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Spooky silhouette of trees

10 Taboos in Borneo Forest

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Now is Hungry Ghost Month, so it’s a good time to talk about the spiritual world. Borneo forest was used to be the most mysterious area on earth, only adventurers dared to explore it. Today, even tourists can visit our forest, but it is still full of mystery and many visitors have unexplainable experience.

Like Indians who believe everything has a soul, the locals believe the forest is the world of spirits. Therefore, we have a set of rules to follow when we go into the forest, especially the undisturbed forest. I hear many scary stories of someone whom I know breaking the rules. Below is a list of 10 Big No-No in Borneo forest.

1. Don’t Pee Everywhere

Old folks would advise you to say “Excuse Me” before you pee in the jungle, though there is nobody around. This is to inform the “invisible” entity to give way, so you won’t pee on them. Btw, any language will work as “they” can read your mind. I have relatives who didn’t believe this and one of them even purposely peed at the grave. So, at night he saw a man standing next to his bed and stared at him angrily. He was terrified for a few days until he went to the site to apologize, then the spirit left.

Never pee at termite nest, big tree and boulder, which can be the home of the spirits. Peeing at river and stream is not a good idea too. Urinate at sacred sites such as Mt. Kinabalu can bring serious consequences, case in point, a group of 10 disrespectful foreign tourists were blamed for causing a magnitude 6 earthquake. Most people think that it’s only a coincidence, but they get more angry with these fools anyway.

2. Don’t be Busybody

Our forest is rich in biodiversity, so is the forms of spirit. If you see, hear and smell something weird or unknown in the forest, just keep quiet and move on. For example, you would smell something stink or fragrant, so strong that as if it’s just next to you, or you might suddenly feel a chill in your spine for no reason.

Do NOT mention it or ask your friend what it is. It’s probably a spirit comes to check you out or tries to play a trick to lure you. If you respond, it’ll follow you. If you ignore it, it’ll vanish. My ex-classmates didn’t ignore this at Kinabalu Park, so they found 2 “extra” misty human figures in group photo. Some of my friends even hear someone calling their names or foot steps behind. No matter what, don’t go off-trail to investigate. Curiosity kills the cat.

3. Don’t Make Noise

Whoever enters the forest is an outsider invading the territory of the spirits. Usually they don’t bother until someone disturbs them with noise. If you have been to Mt. Kinabalu, you would recall your guide advised you not to be noisy. According to the locals, Mt. Kinabalu is the resting place of the death.

Student is the most annoying group. Despite advised by guide, they are negligent and soon forget about it. Then the mountain is echoed with their loud noise and laughter. Then later at night, some of them would be harassed by black shadow during bedtime. I had heard so many cases like this.

4. Don’t Swear

Jungle trekking can be unpleasant to most people, as Borneo forest is dark, warm and humid. People start to complain when they sweat profusely or get tired. Remember, something is seeing you and hearing you. Your negative attitude will be a magnet for negative energy and that includes bad luck. Sooner or later, you would see the whiner getting into trouble such as a bad fall.

Your positive qi (energy) is your best defense. Keep swearing doesn’t help, it will only worsen the situation.

5. Don’t Joke

If you see anything ugly or funny in a forest, don’t make fun or laugh at it. I know a fellow from Kuala Penyu who laughed at an ugly old tree, then he lost in jungle and almost died of dehydration. According to him, he followed his “friend” in front of him, but his friend didn’t talk and respond to him. Actually it was a spirit that disguised as his friend and made him lost in the wood.

6. Don’t Bring Raw Meat

Most local hunters know this rule. The locals tell me that meat, especially raw pork and salted fishes, will attract something undesirable. I heard story of a driver who kept raw wild boar meat in the car felt that the car became “heavy” when he drove on winding roads next to the forest of Tambunan. One of my friends even saw a tall and black human figure with red eyes at roadside of Papar.

For local people who hike a lot in Sabah forest, they would know the popular taboo named Kopunan. In the forest, you are not supposed to mention any food that is not available there, not even joke about it, for example, saying something like “Hey, is there any burger here? I wish I have a cold bottle of Coca-Cola with me.” Doing so will generate an unfulfilled desire and that negativity will bring bad luck.

7. Don’t Disturb Anything

Leave everything in place as it is. Take nothing but photograph. Keep in mind that the forest is the property of others. That’s why workers of logging companies are strong believers of Feng Shui and God of Earth (Dato). You can see them worship Dato (拿督公 in Chinese) in their forest campsites. The spirits hate the loggers so much that the workers need the protection from the God of Earth.


