300 to be placed in agriculture,
manufacturing from March
By P. Prem Kumar
KUALA LUMPUR
A pilot scheme to give work to Rohingya refugees in
Malaysia is to be launched next month, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
said Thursday.
Malaysia will initially allow 300 Rohingya whose refugee
status is validated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) to take jobs in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors from March 1,
the minister said in a statement.
The Rohingya, a Muslium minority from Myanmar, will be
the first batch of refugees to be allowed to take legal employment in the
country.
“They would be placed in selected companies under the
agriculture and manufacturing sectors, aimed at providing them with skills and
financial support to enable them to build their lives before being relocated to
third world nations,” Hamidi said.
Those selected still have to pass a security and health
screening.
Undocumented refugees, including Rohingya, are still not
allowed to work. According to the UNHCR, Malaysia hosts around 151,000 refugees
and asylum seekers, 55,000 of whom are Rohingya.
From last year, Malaysia began accepting 1,000 Syrian
refugees a year.