KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (July 1): According to two sources familiar with the situation, the US State Department will drop Malaysia to the lowest position in its closely regarded annual report on human trafficking, which will be released later on Thursday. Malaysia will be demoted to ‘Tier 3’ in this year’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report after spending three years on the ‘Tier 2 Watchlist,’ according to the sources.
Because they were not authorized to speak to the media, the sources did not want to be identified.
The US embassy in Kuala Lumpur declined to comment ahead of the report’s release, which is set for 1700 GMT on Thursday, according to the State Department.
Reuters attempted to contact the State Department but was unable to reach a spokeswoman outside of regular business hours in the United States.
Malaysia’s home ministry did not respond to a request for comment right away.
Tier 3 countries are those that do not meet the minimal standards for preventing human trafficking or make considerable efforts to do so, according to the State Department.
Malaysia’s access to some US aid could be hampered if it receives a Tier 3 designation.
Malaysia is a well-known location for victims of human trafficking.
To labor in industries and plantations, the Southeast Asian nation relies on millions of foreign workers. Over 170,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers, the majority of whom are Rohingya from Myanmar, call it home.
While Malaysia was taking steps to eliminate trafficking, official complicity hampered anti-trafficking efforts, according to the 2020 TIP report.
The number of investigations into labor trafficking was similarly low in comparison to the scope of the problem, according to the report.
Three Malaysian companies have had import bans imposed by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the last year due to suspicions of forced labor in their operations.
Activists for workers’ rights have petitioned the CBP to probe more Malaysian companies for labor violations.
Forced labor in Malaysia is not a common problem or “out of control,” according to a senior police official who spoke to Reuters on Wednesday./n
