SUCCESSFUL ANTI-TIP TRAINING OF MALAYSIAN

UNCLAS KUALA LUMPUR 001025

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (CAPTION ADDED)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KTIP KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG MY
SUBJECT: SUCCESSFUL ANTI-TIP TRAINING OF MALAYSIAN
OFFICIALS COMPLETED

REF: A. KL 906 MALAYSIA: GTIP STAFF VISIT AUGUST 15-21

B. KL 896 MALAYSIA ATTORNEY GENERAL'S CHAMBERS
CONDUCTS TIP TRAINING FOR ENFORCEMENT
OFFICERS

C. KL 832 MALAYSIA -- MEETING WITH HEAD PROSECUTOR
ON TIP

D. KL 775 TIP AMBASSADOR CDEBACA'S VISIT TO
MALAYSIA AUGUST 25-27


1. (SBU) Summary and Comment: From December 8-16, a
four-member United States Department of Justice Office of
Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training
(USDOJ-OPDAT) team, funded by the Department's Office to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP),conducted
two successive three-day trafficking in persons (TIP)
training seminars for GOM officials. The team consisted of a
federal judge, federal prosecutor, FBI Special Agent, and FBI
victims' specialist with working experience in human
trafficking cases. The team trained 70 participants including
judicial officers, prosecutors, law enforcement officers,
women's shelters employees, and labor department employees on
identifying and caring for victims of human trafficking, as
well as how to investigate and prosecute TIP cases under
Malaysia's 2007 Anti-TIP Act. Overall, the training provided
Malaysian officials with a solid framework for how to proceed
in cases that involve TIP issues and led to a fruitful
discussion of how to treat victims of trafficking. It also
provided a forceful GOM interagency discussion on the need
for better enforcement of the law. The GOM appreciated USG
assistance and has requested follow-on training. End Summary
and Comment.


2. (SBU) In the weeks following Malaysia's placement on Tier
Three of the 2009 TIP Report in June, Tun Majid, Head of
Prosecution of the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC)
requested Embassy Kuala Lumpur support in educating law
enforcement and prosecutors on how to successfully
investigate and try human trafficking cases. In the
subsequent months, the plan for training expanded to include
participants from the Malaysian judiciary, Women's Ministry,
and Labor Department. The training workshop was intended to
provide detailed instruction on how to identify and care for
victims of human trafficking, focus on a whole of government
approach, and how to investigate and prosecute TIP cases
under Malaysia's new Anti-TIP Act. Taught by a diverse team
that included Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington, U.S.
District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Assistant
U.S. Attorney Demetri Jones, FBI Special Agent Gary Brown,
and FBI victims' counselor Kathleen Liner, the goal was to
foster collaboration and discussion between Malaysian
judiciary, prosecutors, law enforcement, victims'
specialists, and labor department employees on
anti-trafficking issues. Judicial officers, representatives
from the AGC, Royal Malaysian Police, Immigration Department,
Maritime Enforcement Agency, Labor Department, Royal
Malaysian Customs, and Women's Ministry attended. After
initial pushback, Malaysian officials allowed three
participants from local NGOs - Tenaganita, Boat People SOS,
and the National Council of Women's Organizations, Malaysia -
to attend the training. While initially allowing the NGOs to
be present during the case studies portion of the training,
ultimately they allowed the NGOs to participate in the entire
second day of both training sessions. The two trainings were
held December 8-10 and December 14-16. Each class had
approximately 35 students leading to 70 Malaysian officials
trained during these sessions. Jane Sigmon and Kelly Heinrich
of G/TIP attended the first week's training session.


3. (SBU) The training was provided by USDOJ-OPDAT team and
funded by G/TIP. The Malaysian AGC provided a venue for the
training as well as buffet-style lunches. Deputy Public
Prosecutor Dusuki Mokhtar and Assistant Public Prosecutor
Adilla Ahmad facilitated the training programs. The workshop
included presentations from each of the team members
regarding their area of expertise followed by break-out
groups to review and analyze case studies. Throughout the
training, the Malaysian officials gave presentations on their
case studies and on the last day, participated in a moot
court. A prosecutor from the AGC gave a class on the new
Malaysian anti-TIP law. There was a heavy press presence
covering the opening of the training, however, there were no
published reports in the local news.


