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The US should not play politics with its TIP report
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This is disturbing on all fronts. The US upgraded Malaysia from the bottom most Tier 3 to Tier 2 Watchlist in its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report allegedly to facilitate a trade deal.

And now it expresses concern over non prosecution of anyone following the unearthing of 139 graves and 28 human trafficking camps along the Thai-Malaysia border.

The damage was already done when the unjustified upgrade happened shortly after the discovery in May 2015 in order to pave the way for Malaysia to move forward with its Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations.

And even more so as a local newspaper singled out corruption as the main reason that allowed such camps to operate for years without detection.

The New Straits Times claimed that evidence of this systemic corruption is found in a “controversial report compiled by the Special Branch,” which is “the result of 10 years of covert, deep-cover surveillance and intelligence gathering by the Special Branch at the nation’s border checkpoints, and at different enforcement agencies throughout the country.”

I welcome the initiative of Susan Coppedge, the US ambassador-at-large, to monitor and combat trafficking in persons, to meet with government officials and representatives from non-governmental organisations.

But I certainly hope this is not a smoke screen to appease US Senators and the Congress, who have been critical of the upgrade.

And their concerns do hold water.

Countries in the Tier 2 Watchlist are considered nations that “do not fully meet the minimum standard in eliminating human trafficking”.

Last year, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said numerous efforts were being undertaken to address the issues of trafficking by looking into ways to help the victims, including getting them jobs.

He even boasted that Malaysia's level of commitment to tackle human trafficking issues remain high, with efforts to put it on the Tier 1.

But the fact that the country remains at the Tier 2 Watchlist clearly indicates that the government is only concerned with rhetoric and picture perfect stories, while remaining nonchalant about issues relating to trafficking.

Malaysia is still regarded as a destination or transit country for trafficking victims, with many of them ending up in forced labour or sex trafficking.

Therefore, Coppedge must make it clear to Malaysian officials that the government must show commitment to measurable outputs in preventing trafficking, conduct impartial investigations to nab violators of the anti-trafficking laws, protect victims, increase monitoring efforts, form a regional enforcement network to thwart trafficking and regulate the recruitment process of migrant workers besides pressing for prosecution of those involved in the human trafficking camps.

This cannot, once again, be a mere public relations exercise.


CHARLES SANTIAGO is Member of Parliament, Klang.

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