Myanmar refugees reason for ranking

US ambassador to Malaysia James Keith says more needs to be done to curb trafficking

KUALA LUMPUR: An allegation that Myanmar refugees were "trafficked" to Thailand from Malaysia and forced to work for their freedom was what caused Malaysia's downgrade to Tier 3 of a human trafficking blacklist.

A United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations report had stated that "a few thousand" Myanmar were forced to work in brothels, fishing boats and restaurants in Thailand to purchase their freedom.

US ambassador to Malaysia James Keith, in a telephone interview from Washington D.C., said this was one of the main reasons Malaysia had fallen to Tier 3 in the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons report.

He said there were a lot of issues to investigate in the matter and this had caused the international spotlight to fall on Malaysia.

He said the US welcomed Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan's statement earlier this year that there would be a thorough investigation into the allegations, but added that "recent comments had been a little less clear" about the investigations.
"There should be a more transparent process, not simply a statement that there is nothing to these allegations. The conclusion from such a process will be more persuasive in convincing the international community," he said.

While praising the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry for setting up shelters for trafficked women, Keith said more had to be done to curb those trafficked for labour.

"Passing a great anti-trafficking act and beginning to implement and then convict is something I would hold as a model that can be used for other areas, especially labour."

Keith said Malaysia needs a national action plan to identify the circumstances that lead to the problem, which include the slow global economic condition.

"In the current economy, people will become more desperate and will be willing to take more gambles and therefore, there could be more trafficked people."

Keith acknowledged that this was not just a problem for Malaysia, but also a major concern for sending and receiving countries in the region.

"When it comes to refugees, it is quite clear that Myanmar is creating a problem for other countries in Asean by not managing the flow of refugees coming out of their country. There are all kinds of issues connected to that problem but it clearly is an appropriate subject for Asean to address."