ALLOWING refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia to work legally will help the country fill its severe labour shortage, businesses said.

They said refugees and asylum seekers can complement the Malaysian workforce and work in the food and beverage industry, plantation, construction and 3D jobs – dirty, dangerous and difficult – that locals do not want to fill.

However, policy changes must take place to allow this group to legally work in the country, they added.

Chin Chee Seong, SME Association of Malaysia’s national secretary-general, said it was a good idea to use refugees while waiting for foreign labour to enter the country.

“For temporary measures, yes (we can employ refugees), but we don’t need temporary workers, we need to train long-term workers,” Chin told The Malaysian Insight.

“If refugees can stay long in Malaysia, then this is a good idea.

“But I don’t know whether the government will accept refugees as foreign workers. This is a policy matter.”

Chin said that if employers provide good facilities and environment for refugees and asylum seekers to live and work in, they will be a good alternative to foreign workers.

“They can fill the 3D sector. If they are good in technical jobs, why not use them for basic technical jobs, which may be possible?

“In that sense, we also need low skilled technical workers. They can fill the gap of these jobs,” he said.

Allowing refugees and asylum seekers to work legally will also provide them a means to support their families, he added.

Last week, Umno vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin suggested Putrajaya allow refugees to work in the country after registering with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

This, he said, will cut out the need for unskilled foreign labour.

Refugees are not allowed to legally work in Malaysia. They are typically temporarily placed here, before being relocated to a third country.

Most recently, 528 Rohingya detainees escaped from an immigration detention centre, six were killed when attempting to cross the North-South Expressway at KM168 southbound near Jawi, Nibong Tebal.

Last month, Human Resources Minister M. Saravanan said Putrajaya was working on a guideline on permission for refugees to work in Malaysia.

Saravanan said his ministry will study the suitable sectors for refugees and ensure that permission for them to work will not lead to competition with Malaysians for jobs.

However, no timeline was given by the minister as to when this guideline would be introduced.

Jeremy Lim, vice-president of the restaurants and bistro owners association, also agreed that allowing refugees to work legally is a fantastic idea as they can contribute to the country.

“These refugees are temporary occupants of our country. They may bring with them certain skills that can help contribute to our industry and market.

“Moreover, there could be some income for the nation, from taxes, permits,” Lim said.

Given the severe labour shortage, refugees can complement the current local workforce, he added.

“As it is, the manpower situation is pretty dire. While we are waiting for the incoming foreign workforce, the government should seriously consider this proposal (allowing refugees to work legally).

Humanitarian efforts v safeguarding borders

Ameer Ali Mydin, president of the Malaysian Retailers Association, said the challenge in allowing refugees already in the country to work may open the doors to more refugees ending up on our shores.

“The major challenge here is that once you allow it, you will have an influx of people,” Ameer said.

“Allowing (them to work) on humanitarian grounds while safeguarding our border from illegal immigrants is very important.

Ameer said there is a need to document all refugees and illegal immigrants in the country before the government can decide what to do with them.

He is also of the opinion that the refugee situation should only be addressed after the government has brought in enough foreign labourers to support the labour shortage.

“Many (refugees) are working illegally anyway because there is a massive shortage and the government has been slow (in bringing in foreign labourers).

“The fault lies with the government for not acting firmly and fast enough in terms of ensuring there are enough labourers for the economy to grow. The shortage is more than 30-40%.

“To go after the Rohingya and other illegal immigrants is a wrong step. They should quickly approve (foreign labourers instead).”

However, if there is a need to allow refugees to work legally now, the managing director of Mydin added that refugees are hardworking people and can work in any sector according to needs.

“They can do anything. Take them to the sector that needs the most employees, like plantations.

“It is hard work and currently it depends only on Indonesian workers. We can place them in a supervised environment,” he said.

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.

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

From 2008 to March 2022, more than 90,625 refugees have been resettled from Malaysia to third countries. – April 27, 2022.