HumanTrafficking.org | Malaysia: Government Best Practices

A web resource for combating human trafficking

Malaysia

Malaysia Best Practices

Prevention

Domestic

Governmental
The Government provided direct financial support to 75 different NGOs dedicated to women and girls' welfare. While these NGOs did not specifically target trafficking, victims, they were available to help repatriated Malaysian victims and foreign victims who had been released into the custody of their embassy or consulate.¹

Malaysia passed the Child Act 2002 to outlaw pornography.

Local women's NGOs are working with the Bar council to draft legislation specifically aimed at prosecuting traffickers and protecting victims.

The government is using the media to educate the public about the perils of human trafficking by exposing the abuses suffered by women and children as a result of trafficking.

International

Governmental
Malaysia signed an agreement with the Philippines and Indonesia to cooperate on transnational crimes, including trafficking in persons, and will initiate law enforcement contact with its neighbors. Special cooperation is underway between the states of Sabah and Sarawak and the Indonesian state of Kalimantan.

Malaysia is cooperating with ASEAN-POL and INTERPOL to prevent international human trafficking. A watch-list of identified traffickers is maintained to identify human trafficking culprits.²

Prosecution

Domestic

Governmental
The Women and Girls Protection Act of 1973 provides for punishing traffickers or other persons who:

take Malaysian women in and out of the country under false pretences or by fraudulent means for prostitution,
bring into Malaysia , receive or harbor women or girls for the purpose of prostitution,
act as an intermediary or exercise control or influence over the movement of a person in such manner as to aid or abet prostitution, or advertise or
offer a woman for prostitution.

The constitution of Malaysia prohibits slavery, but the provision has not been invoked in cases of trafficking in persons. However, in order to prosecute traffickers, Malaysian officials use other laws such as the Immigration Act and Restricted Residency Act. The new Immigration Act of 2002 has resulted in the decrease of the number of illegal residents in the country, and it is thought the number of trafficked victims. However, the government did not prosecute anyone specifically for the offense of trafficking in persons in 2002. Most traffickers are prosecuted as smugglers under the immigration statute and as a result receive only fines or light sentences. Immigration officials have stepped up border security measures and are scrutinizing foreign visa applicants more closely to look for potential trafficking victims.³

Protection

Domestic

Governmental
Overseas, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides assistance to Malaysian victims trafficked abroad.

Nongovernmental
A number of active women's NGOs provide assistance to victims of trafficking.

International Conventions

Malaysia has signed and ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery.