# Sipadan Kidnapping (23 April 2000)

URL: https://allhistories.com/malaysia/timeline/2000-sipadan-kidnapping
Location: Sipadan, Sabah
Themes: Kidnapping, Sabah security

On 23 April 2000 militants of the Filipino Abu Sayyaf group arrived by boat at the Sipadan resort island and seized 21 people, 10 tourists and 11 resort workers. They took them to Jolo in the southern Philippines. All the hostages were eventually freed. The incident drew international attention. Sipadan was at that time the subject of a sovereignty dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia, which the International Court of Justice later resolved in Malaysia's favour. The first dive resort on the island opened in 1984. The raid showed the insecurity of the maritime border area between Sabah and the southern Philippines. Afterwards the National Security Council took over management of the island and nearby Ligitan. In 2004 Sipadan was made a marine park and six resort facilities were closed because of their ecological impact. Malaysia strengthened coastal security in eastern Sabah, and the raid foreshadowed later kidnappings in the Sulu Sea. At this point in the timeline (2000), Malaysia had as its head of state Yang di-Pertuan Agong Salahuddin of Selangor (26 April 1999 – 21 November 2001), with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (16 July 1981 – 30 October 2003) heading the government.

## Why it matters
The raid exposed the vulnerability of Sabah's east coast and led to years of tighter security in the Sulu Sea border area.

Ruler at the Time: [Salahuddin of Selangor](https://allhistories.com/malaysia/rulers/salahuddin-of-selangor)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Sipadan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipadan)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Malaysia: History](https://www.britannica.com/place/Malaysia/History)