Pic: God of Earth (Dato) is widely worshiped in construction & logging sites of Sabah

If you have to take something, ask for permission (say to the air), and you better leave something behind as an “exchange”. However, if you take anything in national park, no matter it is live or dead specimen, it’s stealing and you will be fined RM1,000 or more. So just don’t do it.

8. Don’t Sleep Anywhere

Based on common belief of locals, Bambangan, Banana, Banyan and Bamboo are the most haunted trees of Borneo. There are many ghost stories related to these trees too. If you camp in the jungle, stay far away from them.

I have a friend who was a girl scout and camped a lot in the wilderness. She said one day a hammock next to a banana tree spin like crazy and freak out everyone. Personally I saw fireball with tail hovering in bamboo forest. My late grandmother said it’s the spirit of the newly deceased.

9. Don’t Make Fun of Wildlife

Every living thing is the “citizen” of the forest. It is understandable that people may consume them for living, but it is unforgivable to torture or make fun of them. I was told that a group of hunters caught a monkey in Trus Madi. They put cigarette in the mouth of the dead monkey and had good laugh of it. That night an unusual strong wind blew away their camp.

10. Beware of River

Without pollution, the river in deep jungle is crystal clean and we will swim. Be careful, my Long Pasia guide warned. Before entering the water in remote area, we should throw lime or a pinch of salt into the river to cleanse it. During camping, he also advised us not to sleep in parallel direction with the river. Or we would find that we are relocated to another location in next morning. This has happened to his guests. Weird huh?

Call me superstitious if you want. Well, many broke the rule but nothing bad happened to them, so you can remain skeptical. Anyway, the rules are easy and won’t cost you anything. Four rules have something to do with our mouth, so just shut up in the forest, haha.

This notice in Kinabalu Park reminds “naughty” tourists to behave themselves.

For those who don’t listen to the old folks, they would experience bad consequences such as incubus and sickness. In serious case, it could be bad weather, accident, lost in jungle or being haunted. Though most Sabahans are converted to Christians or Muslims, most of us believe there is another kind of energy living in the forest. Another reason to follow the rules is to show that you respect the cultures and belief of locals, no matter you believe it or not.

I’ve walked hundred Kilometers in forest and never harassed by any spirit. Just Respect the forest. Before I enter any forest, I “talk” to them, saying that I’m just a friendly visitor and don’t mean to disturb them. When I walk in the jungle, I praise everything I see and thank them for the nice surrounding. In almost every case, the moment I walked out of jungle, it rained, as if they waited until I finished my journey. It happens so many times that I can’t believe it’s just a coincidence. I’m trying to say, they will be nice to you if you respect them.

If you enter a remote pristine forest, it’s also advisable to bring a local villager / guide with you. The spirits would be less hostile if they see you coming with someone they know. For safety reason, the locals know the place well too. Do you know the locals appease the spirits of Mt. Kinabalu annually, to protect the climbers?


Pic: making offering to mountain spirit with 7 betel nuts, eggs, tobacco rolls and chicken

For high-risk expedition, you can request a local shaman (locally known as Bomoh) or high priest (Bobolian) to appease the spirits for a smooth journey. They also can neutralize the curse or chase away the evil spirits, in case you get one from the forest. However, if you don’t feel alright after a jungle trip, the first thing you should do is to see a doctor instead of Bomoh. It could be allergy, food poisoning, viral infection, Malaria, etc., a 99% chance that there is a scientific explanation.


Pic: a Bobolian

Hey, please share with me if you got any story ok. 🙂

Photos taken in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Is Dark Tourism for Sabah?

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In 1939, an American writer, Agnes Newton Keith wrote a book about her life in Sabah, the book title “Land Below the Wind” has become the nickname of Sabah since then. What she didn’t expect was, after more than 80 years, her house became a source of inspiration again.

The house and the book (Land Below the Wind) of Agnes Keith

In June 2021, Sabah tourism minister dropped a bombshell by urging the promotion of dark tourism, and Agnes Keith House is one of the destinations. In case you don’t know, the post-war colonial wooden house of Agnes Keith is a heritage building as well as a haunted house.

Sabah tourism minister at the launching of Dark Tourism Sabah Workshop

Sabah has been doing well in nature tourism, so many tourism players were skeptical, and some even scoffed at the idea. I heard comments such as “Is the nature tourism of Sabah jumping the shark and now we have to market ghost tours?”, “Sabah will be promoted as the Land of Ghosts?” and “Why go dark when we have plenty of sunny islands and blue sky?”

