The party touted its multiracial concept, pulling together the Kadazandusuns from the west coast and the
Suluks and Bajaus from the east coast to form a united Sabah front.
The Regional Human Rights Commission of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RHRC-ARMM) said Filipinos, particularly the Tausugs or
Suluks as they are known in Sabah, had been shot, arrested and tortured even if they are not part of the Royal Security Forces.
(17) In 1225 AD Chinese documents record the "wealth of P'o-ni, its camphor, its large fleet, and a form of pearl worship." (18) Yet by 1371 AD P'o-ni had declined to "less than three thousand households in the town and the people are mostly fishermen," possibly due to the "Black Death" plague and subsequent sacking and looting by
Suluks. (19) However, recovery was rapid as tributary missions were sent to China in 1405, 1407, and 1408 AD, underlining P'o-ni's increasing importance in Southeast Asia trading networks.
Former Sabah Chief Minister Harris Salleh immediately issued a statement, in the wake of reports the Suluks were being singled out, and urged the police "to cease action against the Suluk community in Lahad Datu and Semporna."
Harris, president of the Yayasan Islam Sabah, based his appeal on "reports by Suluk community leaders" that police authorities had confiscated and destroyed Mykads (Malaysian IDs) of hundreds of Suluks.
Zulkiflee Mazlan, director of the veteran affairs department of the Malaysian Armed Forces, told Malaysian journalists in Selangor state that many Sabahans, the
Suluks and the Bajaus, were "descendents of the Sulu people and they have been living in Sabah for generations now."
Viado said Malaysian forces were so angry at Tausugs and Suluks that they do not put distinction between males and females anymore.
Viado said Tausugs or Suluks who had disappeared from her neighborhood had not resurfaced since their arrest "and the lack of information on their fate had sowed unimaginable degree of fear on us."
"Many Suluks from Sulu and Filipino Muslims and Christians fled Mindanao due to the conflict and the government of Malaysia opened up the door of Sabah to allow them to seek shelter and protection there," he said.
He said that in reality, many ethnic Tausugs live in Sabah and they are known there as Orang Suluk (people from Sulu).