Released today, the report said the government does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, even considering the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the country’s anti-trafficking capacity.
“Therefore, Malaysia remains in Tier 3,” said the report.
Malaysia was placed on the Tier 2 Watchlist from 2018 to 2020 before dropping to Tier 3, the lowest tier, last year.
The report added that the government has continued to conflate human trafficking and migrant smuggling crimes, which impeded law enforcement and victim identification efforts.
“Anti-trafficking investigations declined, and the government did not prosecute or convict government officials allegedly complicit in trafficking crimes,” stated the report.
The report also said that as in previous years, the government did not adequately address or criminally pursue credible allegations from multiple sources alleging labour trafficking in the rubber manufacturing industry and palm oil sector.
In addition, it said Malaysia’s criminal justice system continues to suffer resource constraints and “uneven application of basic investigative and prosecutorial skills”, which prevent judicial authorities from following through on trafficking cases at times.
The report’s recommendations include significantly increasing investigations, prosecutions and convictions for all forms of trafficking, including against officials complicit in trafficking related crimes, while respecting due process.
The report called for increased anti-trafficking training for front-line officials, adding that such training should also be held for immigration officials and labour inspectors to identify and refer suspected trafficking cases to the police.
Apart from suggesting that there should be a significant increase in oversight of labour recruitment agencies and employers, the report also said trafficking indicators – such as non-payment of wages and passport retention – should be referred to the police for criminal investigation.
The US State Department places each country into one of three tiers based on the extent of government action to combat trafficking and on the size of the problem.
A Tier 1 ranking indicates that a government has acknowledged the existence of human trafficking and has made efforts to address the problem. Tier 2 countries are those whose governments do not fully comply with the US Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act’s minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.
Tier 3 countries are those whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.
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