Schooling Without Papers: Indonesia's Diplomacy for Migrant Children
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58526/jsret.v5i3.1247Keywords:
Educational Rights, Non-Procedural Migrant Workers, Multi-Track Diplomacy, Soft Power Diplomacy, Indonesian Migrant ChildrenAbstract
Thousands of children born to Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia grow up without valid identity papers, a status that quietly shuts them out of formal schooling. This study looks at how Indonesia responds to that gap, focusing on children of non-procedural migrant workers in Sabah, Sarawak, and parts of Peninsular Malaysia. Drawing on a qualitative literature review and document analysis of prior research, government materials, and diplomatic reports, the study traces how the problem is handled not through a single policy but through several diplomatic channels working side by side: formal state-to-state engagement, plantation-sector cooperation, community and NGO-led schooling, and teacher training. Findings show these channels reinforce one another; formal diplomacy opens the policy space, while grassroots and educational tracks carry the actual teaching into remote plantation communities. The analysis further suggests that this educational support doubles as a form of soft power, sustaining Indonesian identity among migrant families while shaping how Indonesia is seen abroad. The study concludes that closing remaining gaps depends less on any single track and more on tighter coordination between them, alongside continued support for community learning centers.
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