| Item type |
Conference or Workshop Item |
| Subjects |
300 Social sciences > 330 Economics > 331 Labor economics |
| Division/Agency |
LPPKN - National Population and Family Development Board, Malaysia: Population and Family Research Division |
| Keywords |
Bugis, Migration, Foreign workers, Social network, Cultural boundary, Political boundary |
| Additional Information |
The author is a Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya. |
| Abstract |
Bugis migration to Sabah especially the Tawau Division in the 19th Century not only had provided the workforce but also created the early Bugis community in Sabah. They had assimilated with local people and become Malaysian citizens after the formation of Malaysia in 1963. Bugis migration flow to Sabah still continues to date and it is difficult to control. This paper studies migration of Indonesian workers phenomenon, especially the Bugis who dominate a few districts in Tawau and Sandakan Divisions. In collaboration with the LPPKN, a study involving 896 Indonesian workers who responded to a survey was conducted using face-to-face interview, while 20 legal and illegal workers, respectively participated in the in-depth interview. This study focuses on survival strategies using the role of social network in assisting migration process in three phases namely pre, while and post migration. This study found that new migrants were assisted by social network to reduce migration cost to achieve successful migration. Based on the Push and Pull theory, the decision to migrate and the selection of migration destination was influenced by economic factors such as job opportunity and wages in the origin and destination which could be explained by Neo Classical Economy theory. What is more important was, this study found that, non-economic pull factors such as social network, historical links and geographical proximity; as well as culture, ethnicity, religion and language similarity strongly influenced new migrants in making the decision to migrate. In conclusion, survival strategies using trusted social network crosses political boundary has continued to assist flow of information and resources, and reduced the risk of unsuccessful migration. Ethnicity-based recruitment strategy assisted by Mandur was found to be beneficial and thus, maintaining the migration flow of Bugis to Sabah until today. |
