No forced labour in Malaysia, says minister after US sanction

 

Malaysia does not practise forced labour and is engaging with the United States to address concerns involving third-country suppliers in global supply chains, said Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Johari Abdul Ghani.

Johari said Malaysia has laws protecting against forced labour, but issues raised by the US under Section 301 extend beyond activities within the country.

“We do not have forced labour in the country because we have specific laws, in fact, many laws, to protect against forced labour.

“But forced labour under Section 301 goes beyond that. It also includes third countries that we deal with, where we buy raw materials or semi-finished products, process them, and export the finished products to the US,” he said.

He made the remarks in his keynote address at the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce’s 49th annual general meeting luncheon in Kuala Lumpur today.

Johari said Malaysia complies with international labour standards as a member of the International Labour Organization, and that forced labour is already governed under the national legal framework.

However, he said Malaysia lacks a mechanism to assess whether suppliers in third countries are linked to forced labour.

“When people say Malaysia has no forced labour, we say we don’t. But we do not have a mechanism to evaluate a third country that engages in forced labour.

“As such, