PM: There’s no stopping us

‘Malaysia’s collective effort to end trafficking showing results’

Well done to those who worked tirelessly to achieve this. We remain committed to stopping trafficking.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has reiterated Malaysia’s commitment to putting a stop to human trafficking.

“Malaysia’s collective efforts in combating human trafficking locally and regionally is bearing fruit as the country improved its position in the international Trafficking in Persons Report 2017,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

In the report published by the US State Department, Malaysia has been upgraded to Tier 2 from the Tier 2 Watch List it was on last year.

“Well done to those who worked tirelessly to achieve this. We remain committed to stopping trafficking, protecting the victims and prosecuting the traffickers,” said Najib.

According to the report, Malaysia demonstrated increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period, which enabled it to be upgraded.

Malaysia hopes to attain Tier 1 status in 2020.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak said Malaysia’s upgrade was a reflection of the Najib-led government in battling the inhumane crime.

Malaysians, driven by their shared values of care and respect, remain united against human trafficking, he added.

Malaysia was on the Tier 2 Watch List in 2015 and 2016, an upgrade from Tier 3 in 2014.

WAShington: President Donald Trump’s administration hit China over its rights record, placing the country alongside Sudan and North Korea on a list of the world’s worst human trafficking offenders.

The State Department downgraded China in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report, saying Beijing is doing little to combat the phenomenon or protect its victims.

It pointed to ethnic Uighurs, a minority community in China’s west, being coerced into forced labour and to Beijing’s wholesale repatriation of North Koreans without checking to see if they were trafficking victims.

Beijing “does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so”, said the report unveiled in Washington by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

It marked the first significant rebuke of China’s rights record by the Trump administration, which has avoided harsh criticism of Beijing as the president seeks to establish a working relationship over deep trade differences and North Korea’s nuclear programme.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang had hit back even before the report was released, saying “China is firmly against the US making irresponsible remarks about another nation’s anti-human trafficking work according to its domestic law”.

Lu told a regular news briefing hours earlier that China was firmly combatting human trafficking and that it was willing to work with all countries to crack down on such crimes.

The State Department report placed Congo Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea and Mali on its list of 23 “Tier 3” countries with the worst human trafficking records.