This International Migrants Day, there is a hardly any attention to the ways that migrant reach their destinations, hence this reflection below:

The flutter of the non place in Auge’s words are a contradiction to what I notice as a second generation migrant every time i fly in any airport in SE Asia which are part of migration corridors. Countries which are both migrant receiving and sending countries as Malaysia has plenty of workers in Singapore and Australia, while it receives workers from Bangladesh, Nepal and Indonesia.

The chatter in the long corridor before the boarding security check in Singapore or KL or within the aircraft is a cacophony of tongues, a babel on the go where expectations of a better life, and the disappointments of a failed migration attempt linger heavily in the air.

These migrant Aeromobilities don’t make it to the literature, as it is not fancy enough, may be something to do with friction or platform works better.

This year is probably defined by the enjoyable but steep learning curve that I have gone through, as I have lived most of the year in Malaysia and travelled throughout the peninsula. I realised that Malaysia is more than the Klang Valley urban agglomeration, and it is so diverse and varied. Truly blessed to have researched and written academically in the second half of the year on a project scholarship.

Got the privilege to be at the UNDP+BHR Conference in Bangkok this year, which, as a BHR+Impact Professional, is a surreal experience. Very kind mentors made this possible, along with other workshop participations in a powerful thematic area of Due Diligence. I did very limited consulting this year, but each assignment was one where I could add value.

I had a publication in a prestigious Indian Ocean Journal on ‘Subaltern Migrant Foodscapes’, which was under work for a while, and it was deeply satisfying to say the least.

Presenting my PhD work at ICONSEA 11 was an academic milestone of the year, along with the FinGeo Workshop and Conference at NUS in February. I also moderated a panel at Regen Asia at NUS in July, which was an incredible intellectual experience.

Hoping for 2026 to be one where the poly-crisis veers towards an equilibrium.

Presenting a paper based on my WIP PhD Thesis at the most prestigious SE Asian Studies Conference at Universiti Malaya is site of intellectual pilgrimage every two years, where South east Asia comes together to chart the future of the field, the key notes by legendary scholars to young scholars who will drive the field in the future. ICONSEA 11 was a tour de force, and the department turns 50, one of the oldest South East Asian Studies Departments in the globe, where the field is undergoing a shift given the funding shifts globally.

This was my second ICONSEA, and this time around i found myself in an intellectual space that felt like home.

As a second generation peripheral academic, i take this honor to write and engage as an enormous honor, which i do not take lightly. I presented on the transition in Malaysia, and am grateful for the support i have – my supervisor, my PI of the research program i chip in and my academic parents.

Many thanks to Dr Mala and the team for the prestigious opportunity to engage with debates in this festival of ideas.

Zhi Char Places are a culinary gem, with the fiery wok spinning the spiciest kung pao chicken, and the unker drinking tiger juice as he reads his paper with abandon. The ang moh comes over to have a bite, at the end of the day in China Town (with more Bangla and Burmese dialects being heard) as it has many a budget hotel packed in as sardine tins. A heritage district performs and preserves in the same breath, as gentrification creeps in with new urban renewal laws on the anvil, the ROI on a Chinatown meal is priceless, as a cultural archive with many migrants picking these meal preparation in many a kopitiam across KL.

An annual catch up with Mr. Bed Kumar is a lesson in humility and a masterclass on Nepalese migration in Malaysia.

Migration is not about the h-index rather the humanity of the stories migrant community organising legends share in their struggle for rights and equity, as they build at home through remittances in the midst of political turmoil back home.

Let the research evidence be channelised in to good policy at various national and corridor scales.