MALAYSIA DOWNGRADED TO TIER 3 IN US TIP REPORT

KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has been downgraded to Tier 3
from Tier 2 in the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2009 released on June 16
by the US Department of States, said Foreign Minister Anifah Aman.

He said Malaysia had enforced the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act in 2007 to
prosecute traffickers, and protect and rehabilitate the victims.

The act is aimed at upgrading Malaysia's status in tackling human
trafficking, he said in a statement.

The TIP Report ranks countries based on their level of compliance on
established minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking.

"Malaysia's seriousness in tackling the issue can seen in the number of
cases brought to the court and the number of victims rescued.

"These are not considered in the TIP Report (between April 2008 and March
2009). Countries are ranked according to the Tiers based on the United States'
perception on their records," he added.

Anifah said he met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Ranking
Minority Member of US Senate Committee Senator Richard Lugar when he visited
Washington DC on Monday and Tuesday.

"During the meeting, I told them that Prime Minister Najib Tun
Razak took a serious view on an allegation that Malaysian civil servants had
been implicated in human trafficking and he had ordered an investigation," said
Anifah.

He said he had also proposed that human trafficking should be deliberated at
the regional or international forum.

-- BERNAMA