By Olivia Miwil
SEMPORNA: Undocumented Bajau Laut youths in Sabah face exploitation and limited employment opportunities as changes to their traditional sea-based livelihoods add to their challenges.
The Bajau Laut are a traditionally sea-based community in Sabah, and some people in that community are part of the state's undocumented population.
When Bob was sexually harassed by a foreign guest while working in the hospitality sector, the 21-year-old did not report the incident.
Instead, he quit his job.
"I panicked. I left my job. I didn't tell my boss because I was afraid.
"I didn't have any documents to report. I didn't want the problem to get worse," said Bob, a pseudonym used to protect his identity.
Bob, who was born in a village and grew up without official documents, said his parents had little education and did not know how to obtain them.
Since turning 18, Bob has been taking part-time jobs in Semporna, including as a tour guide, lifeguard, food server and hotel housekeeper.
He said he also faced disputes over his wages, including one occasion when his daily pay was reduced from RM30 to RM25 after colleagues described him as lazy and slow.
"I could not dispute it as I am not in the position to argue as I may be subjected to arrest due to being undocumented," he said.
He said he was paid in cash because he did not have a bank account.
Undocumented and vulnerable
For 18-year-old Aisah, a third-generation Bajau Laut, the problem begins even earlier — with the changing relationship between her community and the sea.
She said the ocean had long been more than a source of food, serving as a means of livelihood and sustaining generations of her family and community.
"The ocean, which was once our source of livelihood, now seems to belong only to people with documents.
"I wished that others could share the ocean resources with us," she said.
Their experiences come against a wider backdrop of undocumented populations in Sabah, whose size remains difficult to establish.
A United Nations research paper series on Sabah's undocumented population noted that there was no official, authoritative estimate of the number of undocumented people in the state and that its research did not attempt to produce one.
The paper defines the undocumented population as people living in Sabah who lack papers that confer identity.
The research found that the undocumented population in Sabah is ethnically diverse and should not simply be understood as a migrant population.
It said about 30 per cent of the undocumented population had origins in Sabah, including indigenous people and the Bajau Laut, while many of those who came from elsewhere had arrived decades ago and had remained in Sabah for generations.
It described these populations as well integrated into Sabah's social and economic structures, with undocumented people often indistinct from citizens. It said they were largely settled rather than transient populations.
Changing livelihoods
Universiti Malaysia Sabah Social Sciences and Humanities Faculty lecturer Associate Professor Wan Shawaluddin Wan Hassan, who has researched the Bajau Laut community in Semporna, said increased maritime security measures, marine conservation restrictions and declining marine resources had reduced the areas where some community members could fish and move.
He said the Bajau Laut had traditionally maintained a maritime lifestyle, travelling between waters around Sabah, the Philippines and Indonesia in boats known as lepa.
"They used to sustain their lives by obtaining food from the sea and trading seafood for cassava.
"However, after the Lahad Datu intrusion in 2013, increased maritime security measures by Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia have reduced the areas where the Bajau Laut can move and look for food," he said.
Wan Shawaluddin said their traditional knowledge of the sea, including seafaring and freediving skills, remained valuable and could potentially be incorporated into the local economy.
Bajau Laut freedivers are known for their ability to dive to considerable depths and locate high-value marine species such as lobsters.
Wan Shawaluddin said there was potential to provide members of the community with skills and opportunities to enter other sectors, including tourism and other parts of Sabah's economy.
However, he cautioned that any transition away from a sea-based lifestyle would require time and support.
"Without education, they can be exploited in many ways that they may not be aware of.
"By working and earning an income, it could improve their lives and perhaps enable them to send their children to alternative schools," he said.
He said efforts to support the community should also recognise its cultural identity and traditional knowledge rather than simply seeking to move its members into land-based employment.
Wan Shawaluddin said without proper guidance and support, attempts to integrate the community into the mainstream economy could expose its members to further exploitation.
Advocates for Non-Discrimination and Access to Knowledge founder Anne Baltazar said people get exploited when they are vulnerable.
"We have to reduce vulnerabilities by increasing access to basic services such as legal documentation, education and healthcare.
"We also need systems in place, both by the government and civil society organisations, to protect undocumented persons, especially children."
Anne also called for greater awareness of birth registration, which is meant for everyone regardless of their status.
"Birth registration does not automatically mean citizenship, but it creates an official record that can help establish identity, parentage and possible nationality links, which then helps determine the appropriate documentation or protection pathway."
This story was developed under the Migration Journalism Grant of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Malaysia as part of a project supported by the Malaysia-United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Trust Fund.
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