The Orang Suku Laut of Riau, Indonesia - The inalienable gift of territory (Hardcover)

When translated, the 'Orang Suku Laut' means a 'tribe of sea people'. The Orang Suku Laut in Riau traverse an archipelago encompassing over 3,200 islands, alongside many other races from Malays to the Javanese. They have been deemed a backward people by the Indonesian government and local Indonesians, and are seen as alien and dangerous. The Orang Laut however see themselves as indigenous people. Recent plans mooted for developing the archipelago - the Growth Triangle - have raised questions about the implications of displacing local inhabitants. This book focuses upon the predicaments of the Orang Suku Laut in view of the challenges imposed upon them by the emergence of new borders created by the newly created Growth Triangle zone on their maritime world.