Refugees’ right to work

MALAYSIA is not a state party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, and so it does not recognise refugee status or provide rights for refugees, including employment rights.

Despite that, refugees have been working in the informal sector all this while to survive, and Malaysian authorities turn a blind eye. They are mostly unskilled labourers who work in 3D sectors. There are also refugees with professional qualifications.