Is Dark Tourism about Ghost Hunting?

Before we think that it’s a joke, let’s keep our minds open and try to fully understand the real meaning of Dark Tourism. First of all, Dark Tourism is defined as any form of tourism that is related to death, suffering, atrocity, tragedy and crimes. Note the words “ghost” and “paranormal” are not in the definition? Apparently, Dark Tourism is not Ghost Tourism. Ghost hunting is a sub-genre of Dark Tourism for only a tiny number of brave hobbyists.

The infamous Sandakan Death Marches and its starting point in PoW camp of Sandakan

Dark Tourism is focus on sharing the dark history or story of a site or event. In fact, some tour packages already contain the elements of dark tourism, for example, the Sandakan Death March. During World War II, 2,434 Australia and British PoW (Prisoners of War) were forced by Japanese to walk about 250 km from Sandakan to Ranau. Only six survived. Today you can sign up for a walk on the same route, to experience the suffering of these victims.

Left: ancient tombs at Pogunon Museum. Right: headhunting sword

Anyway, the dark tourism sites are always linked to horrible death, so some tourists would sense something paranormal or just feeling uneasy. Goosebumps can induce a more compelling and intensified atmosphere for storytelling. Dark Tourism can be done during daytime and it’s not meant to terrify the tourists. Actually tourists may have unwittingly participated in dark tourism.

Burials by jars (left) and log coffin (right) have existed a thousand years ago in Sabah

However, like ghost movies, some tourists are interested in hearing the ghost stories, but very few of them would want to experience these. So you can see the major flaw of highlighting only ghost hunting, which is a niche market that is too small to sustain.

Is Dark Tourism Good for Sabah?

The answer is Yes. The opinions below are my own and not the views of my company or any organisation.

1. Branding of Mysterious Borneo

In the past, many western adventurers were drawn to Borneo because it’s a land of mystery and roaming headhunters. That’s why Borneo is a more popular name than Sabah in some western countries. Local tourism players have been branding Sabah as Borneo (i.e. Malaysian Borneo). Dark Tourism fits well with the image of Mysterious Borneo.

Ritual and the instruments, many are passed down from the ancestors.

When tourists visit Sabah, they would be impressed by Mount Kinabalu, Sipadan Island, Danum Valley and other attractions that are great for a sunny vacation. However, there is a lack of mystical element. Dark Tourism could complement this. For example, by sharing of Arung Salamiah’s love story at Bohey Dulang, a popular island among tourists. A remarkable destination should have a remarkable story to tell, so the tourists can appreciate it with their eyes and hearts.

Bohey Dulang Island and the Arung Salamiah legend. Locals say she could be seen walking on the beach during full moon.

Other countries can offer a better version of our mountains, islands and forest, but they can’t replicate our brand and legends.

2. Documentary of Intangible Heritage

What’s your favorite Halloween character? Werewolf? Nine-tailed fox? Mummy? Wait! Did you notice something sad? You probably can’t name any character from Sabah (Balan-Balan flying head and Pocong are not uniquely Sabah by the way). Countries with strong cultural influences also have popular mystic figures internationally.

Odou Bakanjar Festival of Dusun Tatana from Kuala Penyu. Cultural performance is also a form of storytelling to pass on the belief.

If we dive deeper into Dark Tourism, we would uncover many cultural figures mentioned in traditional customs, rituals, belief and legends. Promoting Dark Tourism will help to preserve these intangible assets like our intellectual properties. Disney and Hollywood are making billions of dollars from showing these in their movies and merchandises.

Bobolian is the high priest of Kadazandusun people. They can communicate with the dead and deities from other worlds.

Sabah villages are not short of local tales and folklore that were told by grandparents. Unfortunately, whenever I asked for such story, most of the time the villagers would say, “I don’t know. You need to talk to our elders.” In contrast, Pitas people record and own their Supirak legend, they bring their attractions to life, and the mesmerizing story can be made into a drama or literature.

Oil seepages of Kampung Minyak (Kudat). It was used to be a sacred ground. Visitor needed to sacrifice a chicken and consumed it there.

The Little Mermaid statue, which attracts more than 5 millions visitors and is listed as one of the top tourist attractions in Denmark. Sound like easy money? This is how powerful a story can be.

3. Create More Tours, Storytelling, and Destinations

Based on my experience in Sabah trip, the introduction of an attraction by tour guides is mainly informational content like how old our rainforest is, how many species of birds we have, the age of a building, etc. I respect their professionalism but I bet tourists will forget most of the presentation even before the tour ends.

