The Filipinos in Sabah, Malaysia and the Conflict in Mindanao (A Roundtable Discussion)

The Filipinos in Sabah, Malaysia and the Conflict in Mindanao: The Confronting Positions of Malaysians and Filipinos (A Roundtable Discussion)


Jean-Philippe Busson
Visiting Research Fellow
Third World Studies Center

23 May 2006 (Tuesday)
2:00-4:00 p.m.
Third World Studies Center
Basement Palma Hall
University of the Philippines-Diliman

ABSTRACT

Spanning more that three decades, the Mindanao conflict has been the subject of several studies and debates. Conferences and commissions have been organized to understand this on again, off again conflict that threatens lives and livelihoods in the southern part of the Philippines. Following Flipino journalist Marites Vitug's notion of the "selective amnesia" phenomena, the study examines the role of Malaysia in the controversy, and the potential advantages and risks of such intervention, taking into consideration the situation of the Filipino community in Sabah, Malaysia.

Amidst the rounds of peace agreements between the GRP and the MILF, this study is a modest addition to the discourse, with the view to illuminate this controversial but crucial aspect of Southeast Asian history.

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Jean-Philippe Busson is a PhD candidate at the Philippine Studies Department, National Institutes of Oriental Languages and Civilisation, Paris. He is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Third World Studies Center. He is currently conducting research for his dissertation on the Mindanao conflict and the political and security issues of the Muslim Filipino population in Sabah, Malaysia from 1965 to the present.