Narrating the Border: Perspectives from the Kelabit Highlands of Borneo

THIS CHAPTER OFFERS A DISCUSSION of local perceptions of the international border from the perspective of the Kelabit people of Sarawak, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. My main purpose is to explore the moral geography of the border region and the shifting social, political, economic, and military implications of the border in the everyday life of the Kelabit. I begin with a brief overview of the Kelabit people and outline the changing meanings of the political boundary line in this part of highland Borneo over the last century. The existence of the international boundary in the Kelabit Highlands has