Post-Election Assistance and Political Participation of Indonesian Migrant Workers in Malaysian Diaspora Communities: Evaluation of Village Head Elections in Bengkulu

Rekho Adriadi; Titi Darmi; Tri Agustin; Oktari Dwi Miranti

doi:10.59535/30dz3r92

Authors

Rekho Adriadi Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Bengkulu, Indonesia Author
Titi Darmi Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Bengkulu, Indonesia Author
Tri Agustin Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Bengkulu, Indonesia Author
Oktari Dwi Miranti Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Bengkulu, Indonesia Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59535/30dz3r92

Keywords:

migrant workers, electoral inclusion, village head elections, political participation

Abstract

Political rights education for migrant workers may improve civic knowledge without removing the practical obstacles to participation in their villages of origin. This article reports a 2024 international community-service evaluation and post-election assistance program implemented by Universitas Muhammadiyah Bengkulu with PCIM Malaysia, following a 2023 political-rights socialization initiative. The non-randomized mixed-method evaluation involved 142 Indonesian migrant workers from five Bengkulu villages (87 previously socialized and 55 comparison respondents), civic knowledge assessment, participation and barrier surveys, twelve focus-group discussions, village institutional interviews, and assistance dialogues. Among previously socialized respondents, the composite civic knowledge index was 74.2, compared with 48.3 in the comparison group; the retained score represented 90.9% of the 2023 post-program index (81.6). The report records election-related participation of 31.0% versus 12.7%, although the operational categorization of voting and broader engagement is inconsistent across the original report and requires record-level confirmation. Among 76 intended but non-participating respondents, 64 (84.2%) identified a procedural, economic, or administrative barrier as decisive. Village-budget enquiries were reported by 44.8% of exposed participants and 16.4% of comparison respondents. Assistance produced five aspiration submissions, three acknowledged receipts, three dialogue forums, and two village procedural provisions for migrant consultation. The experience indicates that political-rights education should be combined with accessible administrative arrangements and continuing non-electoral participation channels. The observational design does not establish a causal intervention effect.

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