MALAYSIA BACK ON TIER 2 HUMAN TRAFFICKING WATCH LIST

Report says govt failed to meet minimum requirements

MALAYSIA has been pushed back to the Tier 2 watch list in the United States Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report for 2018.

Malaysia was downgraded after the government was deemed to have failed to meet the minimum requirements for the elimination of trafficking.

The report stated that while Malaysia had made good progress in combating human trafficking, it had not been able to meet all its promises.

Malaysia’s downgrade returns it to the same rank it occupied in 2015 and 2016.

However, it briefly climbed up to Tier 2 in 2017. It was previously in the bottom rung of the fourtier chart in 2014.

In the report prepared by the US’ State Department, Malaysia was downgraded due to lack of action against those complicit in the human trafficking crisis near the Thai border in 2015, where a mass grave was also discovered.

The report said: “No Malaysians, including suspected complicit officials, have been prosecuted for the possible trafficking crimes uncovered on the border of Thailand in 2015.”

It also said complicity among law enforcement officials, in the form of accepting bribes to allow undocumented border crossings, hampered some anti-trafficking efforts.

Malaysia has long been known as a destination for trafficking victims, including both documented and undocumented workers.

It relies heavily on manpower from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal and the Philippines, among others. It has nearly two million registered foreign workers, but there are millions more in the country without work permits.