Chief Justice Acknowledges Malaysia S Rank Drop In Human Trafficking

---

 


Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat acknowledged Malaysia’s international downgrade to Tier 3 in human trafficking.
However, the top judge noted that the country's courts are, by constitutional design, limited from taking active measures to combat human trafficking.
Tengku Maimun explained that due to this constitutional design, Malaysian courts could only deal with human trafficking cases before it in accordance with the law and evidence presented before them.
She also pointed out that official figures between 2018 and 2021 showed an apparent downward trend, with the Covid-19 pandemic having greatly reduced movement in and out of the country between 2020 and last year.
“We are mindful of the drop in our international ranking.
“However, it is understood that in an adversarial system such as ours, the courts are, by constitutional design, incapable of taking active measures to weed out human trafficking.
“Even when such cases are before the courts, judges must decide them according to the law, the facts and evidence,” she said.
Downgrade in ranking
Tengku Maimun was speaking during her speech for the opening of the 2022 Legal Year at the Palace of Justice, Putrajaya, this morning.
On July 1 last year, Reuters reported the US State Department to downgrade Malaysia to the lowest ranking in its closely watched annual report on human trafficking released later last year.
The international news agency reported that this downgrade led to Malaysia falling to "Tier 3" after spending three years on the "Tier 2 Watchlist" in the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report.
The State Department ranks countries in Tier 3 for failing to comply with the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking or making significant efforts to comply.
A Tier 3 ranking could possibly affect Malaysia's access to some US aid.
Trafficking victims
Malaysia is a known destination for trafficking victims.
The Southeast Asian nation depends on millions of migrant workers to work in factories and plantations. It is also home to over 170,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers, most of them Rohingya from Myanmar.
The 2020 TIP report said that while Malaysia was taking steps to eliminate trafficking, official complicity undermined anti-trafficking efforts.
The number of labour trafficking investigations was also low compared to the scale of the problem, it said.
It was reported that the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) imposed import bans on three Malaysian companies over allegations of forced labour used in their operations.
Labour rights activists have petitioned the CBP to investigate more local firms over labour concerns. - Mkini

---