Pengaruh Jaringan Sosial ke Atas Migrasi Pekerja Bugis - Indonesia ke Sabah (Influence of Social Network on Bugis - Indonesian Migration to Sabah)

Abstract

ABSTRAK: Kedatangan Bugis ke Sabah terutamanya di Bahagian Tawau pada abad ke-19 bukan sahaja menyumbangkan tenaga kerja, malahan telah mewujudkan pembentukan masyarakat awal Bugis di Sabah. Mereka kemudiannya berasimilasi dengan masyarakat tempatan dan telah menjadi warganegara selepas pembentukan Malaysia pada tahun 1963. Aliran kemasukan Bugis ke Sabah masih berterusan hingga kini dan ia sukar untuk dikawal. Kertas ini mengkaji fenomena penghijrahan pekerja Indonesia ke Sabah terutamanya yang berbangsa Bugis yang mendominasi beberapa daerah di Bahagian Tawau dan Sandakan. Sejumlah 896 pekerja Indonesia terlibat dalam menjawab soal selidik yang telah dijalankan melalui kaedah temu bual bersemuka, sementara 20 orang pekerja sah dan 20 orang pekerja tidak sah terlibat dalam sesi temu bual mendalam. Kajian ini memberi fokus kepada peranan jaringan sosial dalam membantu proses migrasi yang merangkumi tiga fasa iaitu fasa pra, semasa dan selepas migrasi. Kajian mendapati migran baru dibantu oleh jaringan sosial bagi mengurangi kos dan risiko penghijrahan untuk memastikan kejayaan migrasi. Berdasarkan teori Penarikan dan Penolakan, keputusan untuk berhijrah dan pemilihan destinasi penghijrahan dipengaruhi oleh faktor ekonomi di tempat asal dan destinasi seperti peluang pekerjaan dan gaji yang dapat dijelaskan oleh teori Ekonomi Neo Klasik. Namun apa yang lebih penting, kajian ini mendapati faktor penarik bukan ekonomi seperti adanya jaringan sosial, hubungan sejarah, elemen geografi, serta persamaan budaya, etnik, agama dan bahasa memberi pengaruh besar kepada keputusan berhijrah bagi migran baru. Kesimpulannya, jaringan sosial berasaskan ikatan kekeluargaan merentasi sempadan politik terus membantu aliran pengetahuan, sumber dan mengurangi risiko kegagalan migrasi. Strategi pengambilan pekerja berasaskan etnik yang dibantu oleh mandur memberi banyak manfaat dan mampu mengekalkan aliran migrasi bangsa Bugis ke Sabah hingga kini.

Kata kunci: Migrasi; pekerja asing; jaringan sosial; sempadan budaya; sempadan politik; Bugis

ABSTRACT: Bugis migration to Sabah especially the Tawau Division in the 19th Century not only had provided the workforce but also created the early Bugis community in Sabah. They had assimilated with local people and become Malaysian citizens after the formation of Malaysia in 1963. Bugis migration flow to Sabah still continues to date and it is difficult to control. This paper studies migration of Indonesian workers phenomenon, especially the Bugis who dominate a few districts in Tawau and Sandakan Divisions. A total of 896 Indonesian workers involved in a survey conducted using face-toface interview, while 20 legal and illegal workers, respectively participated in the in-depth interview. This study focuses on the role of social network in assisting migration process in three phases namely pre, while and post migration. This study found that new migrants were assisted by social network to reduce migration cost to achieve successful migration. Based on the Push and Pull theory, the decision to migrate and the selection of migration destination was influenced by economic factors such as job opportunity and wages in the origin and destination which could be explained by Neo Classical Economy theory. What is more important was, this study found that, non-economic pull factors such as social network, historical links and geographical proximity; as well as culture, ethnicity, religion and language similarity strongly influenced new migrants in making the decision to migrate. In conclusion, trusted social network crosses political boundary has continued to assist flow of information and resources, and reduced the risk of unsuccessful migration. Ethnicity-based recruitment strategy assisted by Mandur was found to be beneficial and thus, maintaining the migration flow of Bugis to Sabah until today.

Keywords: Migration, foreign workers; social network; cultural boundary; political boundary; Bugis