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 KUALA LUMPUR, Sat: The 2005 Trafficking In Persons Report released yesterday by the United States Department of State has placed Malaysia in Tier 2 along with countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Finland, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Singapore and Sri Lanka. (Click  to download the TIP Report) This 5th annual TIP Report was made pursuant to the United States' Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 which mandates the United States Department of State to release an annual worldwide report on the efforts of governments to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons.
The Act defines "severe form of trafficking in persons" as:
"-sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age; or
- the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery." The TIP Report places the countries in four categories - Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List and Tier 3. A country that fails to take significant actions to bring itself into compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons receives a negative "Tier 3" assessment which could trigger the withholding of non-humanitarian, non-trade-related assistance from the United States to that country. A case was narrated on page 16 of the TIP Report that in Cambodia, a young girl was encouraged by an elder “auntie” to travel to Malaysia for work as a domestic servant. The auntie then arranged for a legitimate Malaysian visa by making a bogus claim of sponsorship for work, but the girl's passport and other travel documents were taken away upon her arrival in Malaysia and she was forced to dance semi-nude at a club, servicing any client who demanded sex with her. By this time, the auntie had disappeared.
 In her letter, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, "The TIP Report serves to expose these despicable aspects of trafficking. It provokes, lauds, and challenges. Countries including the United States, which is dealing with its own trafficking problem, have been inspired to greater action against human trafficking as a result of this unique compendium. By reading it, we hope you are joining with us in the abolitionist movement of the 21st century to advance freedom for the world's most vulnerable citizens."
On Malaysia, the TIP Report called on the Malaysian Government to draft and enact a comprehensive trafficking law that recognises trafficked men and women as victims and provides them with shelter, counselling, and assistance in repatriation. It also concluded that Malaysia does not have a witness protection programme that would encourage victims to testify against the criminal syndicates that are responsible for much of the trafficking. Whist the Malaysian Government provided training for some of its higher-ranking officials, the TIP Report said there was, however, no systematic training programme to sensitise front line police and immigration officers on trafficking. It also said that there were no reported prosecutions of officials complicit in trafficking. On our neighbour Singapore, the TIP Report urged the Singapore Government to address child sex tourism by Singaporeans in foreign destinations, and do more to publicise the problem of trafficking for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation in these destinations, particularly Batam, Indonesia. "Singapore should also consider adopting a comprehensive law, containing victim protection measures, for all forms of trafficking... Singapore has no national action plan to address trafficking", the TIP Report concluded. 
| The international scope of trafficking and commoditization of women in the sex trade is seen through this sign, outside a Hong Kong club which reads; "Young fresh Hong Kong girls; White, clean Malaysian girls; Beijing women; Luxurious girls from Russia." - Page 11 of the TIP Report. |
The full report on Malaysia is reproduced below: MALAYSIA (TIER 2)
Malaysia is a destination and, to a lesser extent, a source and transit country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. As many as several thousand women from Thailand, Indonesia, the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.), Cambodia, and Burma are trafficked to Malaysia for commercial sexual exploitation. Additionally, some economic migrants from Indonesia who work as domestic servants and as laborers in the construction and agricultural sectors face exploitative conditions in Malaysia that meet the definition of involuntary servitude. Malaysian women (primarily of Chinese origin) are trafficked to Western Europe, North America, Australia, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan.
The Government of Malaysia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. While the government took some steps to combat trafficking, Malaysia lacks comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation to enable officials to provide adequate victim protection and work effectively at the interagency level to combat trafficking in persons. The Ministry for Women, Family, and Community Development announced in December 2004 the establishment of a dedicated shelter for foreign trafficking victims. The National Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) drafted a national action plan on trafficking, though it has not yet been approved by the government. The Malaysian Government should screen illegal migrants detained for immigration violations to identify and provide care for trafficking victims that may be in their midst. The Malaysian Government should draft and enact a comprehensive trafficking law that recognizes trafficked men and women as victims and provides them with shelter, counseling, and assistance in repatriation.
Prosecution
During the reporting period, the Malaysian Government continued efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking-related cases. Malaysia does not have a law that specifically addresses trafficking in persons but uses existing laws to prosecute traffickers. Twenty individuals were convicted under trafficking statutes in the penal code during the first six months of 2004. The penal code criminalizes most of the acts involved in severe forms of trafficking and those laws carry penalties of up to 15 years' imprisonment. In 2004, the government began to use new amendments to the 2001 Anti-Money Laundering Act to seize the assets of businesses involved in illicit activities, including trafficking. The Malaysian Government reported four such seizures in early 2004. Malaysia does not have a witness protection program that would encourage victims to testify against the criminal syndicates that are responsible for much of the trafficking. There were no reported prosecutions of officials complicit in trafficking.
Protection
In 2004, Malaysia provided an inadequate level of protection for most victims of trafficking. While police procedure is to send victims who can prove their nationality to embassy shelters rather than immigration detention, many victims, including some who agreed to cooperate in prosecutions, were placed in harsh conditions in immigration detention centers to await deportation. Because the police continued to lack the training and language skills to identify trafficking victims among illegal migrants, foreign trafficking victims often went unrecognized and were treated as immigration offenders. The Malaysian Government has not yet implemented a formal screening process to identify trafficking victims but Suhakam has developed a questionnaire for foreign women arrested for prostitution to identify trafficking victims. In December 2004, the Women's Ministry announced the establishment of a dedicated shelter for foreign trafficking victims, though the shelter has yet to open and care for victims. The Malaysian Government provided training for some of its higher-ranking officials but there was no systematic training program to sensitize front line police and immigration officers on trafficking.
Prevention
The Malaysian Government continued efforts to prevent trafficking through public awareness or education campaigns. The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), within the government's ruling political coalition, continued to publish warnings about trafficking in its Chinese-language publications, make public statements to caution potential victims about overly lucrative job offers abroad, and hold periodic press conferences highlighting the plight of returned Malaysian trafficking victims. In 2004, Malaysian state-run television ran a documentary on trafficking victims who had been assisted by MCA. The Women's Ministry is planning a nationwide campaign to increase public awareness on trafficking through seminars, workshops, and dissemination of brochures.
The Bar Council hopes by making available this report on our website, we are joining hands with Governments and NGOs in bringing about greater public awareness on the evils of human trafficking and may we Malaysians also cooperate and learn from others' experiences in their efforts to combat human trafficking.
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