Putrajaya to provide work permits, skills training for Rohingyas

Pic: Bernama

 KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 — Putrajaya is working on a plan to provide semi-skilled trainings and temporary work permits to the 56,000 Rohingya refugees in the country, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.

Ahmad Zahid said that the move would convert the Rohingyas “from liabilities to assets” and provide them with job opportunities.

"We are working out the details and I will announce it in due course," he told reporters here.

He said that the training and permit apply to Rohingyas who hold United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards.

“They can become additional workforce in certain industries,” he said.

He said that the move would reflect Malaysia’s commitment on the Rohingya issue in the eyes of the international community.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which was called to discuss the plight of the Rohingyas.

Zahid also said that Malaysia has not received permission from Myanmar for its flotilla aid to cross into Myanmar waters.

“We are still in negotiations,” he said.


Original source: themalaymail