Singapore's Borderlands

The book uses three Indonesian concepts (merantau, malu, liar) to explain the mobility of migrants and tourists on Batam. The first refers to a migrant's relationship with home. The second signifies the shame or embarrassment felt when one is between accepted roles and emotional states. The third, literally "wild", is used to identify those who are out of place, notably squatters, couples in premarital cohabitation, and prostitutes without pimps. These sometimes overlapping concepts allow the book to move across economic, geographical and metaphorical boundaries.