KUALA LUMPUR – Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail is optimistic that Malaysia is on the right track to achieve Tier 1 in the US State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.
He said that Malaysia introduced the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act in 2007, which has undergone three amendments.
The most recent amendment, made after the 2021 TIP report, has made the law more victim-centric.
“Every action taken by the government to address human trafficking, such as providing shelter to victims, ensuring their freedom of movement, recording victim statements and using them to prosecute traffickers, contributes significantly to improving the ranking on the TIP report,” Saifuddin told the Dewan Rakyat today.
“We have the laws, cooperation between domestic and international agencies, and the political will of the government.
“I am very optimistic that we are on the right track and that we are doing the right thing. What we need now is support from every stakeholder.”
Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Doris Sophia Brodi (Sri Aman-GPS) said the country’s elevation to Tier 2 in the report should not be something to be proud of.
She added that despite the country’s rise to Tier 2 after years of being in Tier 3, the government should still be concerned about this ranking and called for urgent action by various parties, especially the government, to address this issue.
Doris asked the government to list the measures it had undertaken to reduce human trafficking incidents in the country.
“Why is the rate of human trafficking still high despite the government’s efforts to address this problem? Where did it go wrong, and how did it go wrong?
“Does this indicate that those efforts are still inadequate, satisfactory or ineffective? Are there flaws in enforcing existing laws, or is this issue not being seen as pressing enough?” she asked while debating a motion filed by Saifuddin on the TIP report.
Doris also questioned the government about whether it had conducted any in-depth studies on the factors contributing to the increase in human trafficking in the country.
She also asked whether the government had enhanced partnerships with neighbouring countries to address this problem, given that victims were being trafficked from these countries.
Saifuddin said he agreed with Doris that the country could not afford to be content with the present ranking and that it should be targeting a Tier 1 spot.
Malaysia was upgraded to Tier 2 in the 2024 TIP Report issued by the US State Department last month.
The last time Malaysia was in Tier 2 was in 2017. – July 2, 2024