PUTRAJAYA’S proposal to allow refugees to work is a positive move as it would support and contribute to the Malaysian economy, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.

“The cost of hosting refugees would thereby be offset by positive contributions and would lead to job creations that are more skills-intensive, further benefiting and helping high-skilled Malaysian employees,” UNHCR spokesman in Kuala Lumpur, Yante Ismail, told The Malaysian Insight.

According to UNHCR, as of end February 2022, there are 181,800 refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR in Malaysia.

UNHCR said 86% of asylum seekers are from Myanmar, while the remaining are 25,990 refugees and asylum seekers from 50 countries fleeing war and persecution, including from Pakistan, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan and others.

Yante said 67% of refugees and asylum seekers are men, while 33% are women.

“There are 45,670 children below the age of 18.”

Refugees with UNHCR cards are only allowed to work in the informal sector to sustain themselves.

On March 24, Human Resources Minister M. Saravanan said Putrajaya was working on a guideline on the feasibility for refugees to work in Malaysia.

He said the ministry was leading a committee to study the matter and identify suitable sectors for refugees to ensure that permission for them to work will not lead to competition with Malaysians for jobs.

“The management of refugees and asylum seekers in the country is currently subject to the National Security Council’s (NSC) Directive 23.

“This directive is being improved and it will be tabled at an NSC meeting for approval,” he had said.

In a recent Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) report, it was suggested that if refugees were given the right to work, they could contribute more than RM3 billion to the GDP by 2024.

This, IDEAS had said, was through higher spending, contributing RM50 million in tax annually by 2024, and helping to create more than 4,000 jobs for Malaysians.

Enhancing self-reliance

Yante said that refugees were currently not able to access legal work in the country.

“Access to legal work would transform the quality and protection of refugees’ lives in terms of enhancing self-reliance.

“Greater self-reliance among refugee communities would lead to better health and education and a significantly reduced burden on the host state,” she said.

She said providing jobs for the refugees would create a stronger basis for refugees to contemplate future options.

This, she said, included returning to their home countries with transferable skills to start their new lives when that is possible.

“It is a ‘win-win’ for Malaysia, for its national interest and economy, and for refugees who live here temporarily.

“Our interest is in supporting Malaysia’s own needs while ensuring that these are sectors where refugees are able to contribute, and we hope that it will take advantage of the skills that refugees have to offer.”

Yante added that in recent years, UNHCR has had many positive discussions with the government on managing the complex challenges of refugee protection in the country, including on the matter of access to legal work.

“We look forward to seeing the proposed guidelines on access to legal work and having further discussions with the relevant ministries and agencies in this matter.

“UNHCR stands ready to provide support to the Malaysian government on this important proposal.”

Asylum-seeking on the decline since 2013

According to UNCHR’s data on refugees in Malaysia, the number of new arrivals had declined significantly since 2013.

“In 2013, the number of new asylum seekers peaked at 28,434. Numbers in later years have shown a decline,” said Yante.

“During the period of the nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19, registration was prioritised for highly vulnerable asylum seekers and those facing acute protection needs.

“During the 2020-2021 period, an average of 400 asylum seekers were registered each month,” she added.

Yante said these asylum seekers were not necessarily new arrivals but have been in the country for some time or may reflect changes in family composition – newborn children, for example.

She said there were currently no legislative or administrative provisions in place for dealing with the situation of asylum seekers or refugees in the country.

“UNHCR conducts all activities related to the reception, registration, documentation and status determination of asylum seekers and refugees.

“As part of our programme of humanitarian support for refugees, UNHCR cooperates with various partners including government agencies, civil society groups and the private sector to provide assistance for refugees in a variety of areas.

“This includes healthcare, education, and livelihoods and to support durable solutions for refugees, including resettlement to third countries.”

She added the key areas of work included preventing the arrest, detention and deportation of refugees.

Yante said what they hoped to see was for refugees to have protection in the country, to have greater access to healthcare, livelihood and opportunities for long-term solutions for all refugees.

“We are in a constructive dialogue with the Malaysian government in this respect.” – April 5, 2022.