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Irregular Migrants and the Sea at the Borders of Sabah, Malaysia

Pelagic Alliance

  • Book
  • © 2021

Overview

Authors:
  1. Vilashini Somiah

    1. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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  • Analyses migration issues in the 21st Century, focusing on how irregular migrants interact with the sea
  • Explores an overlooked region within Southeast Asian Studies: the Malaysian side of Borneo
  • Uncovers the types of relationships humans have non-human actants

Part of the book series: Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship (MDC)

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Table of contents (6 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xv
    Download chapter PDF

  2. An Ecology of Irregularity

    • Vilashini Somiah
    Pages 1-30

  3. Kami Urang “Sini” (We Are from “Here”): Agency Across Equivocal Space

    • Vilashini Somiah
    Pages 31-66

  4. Bilang yang Nakal-nakal Kami (We Speak of Naughty Things): Female Empowerment Through the Tides of the Sea

    • Vilashini Somiah
    Pages 67-91

  5. Maritime Journeys and Illicit Returns

    • Vilashini Somiah
    Pages 93-119

  6. Haunted Shores: Youths in Pursuit of Belonging on the Shores of the Sulu Sea

    • Vilashini Somiah
    Pages 121-150

  7. Conclusion: A Recapitulation

    • Vilashini Somiah
    Pages 151-168

  8. Back Matter

    Pages 169-174
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Keywords

About this book

This book is an exploration of the relationship between irregular migrants, many originating from southern Philippines and the sea, in their struggle against the realities of state power in Sabah. As their numbers grow exponentially into the 21st century, the only solution currently provided by the Malaysian government is routine repatriation. Yet, despite increased border security, they continue to return. Thus the question: why do deported migrants return, time and again, despite the serious risk of being caught? This book explores the ways in which these irregular migrants contest inconvenient national sea boundaries, the trauma of detention and deportation, and other impositions of state power by drawing on supernatural support from the sea itself. The sea empowers them, and through individual narratives of the sea, we learn that the migrants’ encounter with the state and its legal system only intensifies rather than discourages their relationship with the Malaysian state.

Reviews

“Irregular Migrants and the Sea at the Borders of Sabah, Malaysia: Pelagic Alliance is a compelling volume from start to finish. … By bringing to the fore the powerful and evocative images of her informants, Somiah offers valuable insights into the cry of migrants to belong amid the heavy culture of surveillance … . Her focus on weaving the unique experiences of her informants into the narrative deserves much credit. … this book is a delight for the anthropologist reader.” (Trixie M Tangit, Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 11 (3), December, 2022)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Vilashini Somiah

About the author

Vilashini Somiah is Senior Lecturer in Gender Studies at the University of Malaya, Malaysia. A Sabahan anthropologist who received her PhD from the National University of Singapore, she has researched youth, migration, and marginalized Borneans living in the interiors, focusing particularly on underrepresented narratives.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Irregular Migrants and the Sea at the Borders of Sabah, Malaysia

  • Book Subtitle: Pelagic Alliance

  • Authors: Vilashini Somiah

  • Series Title: Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90417-3

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-90416-6Published: 21 December 2021

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-90419-7Published: 22 December 2022

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-90417-3Published: 01 January 2022

  • Series ISSN: 2662-2602

  • Series E-ISSN: 2662-2610

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XV, 174

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations, 22 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Migration, Social Anthropology, Anthropology

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