Development at the Margins: Livelihood and Sustainability of Communities at Malaysia - Indonesia Borders

Small communities living on the margin of development generally face amyriad of issues and challenges. Paradoxically, although livelihood is a major concernfor these communities, their integration into the mainstream of development seemsa remote and endless problem. This article, therefore, has three objectives. Firstly,it discusses the socio-economic dynamics of the Sarawak-Kalimantan border communitieswhose villages are obscured from the mainstream of development. Lately,villages and small townships along this border had caught the attention of the media, politicians, planners and researchers. This was the consequent result of media highlightson Malaysia-Indonesia border disputes and cultural issues, which were furtherexpanded to encompass matters relating to national security and economic interestsof both countries. However, the socio-economic plights of these border communitieswere seldom articulated. Secondly, based on case studies conducted between 2009and 2010, this paper focuses on issues of livelihood and sustainability of these bordercommunities, particularly the Bidayuh ethnic living in Serikin (Sarawak) and JagoiBabang(West Kalimantan). The studies especially focused on the participation of thesevillagers in the socio-economic spheres within the border areas, and also assessed towhat extent the livelihoods of these villagers were influenced and affected by suchdynamics. Lastly, by exploring the possible theoretical explanation of the unique socialphenomenon taking place at the margin of development in Malaysia, this articleexamines the embedded cultural and social affiliations which help sustain the traditionof economic exchange between communities on both sides of the borders.Male zajednice koje žive na marginama razvoja općenito se suočavaju s brojnim problemimai izazovima. Premda je opstojnost njihova glavna briga, integracija u glavne razvojne tokoveparadoksalno ostaje dalek i nerješiv problem. Stoga ovaj članak ima tri cilja. Prvo, u njemu sebavimo socio-ekonomskom dinamikom Sarawak-Kalimantan pograničnih zajednica čija selaostaju izvan glavnih tokova razvoja. Nedavno su sela i manji gradovi uz ovu granicu privuklipažnju medija, političara, istraživača. Bio je to rezultat medijskog zanimanja za malezijskoindonezijskegranične prepirke i kulturne prijepore. To se kasnije proširilo na pitanja o nacionalnojsigurnosti i ekonomskim interesima obiju zemalja. Međutim, nepovoljne socio-ekonomskeokolnosti ovih pograničnih zajednica rijetko su kada jasno artikulirane. Druga svrhačlanka je ukazati na probleme opstojnosti i održivosti ovih pograničnih zajednica, osobito zajedniceBidayah iz Serikina (Sarawak) i zajednice JagoiBabang (Zapadni Kalimantan). Studijeslučaja, provedene 2009. i 2010., posebno su se bavile učešćem seljaka u socio-ekonomskimpitanjima unutar graničnih područja i posljedičnim utjecajem na njihovu egzistenciju. I, napokon,razmatrajući moguće teorijsko objašnjenje ovoga jedinstvenoga socijalnog fenomena kojise odvija na margini razvoja u Maleziji, u članku se propituju duboko ukorijenjene kulturne idruštvene veze koje omogućuju održavanje tradicije ekonomske razmjene između zajednicas obje strane granice