Cross-border politics : the Urak Lawoi of Thailand and Malaysia

Abstract

The essay examines the cultural and political life of the Urak Lawoi, a minority ethnic group in South Thailand. The Urak Lawoi (also known as Orang Laut in Malaysia and Chao Lay in Thailand) are migrants consequent to cross-border politics between then-Siam and Malaya since the early 1900s. Basing on non-participatory research combined with secondary sources, the paper attempts to attribute internal and external factors occurring on both sides of the maritime borders as the possible contributing factors that caused the migration of Urak Lawoi to South Thailand.