POLICE IN EAST MALAYSIA DISCUSS TRAFFICKING IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 001557 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MTS AND G/TIP DOJ FOR ICITAP AND OPDAT JAKARTA FOR ICITAP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KCRM KJUS ID MY SUBJECT: POLICE IN EAST MALAYSIA DISCUSS TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS, WELCOME TRAINING REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 1236 - MALAYSIA ENACTS TIP LAW ¶B. KUALA LUMPUR 1145 - SENIOR ENGAGEMENT ON TIP Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Poloff met with police leaders in East Malaysia during the first week of October to discuss trafficking in persons (TIP) issues in their region. To date, police have prosecuted or detained local syndicates and "gangsters" involved in trafficking under various legal options not specifically related to trafficking. Police were cognizant of the new anti-TIP law and considering approaches to implementation. The police officials expressed their desire for U.S. technical assistance for identifying victims and investigating trafficking crimes. At the Tebedu/Entikong border crossing between Sarawak and Indonesia's West Kalimantan, we witnessed the wide latitude enjoyed by employment agents seeking to recruit Indonesian workers on the spot. Septel will report additional TIP information from our East Malaysia visit. End Summary. East Malaysia -- Destination and Transit Area for TIP -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) Poloff traveled to the East Malaysia states of Sabah and Sarawak, September 30 to October 5, and met with senior police officials to discuss TIP. Both states are destination and transit areas for human trafficking. According to NGO, press and diplomatic sources, an unknown number of foreign victims are trafficked into prostitution in East Malaysia, while there are also reports of forced labor on plantations and timber operations. Sabah is located relatively close to the southern portions of the Philippines, a couple hours via boat, and offers traffickers relatively easy entry points into Malaysia. Both Sabah and Sarawak share land and sea-lanes with Indonesian Kalimantan and are used by traffickers to transport mainly Indonesians into and through Malaysia. Police Views on Trafficking -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Poloff met respectively with Abdul Rahman bin Hussin, Sarawak State Acting Police Commissioner; Noor Rashid Ibrahim, Sabah State Police Commissioner; and Zakaria Yusuf and Abdul Razak bin Arshad, Deputy Superintendents of Police for Labuan in East Malaysia. The senior police officers in all three meetings opened with a statement that they did not have a major TIP problem, only "isolated cases." The discussion then centered on the difficulties of combating trafficking. Common difficulties exist in all three regions; the greatest challenge according to police is the use of legitimate travel documents with counterfeit information. Traffickers and their victims, along with intending illegal migrants, make extensive use of bought passports or valid tourist visas to enter Malaysia. On the Indonesian side of the border, individuals can purchase an Indonesian passport for approximately $170 (600 Ringgit),Malaysian police claimed. The most common trafficking pattern according to police involves employment agents in countries of origin who use deception to recruit TIP victims. ¶4. (SBU) All three police leaders were cognizant of Malaysia's new anti-TIP law, and were considering efforts to implement the law, although Police Commissioner Noor Rashid stated he had yet to receive a copy of the new statute. (Note: We understand from national level officials that police have yet to receive instructions to act on the new law, septel. End Note.) Police also discussed methods to pursue the traffickers. The police believed most traffickers to be "gangsters" and members of "loose syndicates" involved in more than just trafficking. To date, police have used a variety of statutes to arrest and charge suspected traffickers. Police in both Sarawak and Sabah described the difficulty in gathering evidence to convict a trafficker in court. The alternative readily available to police in such cases is preventive detention and detaining suspects without trial under the Emergency Ordinances. In Sarawak, police voiced their frustration that the U.S. did not recognize their past efforts to detain and jail traffickers. Nevertheless, police officials uniformly voiced their desire for U.S. technical training on investigating trafficking cases. In particular, the police wanted training in evidence collection and processing; identifying, safeguarding, and interviewing possible trafficking victims; and coordinating KUALA LUMP 00001557 002 OF 002 transnational trafficking investigations. Police in Sarawak welcomed the recent U.S. support (via ICITAP) for the TIP law enforcement seminar they hosted in July (ref B). Border Crossing Scene -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Poloff visited the Tebedu / Entikong border crossing between Malaysia and Indonesia on September 30. The morning is the busiest period at the border; however, a steady stream in both directions continued during the afternoon. Within the no-man's land about a dozen employment agents freely roamed, looking for recruits. The agents even have their own designated rest area. Poloff saw employment agents at the border-crossing attempt to entice a group of Indonesian women who told Poloff they were on their way to work in Brunei. The employment agents offer women and men jobs in Malaysia and elsewhere. When the individual accepts the offer, the agents shepherd the person through immigration into waiting vans. According to police and local Catholic Church officials, once illegitimate employment agents have a victim inside Malaysia, they send their "recruits" to various locations like brothels, bars, timber operations, and plantations. Traffickers transport some victims to West Malaysia or other countries. When Poloff asked Malaysian immigration officials about the agents working in the no-man's zone, the officials appeared visibly nervous and would not answer Poloff's questions. Comment -------------- ¶6. (SBU) With Malaysia's new comprehensive TIP law as the entry point, our conversations with police leaders in East Malaysia highlighted the opening we have to engage with Malaysian law enforcement officials to increase their awareness of TIP and improve their skills for combating trafficking. The July 17-19 TIP law enforcement conference in Sarawak, hosted by the Sarawak police and supported by ICITAP/Jakarta and the French Government, was a modest but constructive beginning (ref B) in East Malaysia. National-level officials appear to be equally inclined to work with USG counterparts for law enforcement training for anti-trafficking (septel). KEITH