Law enforcement officers and prosecutors in Malaysia did not receive adequate specialised training and lacked proper investigation procedures to deal with human trafficking victims.

 

They were also unable to interview victims to recount their trafficking experience and sometimes failed to take into account the best interests of victims.

 

This was disclosed in the United States Department of State's '2014 Trafficking in Persons Report - Malaysia', released last week.

 

At the same time, government officials lacked formal government procedures for the proactive identification of victims among vulnerable groups involved in human trafficking.

 

On another matter of execution, while the media continued to accuse some immigration officials of facilitating smuggling, including the transportation of trafficking victims, the government did not take any action on these officials.

 

Following the press reports, the US State Department report added that the government did not execute any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in human trafficking.

 

 “It did not report information regarding investigations targeting recruitment agencies or other intermediaries who may be involved in trafficking.

 

 "The government made limited and inadequate efforts to improve its flawed victim protection regime.”

 

Despite their weaknesses, Malaysian authorities detained trafficking victims in government facilities as part of court-ordered protection measures and these protection orders lasted 90 days, but it could be extended.

 

“Most victims stayed in these facilities for three to six months; some were detained for more than a year. The government deported victims to their home countries after their detention ended, in accordance with Malaysian law.

"Experts regard shelters that prohibit victims from leaving as posing a serious risk for re-traumatising victims.”

 

The report added: “In 2013, the government reported identifying 650 potential trafficking victims and, of those, confirmed 270 were victims of trafficking (254 adult females and 16 adult males).

 

 This represents a significant decrease from the 1,096 potential victims and 444 certified trafficking victims confined in government facilities in 2012.”

 

There was also no data as to whether these were sex or labour trafficking victims. More than half of the victims were Indonesian nationals.

 

Under Malaysia’s anti-trafficking law, government-identified trafficking victims are required to stay in government-approved shelters.

The government operates such five facilities.

 

Pilot project

The government, the report added did not allow foreign trafficking victims to work outside the facilities while under the protection order; in past years, the government granted work permits to some trafficking victims after they left the shelter.

At times, the government granted NGOs access to victims in government facilities; however, it also prevented some victim assistance organisations from accessing shelters to provide services.

 

In 2013, the government reported progress on plans for a pilot project to enable two NGOs to operate a government-owned shelter for trafficking victims in 2014. This shelter had not opened at the end of the reporting period.

 

The government had allocated funds to support the shelter, but grants had not yet been extended to the two NGOs.

 

However, a January 2013 government policy placed an increased burden of paying immigration and employment authorisation fees on foreign workers.

This increased the risk of workers being trapped in debts to recruiters or loan sharks, placing them at even greater risk of debt bondage.

 

The report noted that the government did not take measures to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts. But it did provide anti-trafficking training to Malaysian troops prior to their deployment abroad on international peacekeeping missions.