Negotiating Belonging in Borneo: Narratives of Ambivalence

Borneo is often described through its diversity, but the lived realities of belonging in the region are far more complex, fluid, and compelling. This volume brings together critical narratives from Brunei Darussalam, Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia, and Kalimantan in Indonesia to examine how ethnic, religious, and linguistic identities are negotiated across one of Southeast Asia's most culturally rich regions.

Drawing on postcolonial thought, particularly on the idea of cultural hybridity, the book explores Borneo as a vibrant space of encounter, crossing, and negotiation. The chapters reveal how individuals and communities navigate shifting boundaries of ethnicity, citizenship, indigeneity, language, religion, and minority positioning. Rather than presenting identity as fixed or neatly defined, the volume captures the ambivalence of belonging: the tensions, uncertainties, attachments, and transformations that shape everyday life in Borneo.