The Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has expressed regret over the US State Department report which blacklisted Malaysia for failing to deal with its human trafficking problem.

illegal immigrants roundup 010305 group In a statement, Suhakam commissioner, Dr Raj Abdul Karim, said the authors of the report could not expect overnight results from the 18-month-old Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (ATIP).

She adds that human trafficking is a complicated problem involving a wide range of stakeholders and actors in the trafficking chain.

“The multiple changes of hands and modus operandi between the time a person is trafficked to the place they are found or rescued from, require continuous investigative efforts.

"Therefore, change cannot be expected at once," said Raj.

Malaysia downgraded to lowest category

human trafficking tip report 131607 parading prostitute The “Trafficking in Persons Report 2009", released on June 16, examined efforts in more than 173 countries to combat trafficking for forced labour, prostitution, military service and other purposes.

Malaysia was downgraded from the Tier 2 Watch List to the Tier 3, the lowest category, along with 16 other countries for weak enforcement and alleged collusion between immigration authorities and trafficking syndicates preying on Burmese refugees.

This puts Malaysia in the same rank as Zimbabwe, Sudan and Saudi Arabia. Four other Asian nations in the blacklist includes Burma, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and North Korea.

Blacklisted countries run the risk of being banned from US aid.

Raj said the report should have been more balanced and factual, and not merely a fault-finding exercise.

“Suhakam fails to understand the US State Department system of placing grades annually. It should really be looking at efforts taken by the government, NGOs and civil society to handle the issue,” she said.

Read Malaysia portion of report here.