Lahad Datu
Town anddistrict capital
Bandar Lahad Datu Lahad Datu Town
Other transcription(s)
• Jawi	لحد داتو
• Chinese	拿笃(Simplified) 拿篤(Traditional) Nádǔ(Hanyu Pinyin)
From top, left to right: Lahad Datu Skyline withDarvel Bay in the far background, theCity Mosque, the Basel Christian Church, the Guan Yin Temple, theSikhs Temple, theHospital Lahad Datu, the Lahad Datu Library, and the Centre Point Shopping Complex
Coordinates:5°01′48″N118°20′24″E / 5.03000°N 118.34000°E /5.03000; 118.34000
Country	Malaysia
State	Sabah
Division	Tawau
District	Lahad Datu
Population  (2010)
• Total	27,887

Lahad Datu (Malay:Bandar Lahad Datu) is the capital of theLahad Datu District in theDent Peninsula onTawau Division ofSabah,Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 27,887 in 2010.^[1] The town is surrounded by stretches ofcocoa andpalm oil plantations. It is also an important timber exporting port. The town has anairport for domestic flights.

A settlement is believed to have existed here in the 15th century, as excavations have unearthedMing dynasty Chineseceramics.^[2] Just east of Lahad Datu is the village of Tunku, a notorious base for pirates and slave traders in the 19th century.^[3]

Based on a Jawi manuscript from 1408 in theIda'an language, the town is believed to be the first site in northern Borneo whereIslam was first introduced. The Jawi manuscript gives an account of anIda'an man named Abdullah inDarvel Bay who embraced Islam.^[4]

On 23 September 1985, 15 to 20 armedforeign pirates from the neighbouringPhilippines landed on this town, killing at least 21 people and injuring 11 others.^[5][6]

Anotherstandoff occurred in February 2013 and lasted for over a month between Malaysian authorities and the Filipino-based militants of the self-proclaimed "Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo" led byJamalul Kiram III^[7][8] and resulted in a Malaysian victory and creation of theEastern Sabah Security Command andEastern Sabah Security Zone.

The standoff reportedly saw a total of 68 deaths – 56 from the Sulu sultanate, nine from the Malaysian authorities and six civilians.^[9] Before this incursion, the government of Malaysia continued to dutifully pay an annual cession payment amounting to roughly $1,000 to the indirect heirs of the Sultan honoring an 1878 agreement, where North Borneo – today’s Sabah – was conceded by the late Sultan of Sulu to a British company.^[10][11] After the event, the Malaysian government halted the payment. Years later, eight of these Sulu heirs, who insisted they were not involved in the standoff, hired lawyers to pursue legal action based on the original commercial deal.^[12] The case is still ongoing.^{[needs update]}

Lahad Datu also has several palm oil refineries. ThePalm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) is located near Lahad Datu township. POIC owns and operates its own port, POIC Port Lahad Datu and received its first vessel on 1 March 2013.^[13] It consists of 1,150 acres (5 km²) of industrial land developed (with a centralised bulking facility, dry, liquid, barge and container terminals with a sea draft of 20 meters, making it one of the few deep sea ports in the world). To date, 55 companies have invested in POIC with 11 companies involved in fertilizer (making it the biggest cluster of fertilizer companies). POIC is a wholly state-owned company under the purview of the Ministry of Industrial Development, Sabah. Its Chairman is YB Senator Datuk Donald Mojuntin, and the Acting Chief Executive Officer is Mdm. Lynette Hoo (ADK). POIC was started by Datuk Dr Pang Teck Wai in 2005 and now retired since June 2020.

Lahad Datu is linked to other towns and districts viaFederal Route 13, a part of largerPan-Borneo Highway network in the east coast of Sabah. Works of constructing a new bypass road onSandakan-Tawau route has been commenced on mid 2016, to relieve the traffic congestion on the town itself. Lahad Datu is served by many different methods of transportation. Taxis, buses and minibuses are abundant and provide connectivity around the town and other districts such asSandakan andTawau. Lahad Datu Port is a container port administered by Sabah Port Sdn. Bhd.

First Palm City Centre (FPCC) along Jalan Pantai is an integrated commercial development by Titijaya Land Berhad. It consist of 2-3 storey of retail shoplots, bus terminal and anchor business, Econsave operating in this strategic business address. 1.5 km to town, 2 km to Lahad Datu Airport and 2.5 km to Lahad Datu Hospital.

MASwings, a regional airline and subsidiary ofMalaysia Airlines (MAB) provides five direct flights daily toKota Kinabalu, the state's capital fromLahad Datu Airport.

Lahad Datu has atropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.

Media related toLahad Datu at Wikimedia Commons

• Express Bus Station in Lahad Datu

• Lahad Datu District
• Towns in Sabah

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