1986 Sabah riots

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The 1986 Sabah riots, also known as The Silent Riot,^[1] occurred between March and May in various locations around the state of Sabah, Malaysia. The riots centred mainly in the capital Kota Kinabalu, as well as in the towns of Tawau and Sandakan. On 12 March, seven plastic explosives were detonated in Kota Kinabalu. A bomb was also detonated in Tawau. At least five bombs exploded in Sandakan killing one newspaper vendor and injuring a senior Police Field Force officer. The riots resulted in the death of 5 people.^[2]

History

The riots occurred in response to the results of the

It was also suspected that the riots were triggered by the losing parties including BN to bring forth a proclamation of emergency to justify a takeover by the federal government^[4] similar to those which happened in 1966 in Sarawak and 1977 in Kelantan.^[5]

Pairin, himself a former member of Party Berjaya, formed PBS barely 47 days before the elections.

A documentary on the 1986 riots was created by Sabahan film-maker Nadira Ilana released in 2012 called The Silent Riot. The film emerged as one of the winning proposals for the Freedom Film Fest (FFF) 2012.^[1]

Further reading

• Gan Pei Ling. The hushed riot of Sabah in Selangor Times

References