MALAYSIA'S NEW POLICE CHIEF CALLS FOR ANTI-TIP LAW

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 001804

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KCRM KWMN MY
SUBJECT: MALAYSIA'S NEW POLICE CHIEF CALLS FOR ANTI-TIP LAW

REF: A. STATE 144327


B. KUALA LUMPUR 1661


1. (U) Summary: Malaysia's new Inspector General of Police
(IGP) Musa Hassan, during a September 21 conference hosted by
the police and the NGO Tenaganita, called for the creation of
comprehensive legislation to combat trafficking in persons
(TIP) and for the establishment of government run shelters
for TIP victims. Musa admitted that previous efforts to
address trafficking issues had been uncoordinated and
inefficient and that greater cooperation was needed among the
various law enforcement agencies. Musa also called for the
creation of an interagency task force to coordinate
intelligence necessary to effectively combat this crime.
Facing political backlash for previous reports, Malaysia's
Human Rights Commission stated they will no longer provide
updated statistics on TIP. The Ministry of Women's, Family
and Community Development has requested assistance in
providing TIP victim identification training at proposed
workshop for police to be held in November. End Summary.


2. (U) Just two weeks after becoming Malaysia's top cop,
Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan delivered the keynote
address at the "National Conference to Stop Trafficking in
Persons - A Transborder Crime in the Region" held in Kuala
Lumpur on September 21. The Royal Malaysian Police (RMP),the
Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation and Malaysia's largest
non-governmental organization for migrant laborers,
Tenaganita, jointly sponsored the conference. In his speech,
Musa called for comprehensive anti-TIP legislation and for
the construction of shelters for trafficking victims. The
IGP described the excellent relationship the RMP shared with
Tenaganita and his appreciation that the police could now
place trafficking victims in Tenaganita's shelter that opened
in June 2006.


3. (U) Musa admitted that previous efforts to tackle
trafficking have been uncoordinated and inefficient, and he
recognized that there was very little empirical evidence
available to truly understand the scope of the problem in
Malaysia. The IGP called for all law enforcement agencies to
share more information and intelligence and cited the need
for uniform databases to track all aspects of TIP
investigations. Musa stated that the GOM was making efforts
to enhance its laws to properly address TIP but that there
remained a need for an interdepartmental task force. Citing
the RMP's past efforts to address trafficking, Musa announced
that between June 2004 and September 2006, the RMP identified
and repatriated 365 foreign victims of trafficking. Between
June 2003 and June 2006, the RMP had arrested and charged 143
pimps under the penal code; another 126 had been detained
under the Restricted Residence Act and 18 others under
Emergency Ordinance 1969.


4. (U) The RMP's Deputy Director of Criminal
Investigations, Syed Ismail Syed Azizan, also addressed the
conference and reiterated the need for comprehensive anti-TIP
legislation. Ismail described current laws as a piecemeal
approach to dealing with TIP. He called for legislation that
would address not just criminal issues, but also victim
protection, shelters, repatriation, and prevention of
re-trafficking. Ismail acknowledged that low level police
corruption was known to assist traffickers, but that under
Musa's new leadership, an anti-trafficking unit was being
established within the vice squad (D-7),and that this unit
would be staffed with experienced male and female officers
who could properly understand the criminal activity involved
and who would have the authority to address the corruption
issues at lower levels. Ismail admitted that unless there
were shelters built for victims, police would not be able to
properly address the issue of trafficking.


5. (SBU) Malaysia's government established and funded Human
Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) also spoke at the conference. In
a side note, SUHAKAM members advised us they would no longer
be compiling statistics on trafficking in persons. Due to
the political sensitivities and unspecified pressures,
SUHAKAM's management decided not to go through the yearly
battle of compiling TIP statistics from other government
agencies.


6. (U) Conspicuously absent from the conference was the
Ministry of Women's, Family and Community Development
(MWFCD). Tenaganita had extended an invitation to the MWFCD
to participate in the conference, and despite participation
from the RMP, the Immigration Department and the Attorney
General's office, MWFCD went completely unrepresented.
Notwithstanding their absence from the RMP-Tenaganita
conference, MWFCD officials reiterated to us their desire to
host a workshop on trafficking and proposed a three day
workshop aimed at police and immigration officials in

KUALA LUMP 00001804 002 OF 002


identifying TIP victims. The ministry tentatively suggested
this conference be held November 15-17 and requested
assistance from the USG in providing at least one expert
trainer who can help in victim identification. (Comment: We
are in contact with DOJ/ICITAP in Jakarta regarding provision
of such a trainer. End Comment)


7. (SBU) Comment: The remarks by IGP Musa Hassan,
Malaysia's top law enforcement official, provided strong
rhetorical support for the drafting of a TIP law, raised
public awareness of this crime and spurred a multi-page
article on trafficking in the September 22 edition of a major
Malaysian daily, New Straits Times. Police seem keen to
identify actual victims, but time and again during the
conference one could observe the difficulty the law
enforcement agencies faced in differentiating people
smuggling from trafficking. We hope that the pending
DOJ/ICITAP police training project will provide a means for
the U.S. to assist in the area of victim identification.
LAFLEUR