On December 13, 2021, the Global Asia Research Center, Waseda University, hosted a postgraduate workshop entitled “Positioning Child Labour in Unfree Labour Discourse: Evidence from Children in Oil Palm Production in East Malaysia (Sabah),” presented by Dr. Andika Wahab from the National University of Malaysia (UKM).

At first, Dr. Andika introduced the definitions of child labour and unfree labour provided by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and an estimated number of child labour in Southeast Asia. Dr. Andika noted that 70% of child laborers worked in the agriculture sector, particularly palm oil estate. He collected data from East Malaysia, specifically in Sabah–a destination for undocumented immigrant workers from Indonesia and the Philippines employed in the palm plantation.

Next, Dr. Andika highlighted the discourse on what was regarded as ‘acceptable’ and ‘unacceptable’ in the context of child labour and presented children’s perspectives regarding hazardous environments in oil palm production. Furthermore, based on Malaysian law and regulations, he distinguished two types of child involvement in oil palm activities known as assisting parents and working children.

Finally, Dr. Andika mentioned the main contributions of his research as follows: 1. reflecting scenarios of child labor at the individual level; 2. advocating children’s voices on access to education and how they perceive hazards in oil palm estate; 3. highlighting the relations between unfree labor and the employment transition of immigrant child labor from one sector to another. After the fruitful discussion, Dr. Andika concluded his presentation by emphasizing the importance of measuring child laborers based on an individual level to clarify the nature and extent of their activities. In addition, he indicated how children’s perceptions of risk could determine and reflect the relations between unfree labor conditions and the employment transition.