KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysia’s improved standing in the JNAS 2023 Annual Report on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) of the US State Department is a positive move taken by the US government to improve bilateral cooperation between the two nations.
The Malaysian Ambassador to the United States, Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, said that Malaysia being upgraded to Tier 2 Watch List from Tier 3 previously in the report is a catalyst for Malaysia to be more strategic and decisive in response to the findings of the report.
The increase “reflects the openness of both countries to discuss, understand, and cooperate in adding value to the Malaysia-United States ‘comprehensive partnership’,” he said in a statement.
“Overall, I believe this increase is a constructive step by the US Government in improving bilateral cooperation with Malaysia.”
When speaking on the TIP report, which was released last Thursday (June 15) in Washington DC, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution said the government will put more effort into pursuing and convicting governmental workers who were discovered to be involved in forced labour or human trafficking.
According to Mohamed Nazri, the report recognised Malaysia’s notable accomplishments, which included a rise in the number of investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of cases as well as prosecution of public employees.
He said, it also outlines 15 improvement points and action plans that Malaysia can implement for the following year’s assessment, which is from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.
“This includes increasing the identification of victims among vulnerable groups, domestic workers, workers in the oil palm plantation sector, and rubber gloves industry,” he said.
Mohamed Nazri said the embassy was prepared to support and help the Malaysian Government’s initiatives through the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Migrant Anti-Smuggling Council (MAPO), which is run by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
For the sake of national security and sovereignty, he stated, “This is primarily in facilitating accurate delivery regarding Malaysia’s efforts to deal with the issues outlined holistically through a whole-of-nation approach without compromise.”
— NNN-BERNAMA
