SUBANG JAYA: All 49 member countries of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Academy Association (FBINAA) in the Asia-Pacific needs to have a uniform set of laws to stamp out illegal activities.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said regional transnational terrorism, drugs, cybercrime, white collar crimes, cross border criminal activities and human trafficking need to be tackled.
"The situation today does not provide any room for complacency. Without proper cooperation to combat the negative elements at our borders, it will open more doors to the propagators of illegal activities, notably cross-border crime, drug and human trafficking.
"Malaysia has and is experiencing all this. Being in the Southeast Asia enclave, we are vulnerable to these illegal activities over the years.
"While I am glad that Malaysia's listing on the Tier-2 Watch List of the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons (USTIP) Report 2023 has had a positive impact on our trade sector and counters negative perceptions related to the issue of forced labour in the country, I personally believe we need to do more," he said when launching the 23rd FBINAA Asia Pacific Retaining Conference, here, today.
Present were Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain, FBINAA international president Tim Braniff and FBI assistant director of international operations division Raymond Duda.
Zahid said the trafficking of drugs was also a major issue in the region, based on the Department of Statistics' data which reported 108,220 drug-related cases and 129,604 drug-related arrests in 2021. He said there was a rising trend in cases involving drug suppliers and the number of related arrests.
"Malaysia has been focusing on a preventative approach, which targets high-risk addiction areas in the country to be transformed into safe zones.
"All these has forced the government to fork out an unnecessary budget for rehabilitation. Imagine the huge amount of money spent which would be sufficient to finance socio-economic projects for the people," he said.
Zahid added that in Malaysia, the growing seaborne transborder human trafficking problem has brought to attention the need for effective maritime governance and border control. This, he said, presented a serious challenge and had increased pressure on agencies tasked with policing the country's seas.
Strengthening border security through greater maritime surveillance, security operations and improving technology are vital in dealing with this non-traditional security challenge, he added.
"But it is unfortunately inadequate in ending such crimes, which is show trends of escalation especially in view of the global economic crisis. As human trafficking is a multi-dimensional issue and inextricably linked to migration and human rights, addressing the structural factors, namely push and pull factors, is pertinent.
"Key to bolstering Malaysia's security lies in sound economic and investment policies to discourage the influx of illegals and in introducing an effective migration framework that also addresses demands for cheap labour, migrant exploitation and public corruption fuel trafficking," said Zahid.