Some dark history of Sabah are coming from the battles between British rulers (of North Borneo) and the natives.

The research by cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner shows that messages delivered as stories can be up to 22 times more memorable than just facts. Most Dark Tourism sites are about past events so the presentation is usually in the form of storytelling. Stories engage the emotions of listeners and keeps their attention. This will spice up their travel experience. The most memorable part of their Borneo trip could be a campfire story.

During WWII, Berhala Island was used as a prisoner station by Japanese. Agnes Keith and her husband were interned on this island for a short period.

Promoting Dark Tourism would generate interest on neglected destinations that have historical and great story, or add more unusual and refreshing angle for some tours. For example, Berhala Island was used to be a leprosy and PoW camp, Kota Batu the Brunei fort submerged in Kinarut River. A more diversified product mix will be beneficial in serving different types of tourists and gaining more exposure in new niche market.

The “scars” of Mount Kinabalu created by the Earthquake 2015

Europe has more than 10,000 castles, but Dracula’s Castle is always on the bucket list of tourists. Can you figure out why?

The Potential Drawbacks

Dark Tourism is a relatively new concept to Sabah and we need to be sensitive to the cultures of the local communities in the development of new products. The interpretation is important too. For example, it’s inappropriate to call Bobolian (high priest) a witch. Some tribes would not want to be stereotyped as aggressive people because of their headhunting past. Some places may be considered as sacred and should not be disturbed by noisy tourists. Care should be taken to leave no room for breaking of taboos and to avoid any disrespectful activity to the culture of certain social groups.

Double Six Monument is built on the plane crash site of 6 June 1976. Sabahans don’t believe that it was an accident.

List of Potential Dark Tourism Sites in Sabah

The following is a (unofficial) list of potential dark tourism sites in Sabah, where the events or tales associated with wars, disasters, tragedies, brutality and death taking place.

Japanese War Tunnel in Kunak. Someone say it’s a few km long but nobody dares to walk to the end to confirm this.

Development of Dark Tourism in Sabah

Sabah Parks is managing six terrestrial parks and three marine parks of Sabah. They are the most proactive government agency in dark tourism initiatives and able to identify 40 dark tourism sites in their parks, then seven sites (i.e. Sulug Island, Gaya Island, Bohey Dulang (2), Grave of Si Gunting, Supirak Island, Earthquake 2015 on Mount Kinabalu) are shortlisted for development.

You can watch this video to listen to the talks delivered in Dark Tourism Sabah Workshop

From 22nd to 24th July 2022, Sabah Tourism Board organised a 3-day Dark Tourism Workshop for a group of 52 district officers, assistant district officers, officials from the state Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry, Kota Kinabalu City Hall, and Federation of Rural Tourism Association Sabah.

Group photo of Sabah tourism minister with the participants of 3-day Sabah Dark Tourism Workshop

They visited Kinarut Mansion, Pogunon Museum, Petagas Memorial Garden and Double Six Monument. Talks on Dark Tourism were given, for more understanding on the concepts and government plan. The local authorities are given the tasks of identifying potential dark tourism destinations, and supporting the development of dark tourism in their districts. The workshop ended with a camping on Sulug Island, the darkest island in Kota Kinabalu.

Photos taken in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Sulug Island, the Darkest Island in KK

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Sulug Island (Local Name: Pulau Sulug) is a forgotten island. As one of the five islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park (TARP) off Kota Kinabalu City (KK), it receives 0 tourist, compared to other four islands that are visited by nearly half a million tourists annually during peak years.

The white sandy beach of Sulug Island

Gaya, Manukan, Sapi and Mamutik Island have complete amenities for tourists. However, there is nothing on Sulug Island, not even a jetty and toilet.

Sulug Island is incredibly beautiful and pristine. The moment you land on its soft sandy beach and see the emerald seawater, you would wish that you discovered this secret island earlier. For many years, this island is hidden fairly well from the tourism map. You may wonder why.

About Sulug Island

Sulug Island is the second smallest island (20 acres or 8.1 hectares in size) of Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, which is managed by Sabah Parks. It’s used to be a shelter for the Suluk or Tausug tribe refugees in the past hence the name Sulug. In Bajau language, Sulug means current, and also another term for group of Suluk tribes.

Sulug Island (Pulau Sulug) is one of the five islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park off Kota Kinabalu City. It is the second smallest island (20 acres or 8.1 hectares), 33% larger than the smallest Mamutik Island (15-acre or 6.1 hectares).

