Again about Tawau

Indonesian confrontation[edit]

Main article: Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation

The Tawau Konfrontasi Memorial.

Due to the its exposed location near the international border with Indonesia, Tawau become the main point of the conflict during the confrontation. In preparation for the impending conflict, Gurkhas were stationed in the town with other units including the "British No. 2 Special Boat Section" under Captain DW Mitchell.^[18][19] Australian River-class destroyer escorts were stationed in Cowie Bay and a squadron of F-86 Sabre aircraft flew over Tawau daily from Labuan.

In October 1963, Indonesia moved their first battalion of the Korps Komando Operasi (KKO) from Surabaya to Sebatik and opened several training camps near the border in eastern Kalimantan (now North Kalimantan).^[18][20] From 1 October to 16 December 1963, there were at least seven shootings along the border resulting in three Indonesians deaths. On 7 December 1963, an Indonesian Tupolev Tu-16 bomber flew over Tawau bay and bombed the town twice.^[21]

By mid-December 1963, Indonesian had sent a commando unit consisting of 128 volunteers and 35 regular soldiers to Sebatik.^[19] Their aim was to take Kalabakan, then invade Tawau and Sandakan.^[19] On 29 December 1963, the Indonesian unit attacked the 3rd Royal Malay Regiment unit.^[19] The Indonesians managed to throw several grenades into the totally unprepared Malay Regiment's sleeping quarters.^[19] The attack resulted in eight Malay soldiers killed and nineteen wounded.^[18] Malaysian armed police eventually drove the attackers north after a two-hour battle.^[18]

In 1964, the situation remained tense in Tawau. A group of eight Indonesians were detained while trying to poison the water supply of the town. On 12 May 1964, there was a bombing attempt on the Kong Fah cinema.^[22][23] At the end of January 1965, a night time curfew was imposed in Tawau to prevent attackers from contacting the approximate 16,000 Indonesians living there. By the end of February 1965, 96 of the 128 Indonesian volunteers had been killed or captured, around 20 successfully retreated to Indonesia, and 12 remained at large.^[18] On 28 June 1965, an attempt by Indonesian troops to invade eastern Sebatik was repelled by a heavy bombardment by Australian destroyer HMAS Yarra.^[24][25] In August 1965, an unknown assailant made an attempt to blow up a high-tension electricity pylon while in September 1965, a logging truck was destroyed by a land mine.^[26] The confrontation largely ended 12 August 1966, and in December there was a complete ceasefire in Tawau.^[27]

Government and International relations[edit]

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Malaysia

Indonesia has a consulate in Tawau^[28] and the town has twin town arrangements with Zhangping, China^[29] and Pare-Pare, Indonesia.^[30]

Tawau Municipal Council building.

There are two members of parliament (MPs) representing the two parliamentary constituencies in the district: Tawau (P.190) and Kalabakan (P.191). The area is represented by six members of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly representing the districts of: Balung; Apas; Sri Tanjung; Merotai; Tanjung Batu; and Sebatik.^[31]

The town is administered by the Tawau Municipal Council (Majlis Perbandaran Tawau). As of 2016, the President of Tawau Municipal Council is Alijus Sipil^[32] who take over from Datuk Ismail Mayakob after serving for six years. The area under the jurisdiction of the Tawau District is the 2,510-hectare (25.1 km²) town area, 3,075-hectare (30.75 km²) surrounding populated area, 568,515 hectares (5,685.15 km²) of rural land and 38,406 hectares (384.06 km²) of adjacent sea area .^[33]

Security[edit]

Today, Tawau is one of the six districts that involved in the eastern Sabah sea curfew that have been enforced since 19 July by the Malaysian government to repelling any attacks from militant groups in the Southern Philippines.^[34]

Geography[edit]

Shoplots at Sabindo Square.

Tawau is on the south-east coast of Sabah surround by the Sulu Sea in the east, Celebes Sea to the south and shares a border with East Kalimantan (now North Kalimantan).^[33][35][36] The town is approximately 1,904 kilometres from the Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur and is 540 kilometres south-east of Kota Kinabalu.^[37] The main town area is divided into three sections named Sabindo, Fajar and Tawau Lama (Old Tawau).^[38] Sabindo is a plaza, Fajar is a commercial area while Tawau Lama is the original part of Tawau. Almost 70% of the area surrounding Tawau is either high hills or mountainous.^[39]

Climate[edit]

Tawau has a tropical rainforest climate under the Köppen climate classification. The climate is relatively hot and wet with average shade temperature about 26 °C (79 °F), with 29 °C (84 °F) at noon and falling to around 23 °C (73 °F) at night. The town sees precipitation throughout the year, with a tendency for November, December and January to be the wettest months, and February and March become the driest months. Tawau mean rainfall varies from 1800 mm to 2500 mm.^[40][41]

