Assistant Professor Chun Sheng Goh recently published two journal articles on Borneo’s borderlands.
(1) “Confronting the Spectres of Borneo’s Borderlands: A Hauntological Analysis of Cinematic Representations and Ethnography” in Journal of Borderlands Studies.
Abstract
Borderlands are haunted – not only by literal tales of spectres, but by the haunted histories, phantom sovereignty, invisible populations, and ghostly violence that shape everyday life at the frontier. This paper advances a border hauntology for Borneo’s borderlands by reading two films distributed via Netflix, Borderless Fog (2024) and Conquer: Lahad Datu (2024) alongside six ethnographic studies (Eilenberg 2012; Mee 2014; Carson 2016; Solmiah 2022; Zulkipli & Askandar 2021; Cheong et al., 2025). Methodologically, it treats film as an interlocutor that makes tangible the affective textures of poverty and mobility that statistics and policy reports obscure. Analytically, it shows how cinematic “ghosts” represent (1) the lingering legacies of militarization, counter-insurgency and territorial claims, (2) contested sovereignty intertwined with ethnic tensions, (3) embodied vulnerabilities produced by structural marginalization of women, youth, and children, and (4) persistent human insecurity rooted in weak protection mechanisms. The paper concludes that a hauntological lens helps reveal how these spectres continue to shape everyday life in borderlands, enriching borderland studies by highlighting the affective dimensions of insecurity and the experiences of marginalized communities.
Read here.
(2) “Negotiating Identity and Inequality: Internal Migration and Cross-Border Connections of the Lun Bawang in the Heart of Borneo” in Asian Geographer.
Abstract
In the highlands of Borneo, the once closely connected Lun Bawang (Lundayeh) communities have for decades been separated by the Malaysia–Indonesia border, yet they remain linked through uneven patterns of mobility and exchange. This brief examines how internal migration in Sarawak and cross–border movement from North Kalimantan intersect to shape inequality and identity in this borderland. In Sarawak’s highlands, youth outmigration has contributed to aging communities and weakened traditional livelihoods. Meanwhile, limited opportunities on the Indonesian side continue to push many across the border in search of work in Malaysia. These movements have created an uneven form of interdependence: Indonesian migrants fill labor gaps but remain vulnerable in informal sectors, while Sarawakians rely on them yet resist their permanent presence. Over time, divergent demographic paths have emerged – shrinking, aging villages in Sarawak alongside younger, in-migrating communities in North Kalimantan – fueling tensions over land and belonging. The border has thus produced contrasting living conditions and forms of national attachment, illustrating how mobility sustains livelihoods while reproducing inequality in Borneo’s borderlands.
Read here.
