05 May 2021
WP334 | Sabah’s Unrelenting Exclusionary and Inclusionary Politics
Abstract
Sabah’s political and socio-economic issues are linked to the state’s long and contentious history of migration. Many of these problems arose in the 2020 Sabah state election, which was underscored by anti-immigrant sentiments. Underlying all of these is the politics of identity of the Sabahans. Indigenous Sabahans such as the Kadazandusuns tend to separate themselves from the Malay-Muslim majority of Malaysia. This is compounded by the identities of Sabah’s migrant population, which remains largely “foreign” in the eyes of indigenous communities. Often, both federal and state governments disregard these issues, leading to policies that alienate the inhabitants of Sabah. This paper unpacks the issues involved and lays out the interconnected political, security, and socio-economic concerns related to the governing of Sabah and the state’s relationship with the federal government. The paper examines the treatment of indigenous Sabahans and migrants, and why it is important to identify the challenges for the future socio-economic development and stability of Sabah.
Source: flickr
About the Authors
Dr Vilashini Somiah is a Sabahan anthropologist who received her PhD from the National University of Singapore. She is currently a senior lecturer at the Gender Studies Programme at the University of Malaya. Dr Somiah is the co-editor of Sabah from the Ground: The 2020 Elections & the Politics of Survival (SIRD/ISEAS: 2021). She maintains a keen interest for under-represented narratives of women, migrants, and Borneans living in the interiors. Outside of academia, she writes ethnographic articles on the local socio-political landscape of Sabah.
Mr Jose Ricardo Sto. Domingo is a research analyst with the Malaysia Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. He has worked on topics such as Malaysia’s demographics, ageing, and labour and migration.
Abstract
Sabah’s political and socio-economic issues are linked to the state’s long and contentious history of migration. Many of these problems arose in the 2020 Sabah state election, which was underscored by anti-immigrant sentiments. Underlying all of these is the politics of identity of the Sabahans. Indigenous Sabahans such as the Kadazandusuns tend to separate themselves from the Malay-Muslim majority of Malaysia. This is compounded by the identities of Sabah’s migrant population, which remains largely “foreign” in the eyes of indigenous communities. Often, both federal and state governments disregard these issues, leading to policies that alienate the inhabitants of Sabah. This paper unpacks the issues involved and lays out the interconnected political, security, and socio-economic concerns related to the governing of Sabah and the state’s relationship with the federal government. The paper examines the treatment of indigenous Sabahans and migrants, and why it is important to identify the challenges for the future socio-economic development and stability of Sabah.
Source: flickr
About the Authors
Dr Vilashini Somiah is a Sabahan anthropologist who received her PhD from the National University of Singapore. She is currently a senior lecturer at the Gender Studies Programme at the University of Malaya. Dr Somiah is the co-editor of Sabah from the Ground: The 2020 Elections & the Politics of Survival (SIRD/ISEAS: 2021). She maintains a keen interest for under-represented narratives of women, migrants, and Borneans living in the interiors. Outside of academia, she writes ethnographic articles on the local socio-political landscape of Sabah.
Mr Jose Ricardo Sto. Domingo is a research analyst with the Malaysia Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. He has worked on topics such as Malaysia’s demographics, ageing, and labour and migration.
