<![CDATA[Children of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia, particularly in Selangor, face a legal challenge arising from differences between Indonesia’s recognition of the right to education and Malaysia’s citizenship-based compulsory education framework under the Education Act 1996. This study examines how responsibility for fulfilling these children’s right to education should be allocated between the two states. Using a normative juridical method with statutory and comparative approaches, it analyzes both legal frameworks through the best interests of the child and maqāsid al-sharī‘ah, particularly ḥifẓ al-nasl (protection of future generations). The findings reveal that Indonesia provides a normative basis for protecting its nationals’ educational rights but lacks a comprehensive mechanism for facilitating their realization abroad, while Malaysia exercises territorial authority without extending equivalent compulsory education entitlements to non-citizen children. This creates a normative and jurisdictional gap that limits effective access to education. From the perspective of maqāsid al-sharī‘ah, education is essential to safeguarding children’s intellectual development, welfare, dignity, and prospects. The study’s principal contribution is a cross-border state responsibility framework that distinguishes Indonesia’s protective and facilitative responsibilities from Malaysia’s territorial responsibilities. This framework moves beyond general calls for bilateral cooperation by specifying complementary obligations for both states. The study recommends a binding Indonesia–Malaysia instrument that recognizes migrant workers’ children as rights-holders, establishes minimum standards for alternative learning centers, regulates documentation and educational referral pathways, and provides for joint monitoring and compliance mechanisms. These measures would strengthen legal certainty and promote more equitable and sustainable access to education for migrant workers’ children.]]>