[hide]Climate data for Tawau
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	31.6 (88.9)	31.4 (88.5)	31.9 (89.4)	32.3 (90.1)	32.4 (90.3)	31.8 (89.2)	31.3 (88.3)	31.5 (88.7)	31.7 (89.1)	31.9 (89.4)	32.0 (89.6)	31.9 (89.4)	31.8 (89.2)
Daily mean °C (°F)	26.1 (79)	26.1 (79)	26.6 (79.9)	27.0 (80.6)	27.2 (81)	26.9 (80.4)	26.4 (79.5)	26.6 (79.9)	26.5 (79.7)	26.7 (80.1)	26.7 (80.1)	26.3 (79.3)	26.6 (79.9)
Average low °C (°F)	22.4 (72.3)	22.3 (72.1)	22.6 (72.7)	23.1 (73.6)	23.5 (74.3)	23.3 (73.9)	22.8 (73)	22.9 (73.2)	22.7 (72.9)	23.0 (73.4)	23.0 (73.4)	22.6 (72.7)	22.8 (73)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	138.3 (5.445)	101.8 (4.008)	100.5 (3.957)	89.8 (3.535)	126.3 (4.972)	162.2 (6.386)	207.3 (8.161)	201.6 (7.937)	178.7 (7.035)	170.5 (6.713)	150.3 (5.917)	135.5 (5.335)	1,762.8 (69.402)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	13	11	10	10	12	12	14	13	12	13	13	13	146
Mean monthly sunshine hours	182.5	183.8	216.5	222.6	231.1	191.6	216.2	218.9	198.3	198.1	193.3	194.0	2,446.9
Source: NOAA[42]

Demography[edit]

Ethnicity and religion[edit]

The Malaysian Census 2010 Report indicates that the whole Tawau municipality area has a total population of 397,673.^{[2][note 2]} The town population today is a mixture of many different races and ethnicities. Non-Malaysian citizens form the majority of the town population with 164,729 people. Malaysian citizens in the area were reported divided into Bumiputras (Racially divided among Ethnic Malays (Cocos Malays, Buginese people and minorities of Javanese people), Bajau/Suluk, Kadazan-Dusun and Murut including (Tidong) sub-ethnic group) (134,456), Chinese (40,061), Indian (833) and others (mostly non-citizens) (6,153).^[2]

The non-Malaysian citizens are mostly from Indonesia.^[43] The Malaysian Chinese, like other places in Sabah, are mostly Hakkas who arrived after British rule ended. Their original settlements are around Apas Road which was originally an agricultural field.^[44][45] The Bajau, Suluk and Malays are mostly Muslims. Kadazan-Dusuns and Muruts mainly practice Christianity though some of them are Muslim. Malaysian Chinese are mainly Buddhists though some are Taoist or Christians. There is a small number of Hindus, Sikhs, Animists, and secularists in the town.

The majority of non-citizens are Muslims, though some are Christian Indonesian who are mainly ethnic Florenese and Timorese that arrived since the 1950s.^[46][47] A small number of Pakistanis also in the town, mainly working as shop or restaurant owners. Most non-citizens work and live at the plantation industry. Some of the migrant workers have been naturalised as a Malaysian citizens, however there are still many who live without proper documentation as illegal immigrants in the town with their own unlawful settlement.^[43][46]

• 

  Al-Kauthar Mosque, the largest mosque in Sabah.^[48]
 
• 

  The Holy Trinity Church, a Catholic church in Tawau.
 
• 

  Pu Zhao Temple, a Buddhist lodge temple in Tawau.
 
• 

  Thirumurugan Temple, a Hindu temple in Tawau.

Tawau

Tawau (Malaysian pronunciation: [ˈta wau], Jawi: تاواو‎, Chinese: 斗湖; pinyin: Dǒu Hú) formerly known as Tawao, is a town and administrative centre of Tawau Division, Sabah, Malaysia. It is the third-largest town in Sabah, after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. It is bordered by the Sulu Sea to the east, the Celebes Sea to the south at Cowie Bay^{[note 1]} and shares a border with North Kalimantan. The town had an estimated population as of 2010 of 113,809,^[2] while the whole municipality area had a population of 397,673.

Before the founding of Tawau, the region around it was the subject of dispute between the British and Dutch spheres of influence. In 1893, the first British merchant vessel sailed into Tawau, marking the opening of the town's sea port. In 1898, the British set up a settlement in Tawau. The British North Borneo Chartered Company (BNBC) accelerated growth of the settlement's population by encouraging the immigration of Chinese. Consequent to the Japanese occupation of North Borneo, the Allied forces bombed the town, in mid-1944, razing it to the ground. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, 2,900 Japanese soldiers in Tawau became prisoners of war and were transferred to Jesselton. Tawau was rebuilt after the war and by the end of 1947 the economy was restored back into its pre-war status. Tawau was also the main point of conflict during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation from 1963 to 1966. During that time, it was garrisoned by the British Special Boat Section, and guarded by Australian Destroyers and combat aircraft. In December 1963, Tawau was bombed twice by Indonesia and shootings occurred across the Tawau-Sebatik Island international border. Indonesians were found trying to poison the town's water supply. In January 1965, a curfew was imposed to prevent Indonesian attackers from making contact with Indonesians living in the town. While in June 1965, another attempted invasion by the Indonesian forces was repelled by bombardment by an Australian Destroyer. Military conflict finally ended in December 1966.

