Possible Compensation for Malaysia's Human Trafficking Victims
On March 8, a study by the United Nation’s special rapporteur on trafficking in persons showed that there were now over “two million documented and two million more undocumented migrant workers in Malaysia.” With many of the workers migrating from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam in the recent decade, the UN was alarmed by a surprising lack of protective legislation in place for this foreign workforce. Representative Maria Grazia Giammarinaro observed that migrant workers were victims of “long hours … not being paid their salary, or even … physical and sexual abuse.” With the support of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), Giammarinaro proposed a complete revamp of the existing system against human trafficking with urgent reparations for victims in mind.
In response to a month’s worth of UN pressure, Malaysia has finally put forth a bill that could enforce existing laws against sex trafficking and unpaid domestic servitude. The 2015 Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Bill, if passed, will guarantee compensations for trafficking victims by imposing heavy fines on apprehended traffickers. A policy long advocated by the likes of Suhakam, the proposed bill is due for its first reading by Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi; its implementation would surely offer much needed state intervention in addition to current limited attempts by advocacy groups to provide shelter and raise awareness for the victims.
Furthermore, the proposed bill addresses the treatment of migrant workers under police custody. Malaysian law currently dictates that once rescued, victims of trafficking are placed under a protection order for “a maximum of two years.” With the new bill, the detention period will be cut to three months, while guaranteeing trafficked persons the freedom of movement and employment during the aforementioned period. “No victims of trafficking should be prosecuted,” said Ms. Giammarino, “for crimes linked with their situation of trafficked persons, and be detained.”
Long before the UN’s interest in the gravity of Malaysia’s human trafficking problem, institutions like Suhakam have already proposed and facilitated round-table discussions regarding the issue. Working with various interest groups has allowed the institution to gather data on human trafficking and express its concerns to the Council for Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants, the relevant branch in Malaysian government. While the narratives of the victims have often been lost in partisan gridlock, Suhakam is confident with the latest parliamentary gesture that “full protection and assistance … in line with International standards set by UN protocol” will no longer be a far-fetched goal.
The plight of Malaysia’s human trafficking victims has been nothing short of dire. On the grounds of “broken promises” and United Malays National Organization’s (UMNO) past record of a lack of action against trafficking offenders, Malaysia was downgraded by the U.S. State Department to a “Tier 3 nation.” Conviction rates for traffickers have also been extremely low; out of 174 charges against 51 traffickers in 2010 under the anti-trafficking law, only 11 were ultimately convicted. That 20 percent conviction rate remained constant even after the implementation of the 2012 anti-trafficking laws; 120 charges yielded only 23 convictions in 2012 and 2013. Given that many of these charges were related to sex-trafficking, the situation is even more grim for victims of forced servitude.
As the country looks to fulfill its aspirations of becoming a developed nation in 2020, its failure to combat the elusive networks of modern day slavery has left lingering doubts. The International Labor Organization has estimated that human trafficking industry in Malaysia is worth up to 150 billion dollars, with the majority of the revenue coming from sex workers. Despite Malaysia’s prohibition of prostitution and laws against slave labor, human trafficking is only second to drug trafficking in its lucrative nature. Profitability, along with rural practices such as brokered marriages which often turn into domestic servitude or forced prostitution, pose significant roadblocks to any attempts at curbing criminal activity.
The proposed bill, like many before it, seeks to end the toothless approaches government officials have taken to address human trafficking. In the past, Malaysian law enforcers have failed to crack down on illicit activities such as software piracy due to the extent of monetary benefits Malaysians were receiving from them. But how could a country consider profiting from human misery a negligible offense?