KUCHING – Malaysia’s listing on tier 2 of the latest US Trafficking in Persons report is a boon to the nation’s trade and counters negative perceptions on forced labour in the country, said Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
The deputy prime minister said Malaysia’s placing in the US State Department’s latest list reflected the cooperation and efforts of all parties in ensuring that the nation implements good practices to tackle human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and forced labour as well as enforcement implementation.
“Also in foreign countries, farming activities are part of the family business, so when they go down (to the farm) sometimes the children are brought along so it is quite common... as long as we don’t abuse and force small children (to work). These are the things that we need to explain to them,” he told reporters after attending a dialogue session on energy use in agricommodities here today.
He said to ensure that allegations regarding labour issues are resolved bilaterally, Malaysia is establishing cooperation and engagement sessions, especially with the United States.
According to him, Malaysia was in tier 3 of the list for 2021 and 2022, with the report assessing the aspects of prevention, prosecution, and protection of workers regarding labour matters.
On June 16, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, when announcing the report, said the government would crack down on civil servants found involved in human trafficking or forced labour activities.
He said that the matter was a priority for the government as it was part of the 15 recommended improvements submitted in the report. – Bernama, June 19, 2023
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