WHEN the COVID-19 pandemic was at its height and international mobility at a minimum, taking in refugees was not seen as a priority, said a market research company.
But this is changing.
According to Ipsos’s latest study titled “Refugees in a Reopened World”, the perception that refugees should be completely shut out has receded both in Malaysia and globally as the world begins to gradually open up once more.
Accepting refugees remains a contentious issue in the post pandemic world. The prevailing sentiment in most countries is that the inflow of refugees should either remain the same or be reduced. A majority Malaysians support the latter.
Meanwhile, with a new Ukrainian refugee crisis emerging as a result of the war, global opinion favours Ukrainian refugees over people from other conflict areas.
That sentiment is not echoed by Malaysians, who are more inclined to accept refugees from Syria over Ukraine.
“Accepting refugees is always a contentious topic and was even more so when the pandemic effectively shut borders across the world.
“As global mobility picks up, people are less inclined to think refugees should be shut out completely than during the height of the pandemic in 2020-21,” said Ipsos Public Affairs associate director Lars Erik Lie.
“That doesn’t mean accepting refugees have become a popular policy – globally, few supports increasing the intake of refugees. In Malaysia, a majority thinks the country should accept less refugees than it currently does.” — July 7, 2022
Main photo credit: Global Policy Insights
