Javanese in Malaysia: Labour Migration, Settlement and Diaspora

Abstract

Javanese labour migration to Malaya in the late 19th century was the third most important migration movement after Chinese and Indian labour migration. It correlated with the increased demand for raw materials in industrialising Europe and labour shortages that necessitated the importation of cheap foreign workers. Javanese migrants were hired mostly for employment on rubber plantations and their subsequent settlement in the country laid the foundation for an incipient Javanese diaspora. Following Malayan independence in 1957, the government halted the recruitment of less-skilled foreign labour and expelled non-citizens from the country. In the 1970s Malaysia instigated an export-oriented industrialisation strategy. With the Malays primarily engaged in agriculture, the government espoused federal land development schemes (FELDA) and plantations rather than small farms in the countryside and promoted oil palm cultivation. Concurrently, the government embraced labour-intensive manufacturing production. Apart from increased employment opportunities on the land development programmes, Malaysia also became an important location for foreign manufacturing production The changing economic structures and Malaysian women's greater participation in the formal sectors created a niche for mainly Indonesian domestic workers. For this reason the Malaysian government re-instated the recruitment of less-skilled Javanese workers chiefly for agricultural development schemes and the construction, manufacturing and domestic work sectors.