'A Garuda in my Heart, a Tiger in my Stomach': Brokering an Informal Economic Border Enclave in the Borneo Highlands. Issue 4 (8th August 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Klem, Bart
• Is Part Of: Asia Pacific journal of anthropology. Volume 22:Issue 4(2021)
• Page Start: 255
• Page End: 275
• Publication Date: 2021-08-08
• Subjects: Borderlands and Frontiers -- Dayaks -- Zone of Licitness -- Special Economic Zone -- Pluriform Authority; Anthropology -- Periodicals; Anthropology -- Oceania -- Periodicals; Anthropology -- Southeast Asia -- Periodicals; Ethnology -- Oceania -- Periodicals; Ethnology -- Southeast Asia -- Periodicals; 301.05
• DOI: 10.1080/14442213.2021.1948096
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1444-2213

Abstract

Abstract : This article studies the life histories of two broker figures from the Borneo highlands to explore the changing borderland dynamics of Krayan, an Indonesian region bordering on Malaysia. Rather than a lagging or rebellious periphery, the region can best be understood as a site of experimentation. Krayan's history is strongly shaped by shifting patterns of infrastructural connectivity and mobile networks. This, I posit, has resulted in an indigenous version of an informal special economic zone which is economically integrated with Malaysia but leverages political clout in Indonesia. The regular cross-border caravan of pick-up trucks has started to receive government attention. The highland elite now seeks to formalise Krayan's constellation into a special administrative status by showcasing its links to Malaysia, thus leveraging the governmental pride and anxiety vested in the border. Rather than evading the state, I argue that this manoeuvring centres on improving the terms of opting in.