A 2016 image of severe overcrowding of detained individuals was recently mislabeled as the detention of Tausugs in Sabah. Image Source: AFP

The photo, depicting detainees held in severely overcrowded conditions, drew widespread concern when it was first published in 2016 and has done so again in recent weeks. Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram, the Philippine-recognized heir to the Royal House of Sulu, reposted the image while claiming it showed Tausug migrants detained in Sabah.

The post also included inflammatory assertions that Tausug migrants are the rightful owners of Sabah. In reality, Tausugs (known in Sabah as Suluks) are a migrant minority, while the state's largest indigenous community is the Kadazan-Dusun.

The misinformation on detention of Tausugs has provoked widespread anger online, adding to growing tensions between Malaysia and the Philippines over the Sabah dispute. These tensions come in the aftermath of the failed Sulu arbitration initiated by other members of the Kiram family and ahead of the 2028 Philippine presidential election.

The facts, however, are clear. AFP has confirmed that the photograph was taken at Quezon City Jail in 2016, not in Sabah. The image also appeared in Channel4’s August 24, 2016 report, "Rodrigo Duterte: on the frontline of the Philippines' drug war."

The image misrepresented by Muedzul is also seen in a 2016 article by CBS News on conditions in Quezon City Jail. Image Source: CBS News

As such, the people shown in the photograph were neither Tausug nor Malaysian. They were Filipinos detained during Rodrigo Duterte's violent anti-drug campaign, which was marked by mass arrests, allegations of extrajudicial killings, and widespread human rights abuses. During the campaign, Duterte infamously urged citizens to "kill [drug addicts yourselves], as getting their parents to do it will be too painful!" as reported by Channel 4 News. Human rights organizations have estimated that as many as 12,000 Filipinos were killed during the first 14 months of the campaign.

“The people shown in the photograph were neither Tausug nor Malaysian. They were Filipinos detained during Rodrigo Duterte's violent anti-drug campaign”

There is a dark irony in seeing one of our own country's human rights crises falsely attributed to another nation. That irony reflects a broader pattern surrounding the Sabah claim promoted by members of the Kiram family and their supporters: promises of overseas territorial claims that distract from pressing domestic challenges, including human rights concerns and persistent economic hardship.

Although Sulu lies far from Quezon City, and the province's principal security concern in 2016 was the insurgency led by Abu Sayyaf, it nevertheless remains among the least economically developed provinces in the Philippines. Those realities deserve sustained public attention rather than being overshadowed by misleading narratives or the misrepresentation of events that occurred elsewhere.

The dangers posed by misinformation in today's media environment cannot be overstated. The same photograph circulated by Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram has also previously been falsely presented as depicting Malaysia's detention of Rohingya migrants outside Sabah, demonstrating how recycled misinformation can inflame multiple controversies across the region.

“Promises of overseas territorial claims that distract from pressing domestic challenges, including human rights concerns and persistent economic hardship.”

Those who hold positions of influence, authority, or public trust must therefore exercise greater care. Misrepresenting evidence of genuine human rights abuses does not advance any cause; it only undermines public confidence and distorts historical reality.

Powerful actors include litigation funders such as Therium, which sought to profit from arbitration proceedings that pursued approximately US$15 billion from Malaysia on behalf of private claimants from the House of Kiram, further internationalizing an already sensitive territorial dispute.

And of course, as the Philippine-recognized heir to the Royal House of Sulu, Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram also bears no small measure of public responsibility. Although the Sultanate exercises no sovereign authority under the modern Philippine Republic, his words carry influence. Reposting and misrepresenting evidence of documented human rights violations risks misleading Tausugs and the wider public alike.

Finally, there remains a broader political question. As Sarah Duterte, daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, looks to become the next president of the Philippines, observers will inevitably ask whether the country's future direction will represent a departure from the policies associated with her father's administration or a continuation of them.

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