Documenting the undocumented in Sabah

Felix, Elisha and Hilda Pius Modilo, 2018. Documenting the undocumented in Sabah. IN: CTA, 2018. Experience capitalization: Stronger communities in South East Asia. Experience Capitalization Series 8. Wageningen: CTA:60-65.

The situation which people without legal documents face is an unresolved problem in many parts of the world, especially when indigenous people live together in areas with large inflows of immigrants from bordering countries. This is the case in Sabah, a part of Malaysia which is geographically close to Brunei, the Philippines and Indonesia. Immigrants and refugees seeking a better life have known for a long time that the border security is not strictly enforced. But the general situation is not well known because there have been few studies done on these issues. The PACOS Trust and the Asian Foundation developed a method which community members could use to show the benefits of having identity documents – something which would benefit both migrants and the indigenous population.