an increased payment from Malaysia for their claim as the rightful owners of Sabah.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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