US Tip Report Upgrades Malaysia To Tier 2

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), June 29 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has been upgraded to Tier Two in the United States Trafficking in Persons Report 2017. The report was issued by the US State Department on June 27, said Home Ministry secretary-general Alwi Ibrahim in a statement Wednesday. The annual report assesses 187 countries on their efforts to combat human trafficking through three key components, namely prosecution, protection and prevention. The tier two placement is Malaysia’s best performance so far, since 2007. Alwi, who is also Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Migrant Anti-Migration Council (MAPO) president said the achievement was the result of strong commitment shown by MAPO through its High-Level Committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. He said the recognition was based on the increased investigations, prosecutions and convictions involving human trafficking cases compared to the previous year. In addition, said Alwi, Malaysia had improved its initiative, with active involvement of non-governmental organisation in the protection of victims following amendments to the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (ATIPSOM) in 2015. He said the US State Department also welcomed Malaysia's efforts to strengthen inter-agency cooperation for investigations through the setting up of the ATIPSOM special task force. In terms of prosecution, added Alwi, Malaysia had recorded a significant increase with 35 individuals sentenced, compared to just seven in 2015. "Malaysia will continue to improve the effectiveness of its prosecution through a collaboration between enforcement agencies, deputy public prosecutors and victims’ guardians, as well as increasing awareness of the judiciary on human trafficking offences, including forced labour," he said. He said the report also touched on the involvement of a small number of civil servants, particularly those from enforcement agencies in trafficking-related activities and migrant smuggling, where 42 individuals had been detained, investigated and charged. This, he said, showed the transparency of the government, which did not compromise with any party involved either directly or indirectly in the inhumane crime, adding that it was in line with the country's aspiration to be in Tier One of the assessment by 2020. -- BERNAMA