4. (SBU) At G/TIP's request, the DOJ-OPDAT team distributed,
collected, and reviewed daily evaluation reports from the
training participants. The evaluations revealed that the
participants generally wanted more interactive training with
less lecture-style presentations and more information on how
to work with victims. The DOJ-OPDAT team, with the assistance
of G/TIP and Embassy Kuala Lumpur, significantly amended the
training in the second week to be responsive to these
suggestions. While both sessions of training were helpful,


the second week of training was a greater success because of
its interactive features and stimulation of discussion on
difficult issues.

5. (SBU) Embassy Kuala Lumpur created the four case studies
utilized by the DOJ-OPDAT Team. The case studies covered
victims of trafficking who found themselves in forced
domestic servitude, forced labor at a toy factory, indentured
servitude at a plantation, and forced to work in the sex
industry. The breakout groups determined who were the
victims, what criminal charges applied, what legal procedures
needed to be followed under the Anti-TIP Act, and created an
investigation and litigation plan regarding witness
testimony, evidence collection, witness protection, and
general case strategy. These exercises, wherein law
enforcement, prosecutors, victims' specialists, and other
government officials worked together, offered some of the
more constructive benefits of the training. The participants
excelled in the training and gained a better understanding of
human trafficking.

6. (SBU) On December 9, the Malaysians held a panel
discussion that included Tun Majid, the AGC's Head of
International Affairs Division Azailiza Mohd Ahad, as well as
representatives from the Royal Malaysian Police, Immigration
Department, Maritime Enforcement Agency, and Royal Malaysian
Customs. Tun Majid's remarks were extremely critical of the
anti-trafficking efforts being made by law enforcement
agencies. He commented that when law enforcement agents place
TIP victims in handcuffs it more resembles an "arrest" than a
"rescue." He noted that his cases rely on the cooperation of
the rescued victims and that the enforcement officers needed
to work better to establish trust with the victims as well as
conduct better investigations of the arrest site for
corroborating evidence. He emphasized the need for
enforcement agencies, not prosecutors, to enforce the
anti-TIP law and that criminal prosecutions were being held
up by ineffective investigations. When he was later asked by
an Immigration official how to enforce the Anti-TIP law, Tun
Majid quickly shot back, "The law is simple. You know how to
enforce laws - you have been doing it for time in memoriam.
Now go enforce the law!" Azailiza Mohd Ahad explained what it
meant to be ranked Tier Three on the 2009 TIP report from an
international perspective and described the efforts made in
2007 to pass the Anti-TIP Act. She noted that now was the
time for Malaysia to implement the second phase of the plan
) to enforce the anti-trafficking law. None of the
representatives from the law enforcement agencies challenged
the comments made by Tun Majid or Azailiza Mohd Ahad. To the
contrary, they all took a conciliatory tone, noting that they
are trying their best but knew they had to do better.


7. (SBU) On December 11, in between the two training
sessions, PolOff and the DOJ-OPDAT team visited a TIP shelter
run by the GOM and another TIP shelter run by a local NGO. As
described in reftel, conditions at government shelters raised
concerns. The facilities, with high walls, bright lights, and
razor wire, resemble detention facilities rather than women's
shelters.
Several victims told PolOff that they had been locked in
their rooms until just before the team arrived. The
government shelter lacked activities for the TIP victims and
lacked trained counselors to work with the TIP victims.
Conversely, the NGO shelter provided a far more nurturing
setting with substantive activities as well as counseling and
therapy by qualified professionals.


8. (SBU) During the second week of training, the DOJ-OPDAT
team utilized their experience at the TIP shelters in their
training. FBI Victims' Specialist Kathleen Liner explained
the differences between the two shelters and how treatment in
the government shelters could mirror the treatment a victim
receives at the hands of the traffickers. Although the class
initially rejected Ms. Liner's assessment, a spirited
discussion on how Malaysia cares for the victims of
trafficking ensued. Over the remaining training period, many
participants approached Ms. Liner to explain that they had
never considered some of the factors she had mentioned in her
presentation. Some acknowledged that they had never
considered how placing victims into a detention-style
facility might affect them. Others requested training from
local NGOs on how to effectively run a TIP shelter. Ms.
Liner's direct approach led to an open and frank conversation
on an issue of significant import in Malaysia ) how to care
for the victims of TIP.


9. (SBU) The participants were serious and put forth a
significant effort to master the material. Embassy Kuala
Lumpur and the DOJ-OPDAT Team identified several top
performers within each of the ministries who could be
selected for follow-on training in the future. In general,
the training was another positive step in the providing of
anti-TIP training to Malaysian government officials. The GOM
was appreciative of our continued training support and asked


to be considered for additional anti-TIP training in the
future.


10. (SBU) G/TIP cleared this cable.
KEITH