Malaysiakini quoted a source from the NGO as saying that the five were held after allegedly disrupting Sabah Parks’ ongoing operation to evict “illegal settlements” within the Tun Sakaran Marine Park in Semporna.

“Mukmin texted us about the detention around 11.30am, saying they were taken to the Sabah Parks office,” the source was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, acting Semporna district police chief Fauzi Abd Kadir told the news portal that police were not involved in the detentions.

“The detention was conducted for documentation and investigation purposes under the Sabah Parks Enactment,” he was quoted as saying.

On Monday, Malaysiakini reported that authorities demolished at least eight homes belonging to the Bajau Laut and Suluk communities on two islands within the Tun Sakaran Marine Park in Semporna, Sabah, in a sudden operation.

Sabah Parks director Maklarin Lakim said in the report that the operation was conducted to evict “illegal settlements” within the park.

When contacted by FMT, a spokesman for the NGO said that Mukmin and the others have not yet been released.

“They are still being questioned by Sabah Parks (authorities),” the spokesman said.

This is not the first time Mukmin has been detained or arrested, having had a sedition probe opened against him in June over videos depicting the demolition of Bajau Laut homes.