The most unique feature of Sulug Island is its long sand spit, like an island sticking its tongue out. The rest of the island is fully covered in lush forest. From the sky, Sulug Island looks like a broccoli.

More than 70 years ago, Sulug Island had a fishing village for about a hundred Bajau Ubian people (more stories on this later). It’s a miracle that such an amazing island is uninhabited and undeveloped, consider it’s only 5 Kilometres away from KK. Actually, there was a resort on Sulug but was destroyed by wind decades ago.

The long sandspit beach is a feature of Sulug Island. It can change shape and direction in different time of the year because of sea and wind actions.

Wanna go there? No, you can’t because Sulug Island is not open to public. I was able to “sneak” into Sulug island in 2006 because the ban wasn’t strict then. Even so, at first the boatman was reluctant to bring me there because Sulug wasn’t a popular choice and sending only one passenger to Sulug was less profitable. Last month I joined a dark tourism program and overnight on Sulug Island, now I can write more about it.

The Beach of Sulug Island

The beach of Sulug Island is untouched so it’s full of coral fragments and seashells washed ashore (sadly, so are some garbage). The long strip of white sandy beach is vast and extend far to the sea, more than 120 metres long and about 30 to 40 metres wide. Other than the beach area, other sides of Sulug Island are rocky beach or cliff.

Left: The crystal clear water and nice beach of Sulug Island. Right: you can see Manukan Island here

This sand spit beach would shift direction and change shape from time to time due to wind and wave actions. The strip can become shorter, wider or bent sometimes. That affects the depth of the seawater that flanks the beach, so be careful, it can be shallow today but turn into deep water in your next visit.

The beach on Sulug Island changes shape occasionally, like a licking tongue. (satellite photos by Google Earth)

However, the open area of the beach is not a right spot to setup your camp. Your tent would be blown away or flooded if a rainstorm hits. A patch of tall casuarina trees at the shore offers some good covers for dozen of camping tents, but be prepared for some itchy sandfly bites in the shaded area.

The sand, corals and drift wood on the beach of Sulug Island

Anyway, this breezy beach is perfect for picnicking and sun tanning, especially for beach-goers who prefer a secluded and tranquil seaside outing. In 2015, two female foreign tourists felt so free in Sulug that they went topless and became a local news headline. Nude sunbathing is a No-No in Malaysia.

Left: seashells and corals of Sulug Island. Right: the rocky shore of Sulug Island

Too bad no bikini girl with me. The drift wood and log laying around on the beach are excellent spots for taking photos. The sandy side of Sulug Island is facing east so you can see sunrise over KK and Mount Kinabalu in the morning, another great chance to bag some cool pictures.

You can see Mount Kinabalu, Mamutik Island, and sunrise view of Kota Kinabalu City from Sulug Island

Watch your steps when you bath, so you won’t step on the graves submerged in the sea. These graves belong to the past villagers and used to be on the land before the beach erosion. Some locals found human bones in the sea and have collected and took most of them away. At night hermit crabs would be everywhere, and some of them grow to fist size!

In the wood near the beach you would see some ruins of the abandoned resort, which are mostly engulfed by the trees and vegetation.

The Island Forest

Except the beach, the whole Sulug Island is covered by undisturbed old secondary forest. There is a gradual slope from the beach to the forested ridge at the back of Sulug Island, which is about a hundred metres high.

Sulug Island has a few popular dive sites such as North Sulug Reef

To explore the forest, you can start hiking from the wood behind the beach. On the way, you will find some traces of past human settlement such as old well and graves. The walk is about 1 kilometre in distance. The trail is narrow and not maintained regularly. Since it’s not well-trodden and has no clear marker, you could lose your way, so never go alone.

Left: dense forest of Sulug Island. Middle: sun rays through the tree gaps. Right: an old well of the bygone village

The forest is mostly island vegetation dominated by tall and slender trees, with figs, sparrow’s mango, and tembusu trees among them. The dense undergrowth such as palm, ferns, creeping vines, rattan (some are spiky) and shrubs would slow you down. The sea view is obstructed by dense tree lines so don’t expect any nice view on the top.

Near the end of the loop trail is a slippery descending route to the rocky beach, where you would see interesting plant like Pandanus (screwpine) that bears fruits look like pineapples. Surprisingly, I find no coconut tree on Sulug Island.

A Haunted Island?

Most KK folks believe that Sulug is a ghost island and a burial ground. When I was a boy, my late father owned a speedboat but never wanted to land on Sulug. We only passed by and looked at Sulug Island from the sea, I still can recall the loud cicada song on this empty island that gave a spooky vibe.

