Migrant networks of irregular Nayu workers in Malaysia – The case of the Tom Yum restaurants in Kuala Lumpur

The Nayu workers are unauthorised foreign workers from Thailand who may be found operating and serving at the many Thai Halal Tom Yum restaurants all over Malaysia. This paper examines how migrant networks form and develop among Nayu migrants, former migrants and non-migrants in Thailand and Malays...

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Main Author: Suttiporn Bunmak
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UKM,Bangi 2011
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2028/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2028/1/5.2011-2-suttiporn_bunmak-english-3.pdf
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author Suttiporn Bunmak,
author_facet Suttiporn Bunmak,
author_sort Suttiporn Bunmak,
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The Nayu workers are unauthorised foreign workers from Thailand who may be found operating and serving at the many Thai Halal Tom Yum restaurants all over Malaysia. This paper examines how migrant networks form and develop among Nayu migrants, former migrants and non-migrants in Thailand and Malaysia using data from ethnographic fieldwork. It is shown that international migration has increased in current years and unauthorised Nayu worker flow has become more complex because of the role migrant networks play in shaping migration connections between Thailand and Malaysia. Since they go through their contacts without using a recruitment agency, these pioneering migrants constitute a very important source of information about the availability of job opportunities in Malaysia. Newly arrived migrants are also initially assisted and settled by the pioneer migrants. In conclusion, the findings contribute important insights into the connections between the labour demands of the Tom Yum restaurant business in Malaysia and the labour supply of Nayu workers in Thailand.
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spelling ukm-20282016-12-14T06:30:42Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2028/ Migrant networks of irregular Nayu workers in Malaysia – The case of the Tom Yum restaurants in Kuala Lumpur Suttiporn Bunmak, The Nayu workers are unauthorised foreign workers from Thailand who may be found operating and serving at the many Thai Halal Tom Yum restaurants all over Malaysia. This paper examines how migrant networks form and develop among Nayu migrants, former migrants and non-migrants in Thailand and Malaysia using data from ethnographic fieldwork. It is shown that international migration has increased in current years and unauthorised Nayu worker flow has become more complex because of the role migrant networks play in shaping migration connections between Thailand and Malaysia. Since they go through their contacts without using a recruitment agency, these pioneering migrants constitute a very important source of information about the availability of job opportunities in Malaysia. Newly arrived migrants are also initially assisted and settled by the pioneer migrants. In conclusion, the findings contribute important insights into the connections between the labour demands of the Tom Yum restaurant business in Malaysia and the labour supply of Nayu workers in Thailand. Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UKM,Bangi 2011-04 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2028/1/5.2011-2-suttiporn_bunmak-english-3.pdf Suttiporn Bunmak, (2011) Migrant networks of irregular Nayu workers in Malaysia – The case of the Tom Yum restaurants in Kuala Lumpur. Geografia : Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 7 (2). pp. 37-44. ISSN 2180-2491 http://www.ukm.my/geografia/v1/index.php
spellingShingle Suttiporn Bunmak,
Migrant networks of irregular Nayu workers in Malaysia – The case of the Tom Yum restaurants in Kuala Lumpur
title Migrant networks of irregular Nayu workers in Malaysia – The case of the Tom Yum restaurants in Kuala Lumpur
title_full Migrant networks of irregular Nayu workers in Malaysia – The case of the Tom Yum restaurants in Kuala Lumpur
title_fullStr Migrant networks of irregular Nayu workers in Malaysia – The case of the Tom Yum restaurants in Kuala Lumpur
title_full_unstemmed Migrant networks of irregular Nayu workers in Malaysia – The case of the Tom Yum restaurants in Kuala Lumpur
title_short Migrant networks of irregular Nayu workers in Malaysia – The case of the Tom Yum restaurants in Kuala Lumpur
title_sort migrant networks of irregular nayu workers in malaysia – the case of the tom yum restaurants in kuala lumpur
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2028/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2028/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2028/1/5.2011-2-suttiporn_bunmak-english-3.pdf