The Lahad Datu District ( ms, Daerah Lahad Datu) is an

administrative district Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

in the

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n state of

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

, part of the

Tawau Division Tawau Division ( ms, Bahagian Tawau) is one of the five administrative sub-divisions of Sabah, Malaysia. It occupies a total of 14,905 square kilometres or 20% of Sabah's territory. The main towns include the capital of Tawau, Lahad Datu, Kunak ...

which includes the districts of

Kunak Kunak ( ms, Pekan Kunak) is the capital of the Kunak District in the Tawau Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 13,823 in 2010. The population consists mainly of Bajau and Bugis peoples. There is also a sizeable ...

, Lahad Datu,

Semporna Semporna ( ms, Pekan Semporna) is the capital of the Semporna District in the Tawau Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 35,301 in 2010. History Semporna was founded soon after the British North Borneo Char ...

and

Tawau Tawau (, Jawi: , ), formerly known as Tawao, is the capital of the Tawau District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the third-largest city in Sabah, after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. It is located on the Semporna Peninsula in the southeast coast of t ...

. The capital of the district is in Lahad Datu Town.

Etymology

The word "Lahad Datu" comes from the

Bajau language Bajaw is the language of the Bajaw, widely known as the ' sea gypsies' of Maritime Southeast Asia. Differences exist between the language's varieties in western Sabah, Mapun (previously Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi/Sulu) in southern Philippines, easter ...

, "Lahad" means the place and "Datu" means the dignity of certain people during the sultanate era. The place name traced its roots from the migration of Datu-datu from the

Sultanate of Sulu The Sultanate of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Kasultanan sin Sūg'', كاسولتانن سين سوڬ; malay language, Malay: ''Kesultanan Sulu''; fil, Sultanato ng Sulu; Chavacano: ''Sultanato de Sulu/Joló''; ar, سلطنة سولك) ...

led by Datu Puti as a result of the handing over this area by the

Sultanate of Brunei This article includes a list of successive Islamic states and Muslim dynasties beginning with the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632 CE) and the early Muslim conquests that spread Islam outside of the Arabian Peninsula, and continui ...

to Sulu after the

Brunei Civil War The Brunei Civil War was a civil war fought in the Bruneian Empire from 1660 to 1673. Causes During the reign of the thirteenth Sultan Muhammad Ali, there was a disagreement between the son of the Sultan, ''Pengiran Muda'' ("prince") Bong ...

History

Following the acquisition of this area by the

North Borneo Chartered Company The North Borneo Chartered Company (NBCC), also known as the British North Borneo Company (BNBC) was a British chartered company formed on 1 November 1881 to administer and exploit the resources of North Borneo (present-day Sabah in Malaysia). ...

, the Lahad Datu District was established and it subsequently became the major producer of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

for the company beside

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

plantation to produce

copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from copr ...

. On 11 February 2013, several armed

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

supporters of the Sultanate of Sulu, calling themselves the ''Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo'', arrived in Lahad Datu district and occupied the village of

Tanduo Tanduo is a small village in Tawau Division, Sabah, Malaysia. The village is located about 37 kilometres from Lahad Datu town. It is the site of where the 2013 Lahad Datu standoff The 2013 Lahad Datu standoff, also known as the Lahad Da ...

. They were sent by

Jamalul Kiram III Jamalul ibni Punjungan Kiram III (16 July 1938 – 20 October 2013) was a former self-proclaimed Sultan of the Sulu Sultanate who claimed to be "the poorest sultan in the world". He was known as an unsuccessful candidate for senator in the Ph ...

, a claimant to the throne of the sultanate. His stated goal is to assert the Philippine territorial claim to eastern Sabah as part of the

North Borneo dispute The North Borneo dispute, also known as the Sabah dispute, is the territorial dispute between Malaysia and the Philippines over much of the eastern part of the state of Sabah. Sabah was previously known as North Borneo prior to the formation o ...

. In response, Malaysian security forces surrounded the village. After several negotiations with the group by the Philippine and Malaysian governments to reach a peaceful solution were unsuccessful, the standoff escalated into an

armed conflict War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

which ended with 56 followers of the self-proclaimed Sultanate dead and the others captured by the Malaysian authorities. The Malaysian side also suffered 10 lives lost during the conflict, along with an additional six

civilians Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...

Demographics

According to the last census in 2010, the population of Lahad Datu district is estimated to be around 199,830 inhabitants. As in other districts of Sabah, there are a significant number of illegal immigrants from the nearby southern

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, mainly from the Sulu Archipelago and

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

, many of whom are not included in the population statistics. The population of the district is divided among the larger communities and the total area of the district as follows:

Tourism

The district has several tourist attractions, including

Danum Valley Conservation Area Danum Valley Conservation Area is a 438 square kilometres tract of relatively undisturbed lowland dipterocarp forest in Sabah, Malaysia. It has an extensive diversity of tropical flora and fauna, including such species as the rare Bornean ...

Tabin Wildlife Reserve The Tabin Wildlife Reserve ( ms, Taman Hidupan Liar Tabin) is a nature preserve in Sabah, Malaysia. It was created in 1984 to preserve Sabah's disappearing wild animals. Occupying a large part of the peninsula forming the northern headland of D ...

and the

Madai Cave Madai Cave is a cave located in Kunak, Sabah, Malaysia. It is an integral part of the limestone hills range located within the Baturong Madai Forest Reserve. Earliest human habitation The earliest known human settlement in northern Borneo ex ...

Gallery

File:Lahad-Datu Sabah Ar-Raudah-Mosque-01.jpg, Ar Raudah Mosque. File:Lahad-Datu Sabah Anglican-Church-St-Mark-02.jpg, St. Mark Anglican Church. File:Lahad-Datu Sabah Gereja-Basel-00.jpg, Lahad Datu Basel Church. File:Lahad-Datu Sabah-Che-Yee-Khor-Moral-Uplifting-Society-01.jpg, Che Yee Khor Moral Uplifting Society. File:Lahad-Datu Sabah Guan-Yin-Temple-08.jpg, Guan Yin Temple. File:Lahad Datu Sabah Gurdwara-Sahib-Singh-Sabha-02.jpg, Gurdwara Sahib Lahad Datu. File:LahadDatu Sabah MountSilam-01.jpg, Mount Silam. File:Lahad-Datu Sabah Tower-of-Heaven-01.jpg, Tower of Heaven.

References

External links

*
Lahad Datu District Council
*
Lahad Datu District Office
{{Districts of Malaysia