Bugis of Sabah

Bugis of Sabah, are a Bugis tribe residing in Sabah, mainly on the east coast and particularly around the districts of Tawau, Semporna, Kunak and Lahad Datu

The expansion of the Bugis influence to Sabah began in the 16th century when members of the tribe migrated from Sulawesi to Java, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. However, only in 1840 did some move to Tawau, where they settled at Ranggu, which was founded by the chief village K.K. Salim's grandmother of Sungai Imam village, Bombalai. The settlers were traders, and later others came as workers on plantations established by the British. Later, Petta Senong, who was a member of the Bone royalty, resided in the same village. He was sent by the Sulu government to stop the piracy around the Sulu Sea. The Bugis continued to explore new places to develop Tawau town; among the Bugis settlers were Puang Ado, Daeng Mappata, Wak Neke, Wak Gempe and Haji Osman.

Looking at this tribe's social aspects, because of their close connection with royalty they place strong emphasis on an individual's status as well as family relationships. The Bugis prefer to marry close relatives and they are strongly against divorce because they believe it can destroy family relationships and it is not really encouraged by their religion, Islam.

The Bugis people use their own dialect known as Basa Ugi as well as their own script, called aksara Ugi, which has existed since the 12th century, during the expansion of the Hinduism in the Indonesian islands.