Malay Exiles
Capital: Jesselton
Ruler: Muzzafar/BananaLee
Government: Tribal Council
Tech. Level: Middle Medieval Age
Religion: Buddhism
Army: 15 battalions
Navy: 15 ships
Economy: Poor
Education: Literate
Culture: Strongly Cultured
Confidence: Respecting
Projects:
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Story
One year since the boats landed. The land they found was called Sa'aba by the natives, the primary feature everyone noticed from shore was a tall mountain seemingly reaching to the heavens. The natives called it Kinabalu. 'Perhaps it should be the new state name,' Muzzafar mused to himself..
The landing was surprisingly good as the natives supported his coming. It seemed that they were... waiting for him? No. Nobody knew about this exodus.. The people called themselves Dusuns and they looked very similar to the Malays. Perhaps that's why they were so friendly. However, he wasn't complaining. The Dusuns provided him with much needed troops and nominally gave him control over most of the West Coast of Sa'aba. However, they did mention the presence of dark-skinned people invading the southern coast. It might be the Sinhalese, it might not. During the long sea trip, Muzzafar had discussed the idea of actually talking with the Sinhalese about peace, telling out his blood brother's information. While uncomfortable with the idea, most Malays agreed to it. The trip had thought them a lot. Enemies were not always enemies. But neither were friends always friends. Had not the Siamese tried to destroy them? And had not the Sinhalese let them go?
Now, after a year had passed, the requirements of survival had been satisfied. It was time to advance further. Muzzafar called a council of elders to order.
"Assembled chieftains. As you know, Jesselton has managed to survive for the past year and we have been very well established in our little enclave. However, while our land is plentiful, we haven't settled on any other points on our territory. My first proposal is to send out settlers to consolidate the small villages by building towns. I hope the village people could aid in the construction of roads between Jesselton and the towns."
The chieftains nodded agreement. They also knew what benefits having provincial towns could bring. Promotion, a better form of government, and better positions for them.
"Alauddin, Iskandar and Antonom, take two battalions each and establish the towns."
All three chieftains agreed.
Then, another raised his hand.
Muzzafar acknowledged him, "Yes, Panglima Rentap?"
"Muzzafar, I would like to propose expanding our territory into the Pedalaman Dusun. I believe I can convince them to join us."
"How so, Rentap?"
"I am a Dusun Laut. Our faction has a good rapport with the Pedalaman Dusun."
"Very good. Take four battalions of my Malay infantry with you. You may also use your own Dusun scouts as necessary. If you succeed, establish a town in Pedalaman territory. Anything else?"
"Would 15 battalions be enough to defend our lands properly?" The question came from another Dusun chieftain, Fuad.
"I don't think so, Fuad. Does everyone agree to an expansion of the army by recruitment of Dusun and Malay warriors?"
Only one had reservations about it. "Chieftains, Muzzafar. I think we should improve not only the quantity but also the quality of our troops. I've seen Sinhalese troops use fire weapons which we do not have. Would it not be beneficial to improve our technological level?"
Muzaffar thought for a moment. "Yes, that would be wise. Alright. This meeting is settled as there are no other things to be brought up, yes? I shall be making a speech to the people soon and I expect your cooperation over it as I plan to begin two new projects which will hopefully jump start us into the modern times."
The meeting then adjourned.
He had done this only a few times before, the first being the proposal of fleeing from the Sinhalese instead of fighting a losing battle. It wasn't pretty. But it allowed the Malays to survive. Now, one year later, he shall do it again. Practically the entire population of Jesselton was here, a mere 3000 civilians, but the entire population nonetheless. Muzzafar took a deep breath, and began: -
"People of Jesselton. Malays and Dusuns. The past year, and the year before that travelling the seas have united us and hardened us for the perils ahead. We were lucky to have survived all that. Now, we must consolidate ourselves as a nation. We WILL come out of this stronger! No longer shall we be underdogs but leaders in our own right! As of that, I shall begin three new projects and I will need all your cooperation in this. First, I shall establish new towns in our territory and expand further into Sa'aba. As such, I need your help in constructing roads between the towns and Jesselton. Trade will be very much improved and we will be a richer nation. I shall also develop a new training system for our armies. For too long, we have depended on simple tactics and peasant levies. Our army WILL be a professional army in all aspects, capable of defeating troops 3 times their number. And thirdly, to show our thanks to the boddhidarmas for protecting us, we shall build a shrine atop Kinabalu!
The job will be hard, it will be tough. But we ARE the people of the new state. Malay and Dusun. We are the people of Sabah. We ARE a new nation and we SHALL succeed in all our endeavours!"
"Nice..." Pangeran Ibrahim mentioned to Muzzafar. Yet another of the chieftains, he was also the most politically savvy.
"Thanks. Look, I need a favour from you. Take one of the ships and sail to Sinhalese territory. You are to request a non-aggression pact and gurantee of Sabahan soveriegnity. Try to use the religion card, too. Tell them that we are all Buddhist and should live in harmony. After that, sail to the Sinhalese mainland and give their emperor this letter."
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Orders (in Simple English.. 
)
- change nation name to "Sabah"
- spend 1 sp.point on enlarging the Army
- spend 1 sp.point on improving education
- begin Project "Civic Expansion" - build new towns as well as roads to connect them, to improve trade. Six (6) battalions are dedicated to this task.
- begin Project "Reorganisation of Armed Forces" - develop a new organisation of the Armed Forces and training regimen to improve overall quality
- begin Project "Candi Boddidharma" - build a Buddhist shrine atop Mt. Kinabalu as a form of thanks to the boddhidarma's and buddhas who protected the Malays during the Exodus
- expand into the island of Sa'aba with four (4) battalions.
Details of Candi and Army Reorg coming soon.
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Map Legend
Cyan - Mt. Kinabalu (4095m high in RL, for the record)
Yellow - Town of Kudat (establish)
Red - Town of Sandakan (establish)
Green - Town of Brunei (establish)
Cute stripey area - Expand here.
I also believe my project should be at 3/8, not 1/8. All and all, I am not surprised with the quality of this update. Its Das' NES for God's sake! 
