In international migration, income resources, cost of living and dynamics of remittance have attained a great importance, however, Indonesian migrant workers in Sabah (Malaysia) have not been studied thoroughly in this regard. This article would like to investigate Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia's remitting behavior or decisions in light of their pre and post sources of income, cost of living, and how employers contribute in their cost of living. This study is based on the results of the ILMS survey conducted in 2010 and also in-depth informal interviews with legal and illegal workers. Under the survey, 896 respondents were interviewed. The article found that migrants' living expenses at the destination included daily consumption and accommodation usually formed the biggest portion of monthly expenditure, which affected the migrants' remitting behavior. This research extended Russell's model of remittances by including expenses at the destination that can influence the decision to remit, particularly among migrants accompanied by their family. It has been demonstrated that the costs of living expenses were higher among migrants with family in Sabah than among single migrants. This explains the tendency to send less frequently and a lower volume of remittances among the former. Hence, the trend of being accompanied by the family to Sabah has implications for migrants' remitting behavior. The article concludes that migrant workers with families were less likely to send remittance to their remaining family members in Indonesia. They had to fulfill family needs in the destination country. It shows that migrants with families opt to spend and support the local economy, and do not remit to their home countries.

Malaysia whom with open arms welcomes foreigners to help develop its economy catches the attention of especially the Bangladeshis. Undoubtedly, the presence of Bangladeshis has helped in filling in the vacancies in many sectors such as plantation, construction, services and manufacturing. Their work stint and experience gained leads to a paradigm shift, from an employee to an entrepreneur. Migration to Malaysia demands them to learn and acquire the Malay language for survival. In addition, proficiency in the Malay language is an added value as it makes them feel contented, secure and successful.  This study aims to look at the perception on the proficiency of the Bangladeshis entrepreneurs who are adapting the Malay language as the main medium of communication. The relation between levels of education and proficiency in 1) speaking, 2) reading and 3) writing is analysed. This study also evaluates the importance of the Malay language usage among Bangladeshis in managing businesses. A survey was conducted on 56 Bangladeshi migrants who were involved in the business field in Kuala Lumpur. Surely, it is crucial for Bangladeshis who wish to work in this country to be proficient in the Malay language. This is to ensure their survival strategy is sustained, allowing them to tap a gold mine in Malaysian soil.

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Migrant workers' recruitment and travelling from Indonesia to Tawau (Sabah), Malaysia is a serious matter, which has not been thoroughly assessed especially the role or help of local employers in Sabah and the (un)secrete routes they use to bring the undocumented migrant workers to Sabah. This article is based on the Indonesia Labour Migration to Sabah (ILMS) Survey (in Syed Abdul Razak [2010]) conducted in 2009 and 2010, in which 896 migrant workers (both documented and undocumented) were interviewed. Also, informal interviews were conducted with employers, intermediaries and the officials in Malaysia and Indonesia. The article found that mandors and local brokers/village sponsors played an important role in the recruitment process of migrant workers. Mandors and local brokers (could be the village sponsors) worked within the social networks; they formerly linked employers with prospective migrant workers; while the brokers linked new migrants to institutional networks that operated through legal and unauthorised channels. However, the real demand or space for undocumented migrant workers was created from Sabah. The employers played an important role to sustain the problem of undocumented migrant workers. The study also found various factors, which facilitated migrant workers' movement to Sabah that included improvements in water transport and telecommunication systems, the longestablished, familiar networks, and the availability of groups which provided fake documents. There was more inclination to use informal channels because of the cost and procedures, whereas the migrant workers willing to take any kind and