Syarif Osman

Sharif Uthman or referred to as "Rajah of Maloodoo" by Governor Butterworth of Singapore (missing in action ) was the first and last independent Rajah of Marudu from 1830 until 1845. He would be succeeded by his sons, Sharif Yassin and Sharif Hassan though they couldn't regain their father's influence. He is one of many heroes of Sabah.

Early life He was of mixed Suluk-Bajau and Bruneian Sharif descent. He was married to a Sulu princess who was the niece of the Sultan of Sulu, Sultan Jamalul ul-Azam, named Dayang Cahaya. Sharif Uthman was appointed by the Sultan of Sulu to rule and collect taxes in Marudu when the area was handed over by Omar Ali Saifuddin II to the Jamalul Kiram I.

Reign After becoming the governor of Marudu, he transformed Marudu into a kerajaan,

In the Bay of Marudu Uthman owned a fortress on the Langkon River. It was well armed and could be well defended. There was a large barrier made of tree trunks and iron chains in the river, preventing attackers going further on. Its flag was red and showed a tiger's head.

Death or wounded? leftWhether Sharif Uthman himself was killed during the battle is not clear from the eyewitness accounts. He was presumably wounded and carried off. Talbot made no mention of Uthman's fate in his report. Cochrane reported that he was wounded, but did not know whether he was dead or alive. In a later letter to the Admiralty, Cochrane gave the impression that he assumed Sharif survived; he triumphantly stated:

Cree presumed that Uthman had been wounded. Brooke, too, was unsure whether Uthman was dead a day after the battle. In the Journal Mundy, he initially reported that Uthman had been driven into the mountains. The newspaper Friend of China reported on September 17, 1845, that at the time of the report, ten Europeans and 30 men from Manila were still in Uthman's captivity as slaves. All these reports call into question the later frequently and persistently repeated statement that Uthman succumbed to his wound in the neck. The British found several Sharifs and leaders among the dead in the fortress area, but Sharif Uthman was not discovered. Another son, Sharif Yassin, fought in the Battle of Marudu and fled temporarily to Sugut. He was perceived as Raja when residing in Benggaya in 1851, and was a principal chief of the Bay of Marudu in 1879 by the British. Sharif Yassin and, after Yassin’s death, his son Sharif Hussin resided on the eastern side of Marudu Bay, and Yassin’s sister Sharifa Loya was chief of Kalimo village on the Bongon River.

We know Sandokan is based on Sharif Uthman, as Sandokan also used the flag of Marudu which was a tiger's head on a red background. And also the fact that one of the main enemies of Sandokan being James Brooke, who was also the main opponent of the historical Sharif Uthman.