Abstract
Irregular migrants in Sabah live in economic precarity and face irreversible consequences when confronted with immigration laws and policies that criminalize their irregularity. The strict enforcement of these laws and policies would often result in raid, arrest, detention, and forced repatriation. In light of this harsh reality, the introductory chapter (chapter 1) of Irregular Migrants and the Sea at the Borders of Sabah, Malaysia: Pelagic Alliance begins by posing a basic question: “Why do deported irregular migrants return, time and again, despite the serious risks of being caught?” (p. 1).
The book's main focus is on irregular migrants from southern Mindanao who self-identify as Suluk (Tausug), Bajau (Samal), Visayan, Illongo and Cebuano. Despite this main focus, most of the irregular migrants that the author interviewed express mixed maritime heritages, which is indicative of their diverse backgrounds. This diversity is made clear by the author when identifying them in the book. In shedding light on the notion of home, which these irregular migrants found compelling when making the decision to return to Sabah, the introductory chapter notes how it seeks to incorporate “important elements of migrant life amidst ongoing state scrutiny: alliances and networks, both human and non-human, and the ways in which these motivate” them to make that decision (p. 1).
The book attempts to demonstrate how the sea, the Sulu Sea, in particular, being an “underappreciated agent” (p. 2), provides refuge and strength to irregular migrants in Sandakan, Sabah who are forced to navigate perilous implications engendered by their irregularity. The author uses the term “pelagic alliances” to refer to the relationship that this group of people has with the Sulu Sea. This approach, which, as the author highlights, “hopes to illuminate the powerful nature of human-nonhuman relations in order to change the way we perceive human mobility amid structural constraints,” is necessary given the heavy emphasis of the existing literature on either the push and pull factors of irregular migration in Sabah or the socio-political implications of such migration (p. 5). The voices of irregular migrants centered in the introductory chapter demonstrates the unique connection that the community has to the sea, which they describe as persekutuan (a country and an ally) (p. 3), while encountering immigration and border policing and its consequences.
The introductory chapter of the book, which also situates the migration crisis in Sabah, is followed by four other chapters which embody separate case studies involving various groups of people within the irregular migrant community living in Sandakan, Sabah such as men, women, and youths. These case studies capture the different aspects of irregular migration in that place and how the relationship that irregular migrants have with the waters of the Sulu Sea changes in the face of Malaysia's immigration and border enforcement regime.
Chapter 2 of the book beautifully dives into the concept of sini (here) articulated by irregular migrants to substantiate their claims to the right against forced repatriation—in other words, the right to live and remain freely in Sabah. “Kami urang ‘sini’” (we are from here) would be commonly uttered by members of the community when talking about the severe implications of the immigration laws and policies to which they are subjected. What is vital to note is how they assign meaning to sini to identify themselves. Sini, according to an irregular migrant who works as a street fruit seller, refers to the “whole place” (p. 37)—a place not only confined to Sandakan, but the state of Sabah in its entirety. A 77-year old Suluk woman explains poetically that sini means “any land that is dampened by the sea, that's where we’re from. From one end to the other. Where the earth is licked by the water, and the sea embraced by land” (p. 62). A boatman in his thirties points out how he “belongs wherever the sea is” (p. 63). Sini, he explains, signifies a perigi (well) and a wall—the perigi represents the sea and the wall represents the islands that surround the sea (p. 63). The way in which meaning is assigned to the word “sini”, which ties their very existence as a human being to a place instead of the rigid notion of race—a place that transcends artificial borders that were drawn up during the colonial period, which is intrinsically link to the process of racialization and othering—is demonstrably profound.
In chapter 3, the author unveils the experiences of tinggalan (left behind) women whose husbands were forcibly removed from Sandakan for breaching the state's immigration laws. This chapter brings to light the strong connection that the tinggalan women have to the Sulu Sea, which helps them define the masculine traits such as licak (flexible) and liat (hardy or tough) in their partners, which they find appealing. The author also highlights how a tinggalan woman named Elizabeth views the sea as “romantic and that any man who worked and knew the sea could menyelami perasaan (dive into emotions)—very much an intentional pun” (p. 80). The experiences of the tinggalan women discussed by the author show how the sea becomes an important frame of reference for these women in remembering the romantic lives they had with their partners as they collectively find ways to deal with the pain of separation and the pressure from their community to cease being lone women by entering into new marriage.
Chapter 4 of the book discusses the perilous journeys that deported irregular migrants often embark on to return to Sabah. Personal stories related to the author illustrate the various ways the returnees negotiate literally and spiritually with the sea—guided by their maritime knowledge—in the hope of surviving their journeys amidst heightened immigration and border policing along the coast. Chapter 4 also highlights the role that fishermen play in transporting this community to Sabah. The fishermen's reason for playing this role, apart from them getting an extra income, is they “feel inclined to help provide passage for many irregular migrants due to a shared heritage and ethnicity …” (p. 114).
The experiences of young irregular migrants—born in Sabah and rendered irregular due to their immigration status—navigating the sense of exclusion and the fear that their community's irregularity engenders in the place they call home are explicated in chapter 5 of the book. This chapter highlights how these youths embody the stories and myths of monsters lurking out at sea and posing a danger to people living on the seashores, and later discredited them by claiming that they are the monsters mentioned in those stories and myths, given that the state is hell-bent on expelling them. This particular act, the author avers, “provides a glimpse into how these youths understand themselves and the duality of their belonging and foreignness” (p. 128). This level of awareness, this chapter notes, is attributable to the youths’ access to informal education and online platforms. What is equally noteworthy is the youths’ strong connection to the sea and how the sea serves to provide a space where they can collectively gather and seek comfort in the face of life's many uncertainties. This strong connection, the author observes, is retained through oral histories and other traditional practices that embody the sea's rich heritage.
The voices of the irregular migrants unearthed in the book—which connect a place that goes beyond artificial national borders to their being—point to the existence of a cultural zone—a concept theorized by historian Fernand Braudel. This cultural zone was rooted historically in the maritime civilization known as “Nusantara,” or the Malay world, where migratory moves within it were a norm. These voices, which reveal irregular migration in Sabah as a racialized, gendered, and classed crisis, deserve closer examination. They provide essential insights that are key to challenging the dominant narratives around borders and race. This is crucial as those dominant narratives continue to legitimize the current immigration enforcement regime, which entrenches existing inequality and precarity. In light of this, Irregular Migrants and the Sea at the Borders of Sabah, Malaysia: Pelagic Alliance is a valuable addition to migration studies.