I would like to refer to the letter Umno Sabah not laden with imports by Simon Tombug. In his letter, Simon said that he disagreed with the idea of Umno in Sabah as it meant Muslim domination and this would not be fair to the Kadazandusuns and Muruts, who are mostly Christians. I agree with Simon on this point.

However, I strongly disagree with Simon when he said that the it is not true that Indonesian and Filipino immigrants do not gather under the Umno flag. Living here in Sabah, and particularly in the east coast of Sabah, I know this is not true. Simon also went on to say that immigrants who came from the Sulu Islands and Sulawesi before the formation of the Philippines and Indonesia should not be considered as immigrants.

First of all, many of the Filipino Muslims and Indonesian Bugis were used by Umno to thwart the massive support for PBS by Sabahan natives. There are existing evidences to prove this. For example the creation of Kampung Sabah Baru in Lahad Datu. This kampung was created shortly after Umno's coming to Sabah. And all the locals living around this kampung, for example at Kampung Binuang, know that the settlers in Kampung Sabah Baru are mostly Filipino Muslim immigrants. The people of this kampung are mostly Umno supporters loyal to the former state assemblyman Yusuf Jamli. This is just one example.

In his book Harris Salleh of Sabah , former chief minister Harris Salleh himself said that the influx of illegal immigrants from the Phillippines and Indonesia were all part of the federal government's plan to change the voting pattern in Sabah. This is explicitly stated in the book. This was because an increasing number of native Sabahans (i.e Kadazandusuns) preferred to vote for parties which were vocal in demanding state rights.

And contrary to Simon's statement, many of the immigrants from Sulawesi and the Sulu Islands came to Sabah after the creation of the Phillippines and Indonesia. The first major influx of Filipino Muslims to Sabah was in the early 1970s, during the outbreak of a separatist war in Mindanao by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

By the late 1970s, the presence of these immigrants had become synonymous with squatter colonies and the rising crime rate. Former chief minister Fuad Stephens himself remarked that these immigrants were 'dirtying' Sabah. He had vowed to expel them from the state but unfortunately, his untimely death brought an end to the plan.

Most of the Bugis immigrants too, are recent immigrants to Sabah. Though I admit that in the Tawau district, the Bugis settlers have been there since the 1950s and that their Malaysian citizenship is valid, many others came here during the palm oil boom in the 1970s.

Living here in the east coast of Sabah, I have personally met many Bugis who admitted their recent arrival to Sabah. Traditionally, the Bugis have had little connection to the state. If one visits the state museum in Kota Kinabalu, one will not find the Bugis being listed as one of the native communities of Sabah.

Another point Simon raised is that most of the Kadazandusun Muslims embraced Islam during the reign of the Brunei and Sulu sultanates. During the reign of these two sultanates in Sabah, only the Idahans and Bisayas embraced Islam. However, they are a small community compared to the rest of the Kadazandusuns.

The Bisayas are concentrated mainly in Beaufort and Kuala Penyu. Whereas the Idahans are concentrated mainly in Lahad Datu. A majority of Kadazandusun Muslims were Islamicised during the Usno era. The aggressive propagation of the faith led to the creation of Muslim communities in areas such as Kundasang, Ranau, Keningau and Kinabatangan.

And it is no secret that Umno has now taken the place of Usno in the propagation of Islam. This is evident from the presence of Yayasan Dakwah Islam Malaysia (Yadim) and other Muslim missionary bodies during Umno-sponsored programmes in areas such as Ranau and Kundasang. Thankfully, the propagation of Islam no longer carries an aggressive face as was the case during Usno's rule.

Simon also said the people living in Brunei, Sabah and Sulu considered themselves as living in the same country before the arrival of the British. This is another point for debate. As opposed to Simon's views, many of the Kadazandusuns and Muruts considered the Bruneians and the Sulus as invaders.

I believe Simon should check on the history of Sabah to find out more about this. For example, the Kadazandusuns at one stage revolted against the Brunei tax collectors in the Putatan area. Other battles occurred in other parts of Sabah like Kinabatangan and Semporna. The local Kadazandusuns never submitted to Islam too, the religion of their colonisers, except for the Bisayas and Idahans.

Even Simon's admission that Sabah is a Muslim-majority state cannot be totally verified. At the time when Sabah joined Malaysia, the Muslim percentage in the state was at about 37%. The percentage of Muslim population in Sabah at this time might be somewhere around 50%.

But then again the number of Muslims who are foreigners and illegal immigrants should be taken into account. This is because a majority of the immigrants from the southern Phillippines and Indonesia are Muslims. There are still many of them who carry fake identity cards - as proven by daily reports in Sabahan newspapers - as well as those who carry temporary identity documents. And then, there is also the number of naturalised West Malaysian Muslims.

Lastly, I would like to admit that Datuk Pandikar Amin Mulia, Ampung Puyong and Patawari Patawe were all born and bred in Sabah. I never disputed this. I only pointed to their ethnicity, to try and establish the fact that the Sabah Umno is not dominated by the indigenous people of Sabah.