Malaysian restaurants willing to hire boatpeople

The Malaysian Indian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) has offered to hire the Rohingya and Bangladeshi boat migrants who have been temporarily allowed to land in Malaysia.

If the proposal was not contrary to any government policy, the migrants were welcome to work at any of the restaurants affiliated to the association, reports Malaysian daily The Star quoting the association’s President Noorul Hassan Saul Hameed.

“We would like to extend our help to the victims who are just like our brothers and sisters,” said Hameed.

Many of its members have expressed willingness to provide job opportunities to the migrants to help them stand on their own feet, he added.

“We’re not forcing the government or our members. We are proposing this on a humanitarian basis, as some of our members have expressed willingness to help the migrants. We have to understand that if they are allowed to land on our shores, they still need to feed their families. If they have jobs, they are less likely to be involved in social problems or crimes,” Hameed told The Star.

Currently, 603 Bangladeshi boat migrants are staying in Malaysian Immigration detention centre.

Malaysia and Indonesia on Wednesday agreed to give temporary shelter to about 7,000 migrants still at sea.