The ruins that I saw in 2006 are almost completely engulfed by the forest and sea after 16 years

If you talk to the locals, this island is not short of paranormal stories. Remember the resort I mentioned? Some guests experienced strange things such as the light turned on and off by itself. Or they were sleeping in their room but ended up laying outside in the next morning. Nobody would challenge you if you list Sulug Island as one of the 10 most haunted places in KK.

Some graves (at yellow pointer) are submerged in the water due to the beach erosion

The more recent case is a group of campers on Sulug Island were so freaked out because their tents were shaken by invisible hands. Apparently there may be some resentful spirits lingering on the island. They might relate to the following tragedy that makes Sulug earning the title of “The Darkest Island in KK”.

The most common unexplainable case is – one of your important items goes missing on the island, you search high and low but can’t find it. Don’t worry. It will reappear miraculously by itself later, at a place that you had checked. I’ve heard stories of missing vaper, cooking salt and mahjong tile.

Dark History of Sulug Island

During World War II, Sabah was occupied by the Japanese between 1942 and 1945. To overthrow the Japanese invaders, Albert Kwok (Chinese name: 郭益南) formed Kinabalu Guerrillas and led an uprising on 10 October 1943, which is known as Double Tenth Revolt. The islanders from Sulug and other islands launched the attack from the sea. They landed on Beach Road (Jalan Pantai) and the wharf. Then they attacked the military stations and set fire to the customs sheds. The rebellion killed about 50 enemies and the guerrillas took over KK (formerly Jesselton) successfully.

Unfortunately, without any backup by the ally, the victory of Kinabalu guerrillas is short-lived. Soon Japanese mobilised their main force from Kuching (Sarawak) and regained control of KK. The Japanese knew that islanders were involved in the revolt of October and planned to take revenge.

The name of Orang Tua Panglima Ali, the headman of Sulug Island, is engraved on the plaque of the monument in Petagas Memorial Garden.

A week after the uprising, an expedition force under the command of Lieutenant Ogata arrested Orang Tua Panglima Ali (or Ali Imam Abbas Sani. Orang Tua means village elder / head), the headman of Sulug Island and about 10 of his men. They were taken to the mainland via Kinarut from where they were made to walk to Jesselton with their hands tied. Panglima Ali was imprisoned at Batu Tiga and later executed together with other guerrilla members at Petagas on 21 January 1944.

Two weeks later, 30 Japanese soldiers and 20 native policemen came to Sulug Island. The Japanese machine-gunned the inhabitants, setting fire to all the houses on the island. They shot the men running out of their houses. Some villagers tried to fight back and wounded a few Japanese. The Japanese soon overcame this resistance and killed or captured all the men whom they could find.

Left: Sulug Island is nicknamed as the darkest island in Kota Kinabalu because of its tragic history. The signboard is drawn by Kartunis Binjai. Right: a news in The Straits Times on 28 October 1951 called Sulug the Widow’s Island

Of 114 people living on Sulug Island, 54 were killed and 60 survived. Thirty women and children were exiled to Bongawan as the forced labour in the paddy fields, and 25 of them died from malnutrition and ill treatment. No adult male of Sulug Island survived. When the British landed there in 1945, they found only women and children. An 11-year-old boy became the headman and featured in the article “Widow’s Island” on The Straits Times newspaper on 28 October 1951.

The islanders suffered severely from reprisals. Besides Sulug, the massacre also occurred in other islands such as Mantanani. Hundreds of islanders died but only about 50 of the them are listed in the monument of Petagas Memorial Garden with other Chinese, Bajau and Kadazandusun warriors.

Reference Books

  1. “One Crowded Moment Of Glory” by Danny Wong Tze Ken, University of Malaya Press (2019)
  2. “Kinabalu Guerrillas, An account of the Double-Tenth Rising against the Japanese Invaders in North Borneo” by Maxwell Hall, Opus Publications (2009).

How to get there

The GPS location of Sulug Island is 5.95931591065662, 115.9950597329908 (see Location Map). As there is no amenities, Sulug Island is not meant to be a tourist destination. Entry to the island is forbidden, unless you get the permission from Sabah Parks (Though I saw some tourists land on the island by chartered boat, probably without the knowledge of Sabah Parks). If you really want to visit Sulug, the following are some ways.

