The Business Network of Bajau Tribe Sea Fisheries and Legal Problems in Indonesia-Malaysia Border1 Tasrifin Tahara2 Dinna Dayana La Ode Malim3 ABSTRACT People who live on the sea, Bajo, Bajau or Sama Bajo are also one of the tribes that spread to various parts of the reef in several countries in Southeast Asia. Thus far no one knew for certain and it is needed an in-depth study from various perspectives of science. But one thing that is certain, because of their remoteness during history, the Bajo people carry traces of population movements that inhabited Southeast Asia about two thousand years ago. Name Bajau is found in the waters of the Makassar Strait (on the Sea Island and the east coast of Kalimantan, around Bontang and further north); in the Gulf of Bone; in the area of East Nusa Tenggara; in the Banggai Islands; in Tomini Bay (especially in the Togean and Torosiaje Islands); in North Maluku (Bacan and Halamahera Islands); in the waters of the Sulawesi Sea both the coast of North and Southeast Sulawesi; and East Kalimantan and the Sulu Islands. The reach of the Bajau crossing covers all Indonesian waters. In addition, Bajau or Bajo as place names are also found in the Anambas Islands in the South China Sea, the eastern part of Sumbawa Island, East Coast of Kalimantan. Therefore, the conclusion is that the Bajau people roam throughout the archipelago, even though it is now only known in the eastern part, in Sabah and the Sulu Islands. The Indonesian sea area is the economic arena of the Bajau tribe, bordering 10 countries, namely India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, the Republic of Palau, Australia, Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea (PNG). The sea border area in general is in the form of the outer islands which number 92 islands and include small islands. Some of them still need more intensive management because they have a tendency to problems with neighboring countries that interfere with national security defenses such as piracy, human trafficking, smuggling, and others. The study conducted by Kazufumi (2017) in the vicinity of the southern Philippines, Sabah coast, Malaysia, and eastern Indonesia spread one of the maritime tribes in Southeast Asia with an estimated population of 1,100,000, many Bajau people live along the coast and on islands that have networks both socio- cultural, socio-economic networks and others. This paper will describe the contribution of the Bajau people who have been neglected and have a network of marine fisheries business between countries in the framework of culture and legal issues between countries they face. Keywords: Bajau, Economic Business, and Legal Problems 1 Paper presentation in 7th Academic International Conference on Social and Humanities, 19th-21st November 2018, Boston USA 2 Lecturer in Department of Anthropology Faculty of Social and Political Science, Hasanuddin University - Indonesia 3 Lecturer in Faculty of Law, Dayanu Ikhsanuddin University - Indonesia Introduction We often hear the name of a particular tribe and we have guessed the orientation of their life which refers to the environment they live in. Like the name of Murut people as “hill people,” Toraja (inland people), Subanun (hill people), Tidung (mountain people), Tontembon (hill people), Maranao (lake people), Talaud (sea people), Tondano (water people), Toulour (lake people) and so on. Essentially, the naming refers to the identity of the community based on the environment or area they live in. This identity is not different from the concept of “villagers”, “townsman,” “beach people” and so on. Not infrequently, the label of ethnic groups creates superior, subordinate and even stereotypical attitudes in the context of inter-ethnic relations. But when we call people who live on the sea, we will know the names of “Sea people”, “Bajo people”, “Bajau” or “Same people.” A group that has a vast imaginary area because the sea as an identity and the heartbeat of Bajau people that has been going on for a long time. It seems that their ancestors came from Johor Malaysia. In some folklores the Bajau are descendants of Johor who are ordered by the king to look for his daughter who escaped. These people were ordered to search all over the country to Sulawesi island. It seems that the princess chose to stay in Sulawesi, while those who sought her gradually chose to stay and no longer returned to Johor. And it seems that according to one version, the princess who married the Bugis prince then put her people in an area now called as Bajoe. While, other versions call that because they could not find the princess, finally the people from Johor chose to stay in the Tomini Bay area, both in Gorontalo and Togian Island. Areas with se lements of (in most Moken, cases formerly) ‘Nomadic Boat People’ Moklen Sopher 1965 Bajau, Sama(l) Orang Suku Laut Bajo, Same/ a Bajau Tribe Distribution Map in Southeast Asia Sea people, Bajo, Bajau or Sama Bajo are also one of the tribes that spread to various reef parts in several countries in Southeast Asia. The name Bajau is given by other people in Sulawesi island both inside or outside. While, Bajau tribe called themselves as Sama people and called people outside them as Bagai people (peoples stay in land). Bajau language (baong sama), shows unique something in this society. If they are among their peers, they use the word “sama” as a reference term and to show their group. The term “sama” is in opposition to bagai it means to all other communities, outside Bajau tribe. Sama is a Bajau tribe whose existence is related to other “sama-sama”. This term supports the idea of making Bajau tribe as a community, because the term reminds everyone that they are citizen and belongs to their group. The meaning of the term goes far beyond the meaning given in Indonesia language, such as “serupa”, “sama”, “setara” (Tahara, 2017). Bajau Tribe in Southeast Asia Since European researchers first mentioned Bugis as Sailor, until now there are still many researchers who still often cannot distinguish Bugis from Bajau people. Even in 1511, Tome Pires, a Portuguese national, likened the Bugis merchant to sail to Malacca from a place he called the island of “Macacar,” with Bajau tribe considered to be robbers. From history it is known that Bajau tribe is not just a tribe of sea nomads who only know fishing. They are also suppliers of various international market commodities. They are very active looking for marine commodities such as pearl shells, sea cucumbers, turtle scales, pearls, shells, corals, and seaweed. Also, they provide various coastal commodities, especially from mangrove forests such as roots, bark, and mangrove wood which are used as dyes, as well as aloe, resin, honey, beeswax candles and bird nests, both of which are located around their place or even from places they visit that involve trade relations with the Bugis and Makassar kingdoms (Andaya 1984:36). Bajau tribe are known as strong sailors as heirs to maritime culture. However, the history is more familiar with the tribes of Makassar, Bugis, Buton, or Mandar as king in the sea. Bajau tribe fled and their group to sea because they avoided war and riots on land. Therefore, there are boat people who are fully living on water and still have networks in several other countries, especially in Southeast Asia. So far, there is a stigma that when cases of damage to coral reef ecosystems and population decline from various species of high economic value biota are often associated with the practice of disruptive Bajau tribal fishermen such as the use of explosives and toxic chemicals and taking rocks. Therefore, conservation programs in developing countries emphasize the need for a participatory and collaborative approach to marine resource management, especially participatory Bajau fishermen (Clifton & Majors, 2011). Among the maritime tribes (Mandar, Buton, Bugis and Makassar), the presence of Bajo tribe (the term Bajau for Bugis and Buton tribes) as a maritime community has not been widely revealed by historians, especially the relationship between certain ethnic groups with Bajau tribe. Whereas the interaction between Bajau tribe and the maritime community is an interesting study. For example, in the cluster of Buton island and its surroundings such as Tiworo and Tukang Besi island (now Wakatobi) many found Bajau tribe (Sama) and entirely related to the sea. The closeness between the Butonese and the Bajau people can be seen from the existence of an area called Wajo market. This place is an interaction between the Butonese and the Bajo people. For the Butonese, Wajo is a term for Bajo (Zuhdi, 2010). Although the Bajau people feel superior to maritime culture towards people who live on land, on the other hand they are also inferior when interacting with land people. Land people have a civilization in terms of science and technology compared to the Bajau people who only struggle with the sea. This condition is undeniable if there is a developing stereotype in the people who live on land that the Bajau tribe is an isolated, underdeveloped and closed society. The name of “Bajau” for other groups is often a label or stereotype as robber or pirates. According to the narrative story that developed in several regions where its territory was adjacent to the Bajau tribal village, it was assumed that the pirates in the past were believed comes from Sama people. Since then, many people call the Sama tribe as the Bajau tribe, which means a group of pirates. Because the Bajau tribe is known as a group that inhabits the sea and spreads throughout the archipelago, especially in Eastern Indonesia, so that peoples give stereotype to all the tribes as Bajo people labeled as robbers or pirates.