Among the tourist attractions in Tawau are: The Tawau International Cultural Festival, Tawau Bell Tower, Japanese War Cemetery, Confrontation Memorial, Teck Guan Cocoa Museum, Tawau Hills National Park, Bukit Gemok, and Tawau Tanjung Markets. The main economic activities of the town are: timber, cocoa, oil palm plantations, and prawn farming.

History[edit]

Like most of part of Borneo, this area was once under the control of the Bruneian Empire^[3] in the 15th century before been ceded to the Sultanate of Sulu between the 1600s^[4] and 1700s^[5] as a gift for helping the Bruneian forces during a civil war that happened in Brunei. The name Tawao was used on a nautical charts by 1857,^[6] and there is evidence of a settlement by 1879. The East India Company had establish a trading post in Borneo, though there was no significant activity by the Dutch on the east coast.^[7] In 1846, Netherlands formed a treaty with the Sultan of Bulungan, where the latter assured the Dutch control of the area.^[7] When the Dutch began to operate in 1867, the Sultan married his son to the daughter of the Sultan of Tarakan. Around this time, the Dutch sphere of influence reached the Tawao. They controlled the area north of Tawao, overlapping an area controlled by the Sultan of Sulu.^[7]

In 1878, Sultanate of Sulu sold the southern part of his land bounded by the Sibuco River to a Austro-Hungarian consul Baron von Overbeck, who later tried to sell the territory to the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Italy for use as a penal colony but failed, leaving Alfred Dent to manage and establishing the British North Borneo Chartered Company (BNBC).^[8] The BNBC negotiated in the 1880s with the Dutch for a definition of a boundary between the area conferred by the Sultan of Sulu and the area that the Dutch claimed from Sultan of Bulungan to settle a dispute that arising from the unknown exact location of the real border between the territory that was held by the Sultanate of Sulu and the Sultanate of Bulungan.^[7] On 20 January 1891, a final agreement was reached on a line along 4° 10' north latitude – on the central division of the Sebatik Island.^{[7][note 3]} In the early 1890s, approximately 200 people lived in the Tawao settlement, mostly immigrants from Bulungan in Kalimantan, and some from Tawi-Tawi who had fled from Dutch and Spanish rule.^[9][10][11] The settlement was renamed from Tawao to Tawau. Most of those who fled from the Dutch colonisation continued trading with the Dutch.^[9] In 1893, a British vessel S.S. Normanhurst sailed into Tawau with a cargo to trade. In 1898, the British built a settlement which later grew rapidly when the BNBC sponsored the migration of Chinese to Tawau.^[12][13]

Japanese civilians and soldiers prior to their embarkation to Jesselton, the bell tower can be seen behind.

On 16 December 1941, during World War II, the Japanese invasion of Borneo began. After the first landing in Miri, the Japanese moved along the coastline of Borneo from the oil fields of Kuching and towards Jesselton. Life in Tawau continued as usual until 24 January 1942 when the Japanese were sighted off Batu Tinagat. The district officer Cole Adams and his assistant were expecting an attack at the shipyard but were instead arrested by the Japanese.^{[note 4]} The Allies began counterattacking the Japanese in mid-1944 with the bombing of Tawau. From 13 April 1945, six massive air strikes were made on town, concentrating on the port facilities. The last and largest of these attacks was on 1 May 1945 when 19 Liberator bombers bombed Tawau until it was completely razed to the ground.^[14]After an unconditional surrender of the 37th Japanese Army under Lieutenant General Masao Baba in mid-September at Labuan, 1,100 Australian soldiers in Sandakan under the command of Lt. Col. JA England marched into the Japanese bases at Tawau. A total of 2,900 Japanese soldiers of the 370th battalion under Major Sugasaki Moriyuki were taken as prisoners of war and transferred to Jesselton.^[15][16]

An aerial view of Tawau town in 1947.

At the end of the war, the town had been largely destroyed by bombing and fire; the Bell tower was the only intact pre-war structure. Tawau quickly recovered. Though almost all the shops were destroyed, a report by The British North Borneo Annual Report in 1947 wrote that "the pre-war economy was largely made towards the end of 1947". In the first six months post-war, the British rebuilt 170 shops and commercial buildings. By 1 July 1947, subsidies for the purchase of rice and flour were introduced.^[17]