1. Dark Tourism

Sulug Island is special because the event is an important chapter of Sabah history during WWII. All races were working together to fight for the freedom of Sabah. A local club Dark Tourism Sabah has been promoting Sulug Island as a dark tourism destination. Sometimes they organise trip to Sulug Island, but not on regular basis. You can follow their social media for updates. Please note Dark Tourism is not entirely about ghost hunting. The group focuses more on telling the sad stories of a location.

Camping on Sulug Island under the shade of Casuarina trees. Taken in Dark Tourism Workshop

2. Scuba Diving

The beauty of Sulug Island is not merely on its surface. A few dive sites such as Sulug North Reef is one of the top 10 diving spots in TARP. Scuba divers can sign up for leisure boat dives around Sulug with the local dive operators. The average depth is 15 metres (49.2 ft) with good visibility (10 to 20 metres). Possible sighting includes turtles, nudibranch, frogfish, lion fish, giant clam, school of yellowback / blueback fusiliers, barracuda, and rich variety of soft and hard corals such as sea whips and barrel sponge. Clement Lee, a local hardcore diver, even found Rhinopias (scorpionfish) and Hairy Shrimp in the water of Sulug.

3. Standup Paddleboarding (SUP)

SUP is fun and getting popular in Sabah. Sometimes the participants take off from Kinabalu Yacht Club of Tanjung Aru Beach and paddle 5 to 6 km to reach Sulug Island. I saw the photos in the Facebook of Borneo Paddle Monkeys. I’m not sure how often they do this. You can contact Borneo Paddle Monkeys for information.

Tourists are forbidden to land on Sulug Island without permission by the Sabah Parks.

Anyway, you can always visit four other islands in the marine park for a more comfortable travel experience.

My Thoughts

Sulug Island is gorgeous but deserted, so a lot of investors think we should do something about it. The primary goal of a marine park is to conserve the local flora and fauna by protecting and nurturing their ecosystem and habitats. One of the best strategies is to leave them alone, and let them stay free from the destruction by human activities. Therefore, it’s not an utmost priority to develop every beautiful islands we have, which would degrade the natural environment.

Scuba divers on a training at Sulug Island (note the four people between the boats)

In 2019, a Japanese firm proposed to build high-end floating chalets on Sulug Island. I don’t know what’s your take. The soldiers from their country committed a serious war crime on Sulug Island. Building a Japanese resort on the graves of WWII victims? Sound like a slap in the faces of those islander heroes. Yes, I agree that this is history and we should move on. However, we can forgive, but NEVER FORGET. Anyway, a WWII monument on Sulug Island would be very much appreciated though.

Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Ancient Ghosts from the Coffin Hill of Kinabatangan (True Story)

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This is a true ghost story happened to my friend. Since today is the start of hungry ghost month of Chinese, I guess a haunting story would serve as a great opening. Everything being said here is from the first-hand source. I didn’t make up anything. Let’s start by calling the three guys in this story as Robert, David and Yusof.

Agop Batu Tulug is about 40 metres high and houses about 125 log coffin of 600 to 900 years old. The highest caves look like the eyes of a skull.

In 2005 or 2006, Robert, David and Yusof were on a road trip to tour around East coast of Sabah. One of their stops is Agop Batu Tulug, which is located next to the highway between Sandakan and Lahad Datu. Agop Batu Tulug literally means Sleeping Rock Cave in local language. It’s a 40-metre-high limestone pinnacle with a few big caves that store about 125 wooden coffins from 600 to 900 years ago. Basically you can call it a coffin hill.

Information panel of Agop Batu Tulug. In local language, Agop = Cave, Batu = Rock, Tulug = Sleeping. Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas / CC-BY-SA-3.0

As a burial site, Agop Batu Tulug doesn’t receive a lot of tourists. It’s under the care of Sabah State Museum and open to public. Anyway, it’s highly accessible and visible by the roadside, so these three guys decided to pay a visit. They bought the tickets, then walked up to the hill to explore the caves with old coffins.

At first they checked out the caves in lower level, which houses coffin of ordinary people. A staff on-duty told them that the human remains in the coffin were transferred to the museum, so they assumed all the coffins are empty, which is not true.

Agop Lintanga, the burial cave for ordinary people. Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas / CC-BY-SA-3.0

Cave burial with log coffin was used to be a practice by Orang Sungai and Murut Tangara living in upstream of Kinabatangan plain. The reason why they did it still remains a mystery. Most wooden coffin are carved from one big chunk of Belian log (Borneo Ironwood). Belian wood is so dense and heavy that it sinks instead of floating on the water.

