Malaysia employers willing to hire Rohingya refugees, with conditions

Employers in Malaysia are ready to hire registered Rohingya refugees to address labor shortages in demanding sectors such as construction, manufacturing, cleaning, and support services. The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has expressed this willingness, seeing it as a solution to the '3D' jobs – dirty, dangerous, and difficult – that often struggle to attract local workers.

However, a lecturer from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Dr. Mohammad Mujaheed Hassan, cautions that such a move should be conditional. He proposes that employers provide centralized housing for the refugees to facilitate monitoring and prevent scattered settlements. This approach, he argues, would make the employment practical while allowing the government to thoroughly assess the situation.

Dr. Hassan emphasizes that the needs of industries alone should not dictate national policy. The government must undertake a comprehensive evaluation, considering crucial factors such as national security, public reception, social impacts, the cost of public services, and the long-term effects on the country's immigration framework. He suggests that if refugees are allowed to work officially, opportunities should be limited to sectors with genuine labor deficits and should not directly compete with employment prospects for Malaysian citizens.