Lahad Datu 拿笃

I am now waiting at the Kota Kinabalu airport lounge to go to Lahad Datu, a town located in the East Coast of Sabah. Lahad Datu, etymologically, is the place related to dignity.

Certainly, it would be a great honour for those living in Lahad Datu, if that place is full of dignity. However, looking back for what had happened in this town, the town has become infamous because of piracy and incursion. In 1985, about 16-20 armed foreign pirates robbed a bank by shooting randomly and killed about 20 people. Again, it was in 2013, an incursion caused by more than 200 militants, who were from the Southern Philippines, attempting to invade Lahad Datu district.

By now, the robbery and incursion are history. However, the negative impact is still there despite Lahad Datu is a beautiful land with many peaceful people dwelling there. As I am visiting this town, I hope that “peace” or “shalom” may be upon this land. May this land be transformed from being infamous to be famous and a place of blessings, and authentically be known as Lahad Datu, the place of dignity.

拿笃

我在亞庇机场休息室等候飛往沙巴东海岸的拿笃。根据语源学，拿笃是一片与尊严有关的地方。

当然，对于那些生活在拿笃的人来说，如果那个地方充满尊严，那对他们该是很大的尊荣。然而，回顾这个 城镇发生过的事。由于海盗和入侵事件，该镇一度臭名昭着。 一九八五年，大约有十六至二十名外国海盗通过随意射击，抢劫银行並杀死了大约二十人。另外一次是在發生在二零一三年，两百多名来自菲律宾南部的武装分子企图入侵拿笃地区。

如今，抢劫和入侵已成为历史。然而，尽管拿笃是一片美丽的土地，並有许多爱好和平的人居住在那里，但过去發生的事仍然对这地方有负面的影响。当我再次到这个城镇时，我希望在这片土地上会有“和平”或”平安”。愿这片土地会从臭名昭着转变为着名的有福之地，是真正的实至名归的”拿笃”，即是一个有尊严和受尊敬的地方。

The Lahad Datu has a small airport operating for the MASwings flights
拿笃拥有一个小型机场处理马航飞翼航空的班机