Resolve HUMAN TRAFFICKING issue to restore reputation

Monday, June 22nd, 2009 04:15:00

MIGRANT WORKERS: Questions about human trafficking have been raised in Parliament as well, but little seems to have come out of it

RESOLVE, rather than deny, the problem. That is the only way to restore our international reputation now that we are being tagged as a country that has done little to resolve the distasteful practice of human trafficking.

The loss of training scholarships or cultural exchanges to the US that come with this designation is the least of our problems.

According to one Member of Parliament, "the condemnation of Malaysia in the US State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report 2009 should not have come as a surprise".

He goes on to note that the "Malaysian government was put on notice of active trafficking in persons in the country a year ago by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and political parties, and through questions raised in Parliament". And yet, nothing came out of it.

Last April, US Ranking Minority Member Richard Lugar released the "Trafficking and Extortion of Burmese Migrants in Malaysia and Southern Thailand" report that had the local media scrambling.

A TV station, for example, aired a documentary titled 'Refugee for Sale' in May last year, and this subject was promptly brought up in Parliament a month later.

The authorities were quick to promise the setting up of a special committee that would, among others, work with the TV station to help investigations.

In October, the authorities said there was no basis to the accusations. Baffling enough, the same MP claimed that the special committee did not even contact the producer of the documentary.

Are the authorities in denial?

If they imagine that they are protecting national interest, then they must be extremely naive.

Malaysia exists in an international system and we can only benefit if all members, ourselves included, strive for the highest possible standard on the question of human rights.

The MP suggests that we ratify Asean's Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, the United Nation's 1967 Refugee Convention and the 2000 UN Trade in Persons protocol for the proper legal recognition of refugees within our borders.

This would be a good start, after which we must impress upon officers of the government that in a world in which information flows freely, the best response is not denial but recognising crimes against humanity that we clearly want no part of.