KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has been upgraded to Tier 2 in the US State Department's latest Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.
Malaysia, which was on Tier 3 previously, was upgraded in the 2015 TIP report to Tier 2 Watch List.
The Home Ministry, in a statement today, said upgrade was based on the Malaysian government’s increased efforts compared to the previous reporting period, which led to the upgrade.
“The government demonstrated increasing efforts by expanding trafficking investigations, prosecutions, and convictions,” said the ministry, quoting the report.
The 2017 TIP Report stated that the Malaysian government had strengthened enforcement of the law prohibiting passport retention, convicting 17 employers for unauthorised retention of passports, compared to zero during the previous year.
“To galvanise coordinated anti-trafficking operations, the government established a new inter-agency law enforcement task force, to which 17 officers from seven agencies were assigned and trained on investigative tactics.
“The government approved an updated national action plan spanning 2016-2020 and allocated sufficient resources towards its implementation,” it said.
However, the report said Malaysia did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas including its victim protection efforts, which it said remained largely inadequate.
It said Malaysia's newly implemented laws created a process for shelter residents to move freely and to work if they are cleared by medical, security, and mental health professionals and approved by the anti-trafficking council.
Bureaucratic delays, however, including a lack of counselors able to complete required mental health evaluations; risk-averse and paternalistic attitudes towards victims; and lack of victim interest in available work opportunities resulted in a very low number of victims being granted the right to work or to move freely.
The report revealed that out of the 1,558 victims identified, the government reportedly conducted only 106 risk assessments and ultimately granted six victims work visas and 12 special immigration passes for freedom of movement.
The 2017 TIP Report said that 28 other victims were approved for freedom of movement, but delays in obtaining required passports from their home countries meant that they either had returned home or remained waiting at the end of the reporting period.
Malaysia, it said, had arrested at least 42 personnel last year for smuggling and trafficking-related offenses. However, it was not revealed how many were charged.
Countries listed in Tier 2 are those whose governments do not fully comply with the department's minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.