NEW YORK – Malaysia has sought the cooperation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for data sharing on undocumented migrants to help provide them with means to get employment, education and proper healthcare.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that he has also initiated direct contact with relevant US agencies to promote Malaysia’s bid to “springboard” its status in the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report from Tier 2 to Tier 1.
Speaking in New York recently, he said that he had met a few agencies in Washington, DC under the State Department (DoS), the Homeland Security Department (DoHS) and the Justice Department (DoJ) over these matters.
On the data sharing, he said that the matter is closely tied to concerns related to foreign workers management, forced labour, human trafficking and so on.
These issues are not distinct from each other and need to be tackled comprehensively. A series of discussions with various agencies and organisations is thus needed, he said.
“On data sharing, I requested UNHCR, in line with the decision of Malaysia’s National Security Council (NSC), to seek out a comprehensive resolution on the problem of refugees,” he said.
“We have already begun efforts to collect data for a long while, but the number we have gathered is not more than 40,000,” he added. “The UNHCR in Kuala Lumpur has recorded 190,000.”
He explained that the NSC’s intention is to have data that is accurate, comprehensive and updated, to facilitate the migrants to be given the opportunity to work.
They would then also gain access to education and healthcare services.
“This was agreed up by UNHCR head Filippo Grandi, who gave a commitment to undertake this process,” he said.
Saifuddin also said that Malaysia wants to raise its status from Tier 2 in the TIP watchlist to Tier 1 by April next year before the new DoS report is issued.
“For that, we have to comply with several issues,” he said. “We need to trace more cases (of trafficking), open more investigation papers, present them in court, and eventually have them (perpetrators) convicted.”
“This is stated very clearly in the State Department’s report to us. During my meeting, I shared with them a few initiatives that we have undertaken, including guidelines implemented with stakeholders.
He added that the initiatives include funding for labour rights group Tenaganita and to support victims that have been rescued.
In June this year, Malaysia was upgraded to Tier 2 in the newly released TIP report for 2023. The country was originally in the bottom Tier 3.
Saifuddin had announced last week the government’s intention to implement the aspects outlined in the report to move out of the Tier 2 watchlist and into Tier 1.
Migrant children
The Malaysian government is also moving to relocate children who are in immigration detention centres.
“In our first project last week in Nilai, we removed the first batch of eighty people from the detention centre,” he said.
He added that the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has expressed appreciation on this initiative.
Saifuddin also conveyed hope that the Finance Ministry will approve his application for the upcoming Budget 2024, which will be tabled in October, to include funds for this purpose – with separate allocations for the peninsula and for Sabah and Sarawak.
The third outcome of his meetings in Washington was on intelligence to pre-empt intrusions into Malaysian territory.
Saifuddin said he met up with the National Targeting Centre (NTC), a unit under the US Customs and Border Protection, which was formed after the terrorist attacks on the US on September 11, 2001.
He said that he sought the NTC’s help in capacity building, especially on how Malaysian authorities can get advanced information even before they are forced to undertake preventative measures on border security issues. – The Vibes, September 24, 2023
