Labour Migration and Policy Formation in a Newly Industrialized Country: A Case Study of Illegal Thai Workers in Singapore

The triumph of instrumental citizenship? Migrations, identities, and the nation‐state in Southeast Asia

“…But the states of migrants' origin are also beginning to disavow liability for criminal acts by their citizens overseas, in effect distancing themselves from the sending nations' moral demands. These states have learned a lesson from the mandatory caning of overstaying Thai construction workers in 1989, which soured relations between Singapore and Thailand (Sullivan et al 1992), and the 1995 execution of Flor Contemplacion, which strained relations between Singapore and the Philippines. In these two episodes, the countries involved each felt that their nation's "face" and "personhood" had been on the line (Aguilar 1996, 131).…”

The Globalisation and Liberalisation of Asian Labour Markets

“…Tensions arising because of the way in which host states have sought to unilaterally discipline foreign workers who have overstayed their permits or expel clandestine workers have prompted a number of diplomatic exchanges. The force of the rule of the state has sometimes been tempered by the interventions of the states on behalf of their nationals, as the Singaporean administration has appreciated (Sullivan et al, 1992;and Fong, 1992). The necessity to secure some degree of diplomatic rapport has constrained the effective administration of national labour law and thereby contributed to the growth of the clandestine labour force.…”