Later Robert reached the Agop Sawat, the highest cave that has the best collection of ancient coffins. The coffins in this cave belong to VIP such as village chief, upper-class and warriors. You can tell their status by looking at the buffalo head decoration and motif carving on the coffins.

Wooden Coffin in the Agop Sawat, the highest burial cave of Agop Batu Tulug for high status people. This was where Robert offended the deceased. Credit: Photo by Jacob Mojiwat (source)

David said, “The coffins seem heavy. I wonder why these people carried them all the way up to the hill for burial?” Being the strongest guy among them, Robert took it as a challenge. He walked to a short and wide coffin that laid on a raised platform at his waist level. He grabbed one end of the coffin with both hands, lifted it up and down a few times to weigh it. “Ok ba, I can lift it,” he said.

“How about the longer one next to it?” David said. Robert did the same again to that coffin, and smiled, “Can ba, not too heavy for me.” The guys were laughing and didn’t know that both coffins were not empty. Robert has disturbed something inside.

Burial in cave with log coffin was used to be the traditional practice of Orang Sungai and Murut Tangara in upstream area of Kinabatangan plain. Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas / CC-BY-SA-3.0

After the visit, they continued their road trip and overnight in a hotel of Tawau. After taking shower, watching TV and chit chat, they went to bed around 11 PM. They all stayed in the same room with triple beds. Robert was sleeping in the middle, David at his right and Yusof at his left.

Feeling something, Robert waked up in midnight. Through his sleepy eyes, he saw two dark figures standing in front of his bed. The left one was a tall and thin figure, about 6 feet high, and the short one at the right was between 4 to 5 feet tall. Because of the bathroom light behind these figures, they appeared as silhouettes. Robert thought they were David and Yusof. He wondered why they were standing there in late night. He just ignored them and back to sleep.

The layout of the hotel room where Robert and his friends spent a night. Robert drew this diagram to tell his story.

Both figures came to his bed. The tall one went to the footboard and the short one to his right side. Then they shake the bed of Robert violently. Robert was annoyed and asked them to stop, but these two fellows didn’t quit. Robert turned his body to the right, and he saw David was sleeping on the bed. Shocked, he checked his left and saw a sleeping Yusof. Robert was terrified, “huh? Then who are these two guys shaking my bed?”

The ghosts stopped shaking and Robert could tell that they were giggling, as if they did something funny and naughty, though they made no sound. Before Robert could react, the tall ghost started crawling onto his bed and moving on top of him. The short ghost pressed his shoulder and waist, Robert couldn’t move and shout. He experienced sleep paralysis with open eyes. It’s not a dream!

The coffins with buffalo head and beautiful carving usually belong to people of high status such as aristocrat, village chief and warrior.

Soon the tall ghost was on top of his body and stared at the face of Robert. Robert only saw a translucent, smoke-like black humanoid shadow that had no face. The tall ghost pinned his hands to the bed and giggled again. Then it licked the face of Robert from chin to forehead. Robert remembers that it’s a huge tongue and he could even feel that wet and slimy tongue touching his face.

Finally Robert could sit up after struggling hard. Both ghosts leaped to the front of his bed and giggled again. Then they turned left and walked to the window and disappeared into the curtain. Robert was scared. He waked up his friends, but none of them had any idea what was happening. Robert decided not to talk about it until daytime. He only could pray and waited for the sunrise in fear.

Most log coffin are made of Belian wood (Borneo Ironwood). Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas / CC-BY-SA-3.0

The next morning Robert told David and Yusof about his paranormal encounter. The size of the ghosts matched the coffins that they played with, so they realised that they may have done something disrespectful to the deceased at Agop Batu Tulug. The ghosts just reciprocated by shaking Robert’s bed, like what he did to their coffins.

This story ghost was featured in Mysterious Borneo (神秘的婆罗洲) series in Shuang Xing channel (双星) of Astro in April 2023. “Robert” was interviewed in the TV.

Therefore, before they returned to Kota Kinabalu City, they dropped by Agop Batu Tulug again. Robert parked the car at the roadside, opened the door and faced the coffin hill. He apologised sincerely to the ghosts and said they didn’t mean to offend them. He also requested the ghosts not to follow them. Fortunately, the haunting ended after his apology.

In fact, this is not the only case. In one incident, a girl in a student group was possessed after a visit at Agop Batu Tulug. She was made to tell the others that never disturb those living in coffin hill. Just be respectful when you enter their territory and you will be fine. To learn more taboos, you may check out my article about some Do and Don’t in Borneo forest.

Photos taken in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo