MALAYSIA: MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS UPDATE ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 000058 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KTIP KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG MY SUBJECT: MALAYSIA: MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS UPDATE ON ANTI-TIP EFFORTS REF: A. KL 6--TIP: MALAYSIAN DG ON LABOR TRAFFICKING ISSUES ¶B. KL 775--AMBASSADOR CDEBACA'S VISIT TO MALAYSIA AUGUST 25-27 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Raja Azahar, Senior Deputy Secretary General in the Ministry of Home Affairs, told the DCM during a January 14 meeting that the GOM was pleased with its efforts combating sexual exploitation trafficking but still had room for improvement in combating labor trafficking. He explained that the Home Ministry is currently researching the possibility of providing work opportunities for male TIP victims while they are in government-run TIP shelters. The Ministry of Home Affairs had conducted a series of dialogs with Royal Malaysian Police, Customs, Immigration, and Maritime at six border locations designed to educate them on the Anti-TIP Act. Azahar discussed the GOM's new anti-TIP public awareness campaign that started with full-page advertisements in local newspapers and is being expanded to posters, billboards, and pamphlet distribution at points of entry. He also discussed his Ministry's continued efforts to crack down on labor recruitment agencies. The DCM encouraged the GOM to press forward with its anti-TIP efforts. He noted to Azahar that the reporting period for the 2010 annual TIP review begins in February, so any additional information the GOM can provide on actions it has taken with respect to combating TIP before then would be welcome. (Note: At a January 22 meeting with poloff, MHA reps provided a comprehensive report of GOM anti-TIP efforts, to be reported septel. End Note) End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Senior Deputy Secretary General in the Ministry of Home Affairs Azahar told the DCM and Poloff during a January 14 meeting that the GOM felt confident with its efforts combating sexual trafficking but wanted to improve its response to labor trafficking. The DCM had requested the meeting with Azahar to discuss the upcoming end of the annual TIP Report for 2010 review period in February, receive an update on GOM anti-TIP efforts, review US recommendations as outlined in the November 13 paper we provided the GOM, and encourage continued cooperation on the TIP issue. Referencing our action plan recommendations, DCM suggested that the GOM consider preparing a report of actions taken and to be taken on the TIP front, perhaps in the form of a non-paper. Azahar was receptive to this idea and said he would look into it. (Note: The Home Ministry followed up on this suggestion and in a meeting with Poloff on January 22, MHA reps provided a comprehensive report of GOM anti-TIP efforts during the past year to include statistics on arrests, charges and prosecutions, as well as specifics on their public awareness campaign, to be reported septel. End Note.) TIP VICTIMS MAY BE ABLE TO WORK WHILE IN SHELTERS -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Recalling TIP Ambassador CdeBaca's visit to Malaysia in August 2009, Azahar noted that the Home Ministry was considering providing work opportunities for male TIP victims while living in the government run TIP shelters. (Note: The GOM is renovating a facility near the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to serve as a shelter for male TIP victims. End Note.) Azahar has been coordinating with local NGOs to identify employers to hire TIP victims for temporary employment. He noted that male victims of TIP needed an "outlet" and he hoped they could work at a factory near the TIP shelter. However, several hurdles remain, he explained, such as finding exceptions to labor/immigration laws and determining pay issues. Because the Women's Ministry was resisting, the responsibility for running the male shelter would likely fall to the Labor Department. The time frame for housing a victim in a TIP shelter would remain 90 days but if the case against the traffickers required the victims to stay longer to cooperate with authorities, Azahar explained that the courts could offer such extensions. THE BURMESE REFUGEE CASE AND TIP TRAINING FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The GOM is continuing to pursue a case under the Anti-TIP Act against one immigration official who was involved in the trafficking of Burmese refugees at the Thai border, said Azahar. The four other officers were not being prosecuted because they were cooperating against the senior immigration official; without their testimony, the GOM's case against the senior official would not stand up in court. (Note: While Azahar was not able to provide more specifics on this case, a Deputy Public Prosecutor explained to PolOff in December that the case would be going forward to trial in January. End Note.) When asked by the DCM what the GOM was doing to prevent future involvement of GOM officials in KUALA LUMP 00000058 002 OF 003 trafficking in persons, Azahar noted that the Ministry of Home Affairs had conducted a series of dialogs with Royal Malaysian Police, Customs, Immigration, and Maritime at six border locations in an effort to educate them on the new Anti-TIP Act. He estimated that approximately 250 to 300 officers attended each training session resulting in a total of 1500 to 1800 officers being trained. This training was designed to prevent future incidents of law enforcement agents participating in TIP, emphasizing that officials would be prosecuted under criminal corruption statutes as well as the Anti-TIP Act for involvement in TIP, facilitating TIP, or complicity in TIP. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Azahar discussed the GOM's new anti-TIP public awareness campaign that started with full page advertisements in local newspapers run in both Bahasa Malaysia and English that state "Stop Human Trafficking" and provide a hotline "999." (Note: "999" is Malaysia's emergency number similar to our "911". This is not a new hotline designated solely for victims of TIP. End note). Azahar commented that the campaign is being expanded to include placing posters and billboards at entry points and that the GOM was also negotiating with airlines on the distribution of anti-TIP pamphlets to passengers flying into Malaysia. Azahar recalled a recent visit to the Philippines where he saw that country's anti-TIP campaign materials and he thought that Malaysia could do that too. He agreed with the DCM's suggestion that Malaysian Embassies and Consulates abroad might be appropriate places to disseminate anti-TIP materials. CRACKING DOWN ON OUTSOURCING COMPANIES -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Under the current system many labor trafficking cases originate as labor disputes that are handled exclusively by the Labor Department. However, under the current law, the Labor Department lacks authority/jurisdiction to proceed forward on a case if it is determined it is a labor trafficking case. Azahar said that Parliament plans to amend the Anti-TIP Act during 2010 to give the Labor Department authority in TIP related prosecutions. In the interim, labor department officials can move forward on labor investigations but are not forwarding potential TIP cases to the Attorney General's Chambers for prosecution because the current omission of the Labor Department in the Anti-TIP Act could become an issue traffickers challenge at trial. ¶7. (SBU) Azahar also discussed the Home Ministry's continued effort to crack down on outsourcing companies known to facilitate human trafficking. He estimated that there are 277 labor recruitment outsourcing companies licensed to operate in Malaysia and that one-third (approximately 80 to 90) were likely to have their licenses revoked in the coming months, reducing the total to just under 200. (Note: In August, he suggested that two-thirds of these companies would be shut down leaving approximately 110. See Ref B. End Note.) He emphasized that cracking down on this practice is especially difficult because the GOM is dealing with issues that originate in foreign countries. Many impoverished workers agree to terms that place them in debt bondage that oblige them to work until the debt is paid. Such workers often refuse to cooperate with GOM officials during investigations for fear of retribution and/or fear of not being able to repay the debt. The majority of these agreements are made outside of Malaysia. ¶8. (SBU) Azahar commented that Malaysia is limited as to what it can enforce outside its borders and said cooperation with neighboring countries such as Indonesia was the key to resolving the outsourcing problem. He noted that many Indonesians arrive in Malaysia to work as maids but flee to work in the industrial sector. By doing so, they pay the 260 RM entry fee for a maid and avoid paying the 1000 RM entry fee for a factory worker. He added that this issue has led to difficulties in negotiating an updated MOU with Indonesia on migrant workers. When ASEAN was proposed as a possible forum for discussion, Azahar seemed to discount the idea. COORDINATING WITH NGOS -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The DCM queried about GOM follow-up on trafficking cases referred to them by NGOs. Azahar first commented that the cases presented to the GOM by NGOs may merely be labor or employment law cases - not TIP cases. Second, he noted that the NGOs may not be aware of GOM actions in these cases. Third, he said that the GOM has increased coordination with KUALA LUMP 00000058 003 OF 003 NGOs on TIP matters in the past few months and meet with the NGOs on a monthly basis. Azahar conceded that if the NGOs are saying this, then the GOM needs to improve its communication with the NGOs on this topic. Azahar was receptive to enhanced interactions with the NGOs. KEITH