INTRODUCTION:
The Philippines is a very
diverse nation. Its tradition, culture and way of living can be considered as a
result of a grand mixture of different races that came into the country as a
result of trade, migration and colonization. Such development went through
because the country is one of the studded islands in the South-East Asia region
and its location is one of the ideal trade routes going to the Pacific and
China. Due to those established connections, new ties are born between the
country’s neighboring and distant countries. Moreover, it is not only entrepreneurship
that went on between these countries but also the spread of religion and
beliefs together with the marriage and engagement of different nations’ people.
One of the countries that
built such connection with the country is Malaysia. The capital of Malaysia is
only 2,402 km away from the southest tip of the country (Mindanao). Though, the nearest
point (Sabah) of Malaysia is only 844 km away from Mindanao [1]. It is just an
hour or two of boat ride across the Celebes Sea. A great interaction was
instituted between Mindanao and Sabah. Both areas share almost the same culture
and a common religion. According to historical accounts, Islam arrived in the
country from the southern areas, it could be possibly theorized that the Malays’
interactions with the natives molded them into being Muslims. Furthermore, due
to such short distance between islands, a regular crossing of boarders made
strong ties [2].
Time has passed but it has
never severed the ties made. It only bonded two different nationalities deeply.
Though, there came a time that the territory of Sabah was disputed by the two
countries. The Philippines claim that they have legal and historical accounts
that would support their claim to the territory. Records show that Sabah or
formerly known as North Borneo was granted to the Sultanate of Sulu after it
helped the Sultanate of Brunei against his enemies, however, it was relinquished
due to the intervention of Spain and United Kingdom during the Colonial Age. Nevertheless,
the dispute between the countries’ government never affected the good relations
of the locals. As of today, those good relations resulted into the issue of
illegal migrations of Filipinos from Mindanao into that Malaysian region [3].
And the record of the most inhabited region by illegal migrant Filipinos is the
region of Kota Kinabalu [4].
[1] http://www.philstar.com/education-and-home/2013/03/14/919440/historical-facts-about-sabah-filipinos-must-know
[2] http://philippineclaimoversabah.blogspot.com/
[3] http://www.slideshare.net/JewelMercader/illegal-immigrants-in-sabah
[4] http://www.sayangsabah.com/en/permanent-committee-on-illegal-immigrants-to-be-established/
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