MalayMail-May 25
Rohingya refugees in Malaysia were not draining public resources or just passively waiting for help and could even be a solution to the country’s labor shortage if allowed to work legally, a new study has said. In the joint report by the Protecting Rohingya Refugees in Asia (PPRiA) project and the Rohingya community, the majority of the 200 Rohingya refugees surveyed were found to be “self-reliant” with “minimal dependence” on the Malaysian government. Evan Jones, manager of the Asia Displacement Solutions Platform (ADSP) that was part of the PRRiA project, said: “Contrary to public discourse, Rohingya refugees are not a burden on government resources nor are they passive recipients of aid.” “Instead, Rohingya are actively eking out livelihood opportunities and are eager to continue learning and developing their skills,” she said in ADSP’s statement today on the recently-released report. There are more than 106,000 Rohingya refugees registered in Malaysia with the UN refugee agency UNHCR as of last November.
Since Malaysia’s laws do not allow Rohingya refugees to work legally, their only option for survival is to work in the informal sector, which opened them to being abused by employers, exploited for lower or delayed pay, and denied protection in high-risk work environments, the report found. The full 32-page report titled “Understanding the current and potential contribution of Rohingya refugees to the Malaysian economy” can be found here. Read more at:
