Abstract

Within Southeast Asia, Malaysia is one of the countries whose economic cycle is arguably most heavily dependent upon the availability of migrant labor. On the other hand, the majority of migrant workers in Indonesia migrate to Malaysia for various reasons, including close proximity and language and cultural similarities. As Malaysia’s ambition to import more migrant workers continues to grow while increasing Indonesian citizens strive to seek employment abroad, an unprecedented flow of workers from Indonesia to Malaysia seems inevitable. The result of this migratory process, however, is not only being addressed in terms of migrant labor supply and demand, but also other serious issues like migrant smuggling, illicit trafficking, and corruption surrounding irregular migrant workers. This study explores the phenomena of everyday corrupt practices in Malaysia in relation to labor migration and Indonesian irregular migrants, ranging from bribery at entry points, fees for the police officer in the workplace, to extortion during police raids. The coping strategies of migrants who try to avoid such corrupt practices are also detailed in this article. This article suggests that corruption plays an important role in shaping migrant perceptions of law enforcement, including how they deal with their limited mobility and social exclusion. Further, the implications of corruption are examined in terms of the legal status of these noncitizens. Legal status is not a static entity, especially when corruption serves as a means to negotiate the legal status of migrants and make them temporarily invisible from state control.