Labour Migration in South East Asia: A Case Study of Malaysia (2000-2015)

Abstract

Background: Cross border movement of the labour or labour migration has become a worldwide phenomenon. In terms of labour stock and flow, South East Asia is one of the key players in the world. Although within countries in this region, the labour migration pattern is very much diverse. Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 had hit hard the economy of this region [2]. It had also influenced the labour migration pattern of countries within this region. Economy, it did affect the labour migration but whether spatial interaction still plays any role in the flow of labour? In other hand which sectors are absorbing those migrant labours is needed to be address in the current situation. To examine these aspects this paper deals with immigration taking of Malaysia as an case study in post crisis period (after 2000).
Method: The paper is based on secondary data source. The data is collected from International Labour Organization (ILO) from 2000 to 2015. For the analysis of the level of spatial interaction geographical proximity has taken as variable and the Gravity Model has been used. The concentration of migrate workers to total working population has been measured by Location Quotient (LQ).
Result: Theoretically Myanmar, Philippines supposed to have low spatial interaction but they are the contributing high labour force in Malaysia whereas Thailand supposed to have high spatial interaction and high contribution of the labour force in the Malaysia but actual contribution is low for Thailand. In other hand Indonesia contribute maximum labour force in the Malaysia job market. Most of the migrant workers are concentrated in the industrial and agricultural sector and lowest contribution in the service sector.
Conclusion: Geographical proximity is important factor for labour migration but policy, economic condition of the origin country directly influence the labour migration. This is clear from Malaysia. As Myanmar or Philippines economic condition is less developed so high inflow of worker from these countries to Malaysia takes place. Whereas due to high involvement in service sector by native Malaysian workers, a vacuum in the agricultural and industrial sector has created that is supplemented by the migrant workers.