Clandestine Movement in the Indonesia-Malaysia Migration Corridor: Roots, Routes, and Realities

Abstract

Drawing on fieldwork data and preliminary material from the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute GIS project, this article analyzes one such “road to Tawau.” First, it offers a brief history of two different cross-border flows to Sabah, with special reference to the routes of ethnically Bugis Indonesians who constitute the vast majority of Indonesian migrants in the state. Second, it highlights one widely-known clandestine route on Sebatik Island, where Indonesia and Malaysia share a land border that divides the island cleanly in half. Finally, it describes how a proposal to build a wall intended to disrupt clandestine movement along this route is unrealistic, and fails to take into account certain realities about migrant movement and Sabah’s porous borders. It also suggests how emerging efforts to police this particular “road to Tawau” reflect broader transnational concerns about ongoing developments in the southern Philippines.