Malaysia needs to wake up to its human trafficking problem

Photo: UN

For the third consecutive year, Malaysia remains on the “Tier 2” Watchlist of the Trafficking In Persons Report. The report was released by the US State Department on June 25, 2020. The tier rankings are based on an assessment of a country’s efforts to prevent trafficking in persons, to prosecute traffickers and to protect survivors of trafficking through a combination of legislative acts, collaboration with civil society, funding, and other proactive measures to identify and protect victims of trafficking.

Malaysia’s position on Tier 2 reflects a lack of political will on the part of the Malaysian government to collectively, systematically and holistically combat modern day slavery and human trafficking.