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UN Body Hopeful Of Employment, Education Easing For Refugees

KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 (Bernama) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is hopeful Malaysia will grant its request to allow refugees to seek legal employment in the country and enrol their children in government schools this year.

"I understand that this is not an easy process but I hope we will be able to achieve that this year," said UNHCR representative in Malaysia Dr Volker Turk.

Education and employment were the two major challenges faced by UNHCR and the refugees in Malaysia, he told Bernama after speaking at a seminar entitled "Refugee, Humanitarian and Human Rights Issue" at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Wednesday.

He said UNHCR had held dialogues with relevant authorities on the issue, emphasising on the need to improve laws related to refugees.

Turk said present statutes, like the Immigration Act 1959/1963, did not recognise refugees which forced them to work illegally and exposing them to legal actions by the authorities and exploitation by employers.

He said the Malaysian education system, which had no provision for the children of refugees, had deprived the children of formal education despite some of the refugees having lived in the country for many years.

Currently, 7,457 refugee children up to age 18 were enrolled in 14 "schools" set up by their respective communities and non-governmental organisations.

"Some of the authorities have been very supportive in this matter but until now nothing has happened and we have not heard of any concrete proposals," he said.

Based on UNHCR statistics up to February this year, there are some 45,000 refugees living in Malaysia made up of 20,000 from Aceh in Indonesia, 10,000 Rohingyas from Myanmar and the rest from different ethnic minorities such as the Chins from Myanmar and others from Cambodia and Sri Lanka. In addition, there are some 62,000 Filipino refugees in Sabah.

Refugees in Peninsular Malaysia mostly live in the Klang Valley.

-- BERNAMA