Red card for human traffickers

Source: the star online

Sunday September 11, 2011

PUTRAJAYA: The Government is determined to stop syndicates from taking advantage of foreigners desperate to seek jobs in Malaysia and ending up being victims of human trafficking.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said that while the problem has not become a “clear and present danger” to Malaysia, effective measures must be taken to prevent the problem from worsening.

The minister said fighting transnational crime must be made a national agenda to raise awareness of the problem.

“That is why the ministry's programmes and policies, such as the 6P amnesty programme, must succeed.

“This is one of the most effective ways to check on illegal activities involving foreigners.

“Malaysia must not be associated with modern day slavery if it wants to become a developed nation by 2020,” he said.

According to the ministry's statistics, a total of 709 foreign males had been given interim protection order since the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act was enforced.

Most of them were believed to have been victims of labour exploitation.

“Transnational crimes are not just about human trafficking and migrant smuggling.

“There are drugs and arms sales as well as terrorist activities.

“We are waging a war against this and we are sending a clear message to warn international syndicates not to use Malaysia as a transit or safe country for them to carry out or even plan their illegal activities,” he said.

He added that besides having an Act that dealt with culprits severely, there was also political will and determination on the Government's part to tackle such problems.

Hishammuddin said the 6P programme was part of the Government's bigger agenda in efforts to fight transnational crime, which include introducing new policies, out of the box initiatives and networking with international intelligence.

Meanwhile, the ministry's immigration affairs division undersecretary Datuk Zaitun Ab Samad said of the 1.3 million illegal foreign workers who had registered with the ministry under the 6P programme, 316,961 had no employers.

“We want to know what they are doing here and how they earn a living,” she said.
Zaitun said 244,261 illegal foreign workers were employed by the services sector, 175,475 (manufacturing), 282,925 (construction), 137,795 (plantation), 85,496 (agriculture) and 26,340 as maids.

Red card for human traffickers