The Plight of Transnational Families in Malaysia

New Naratif's Southeast Asia Dispatches

For more than a month, Malaysian authorities detained Nigerian national Simon Momoh even after he had paid a fine and served his one-day jail term for a drink-driving offence. Although a court has since ruled that Malaysia’s Immigration Department had unlawfully detained Simon, his detention and the threat of deportation brought to light the many challenges foreign spouses and transnational families face in the country.

On this episode, Deborah Augustin speaks to Bina Ramanand, founding member of Family Frontiers and co-founder of the Foreign Spouses Support Group; and Naz, a Malaysian in a transnational marriage, to share their experience and to talk about the existing policies in place that affect these families.

This interview has been edited for clarity.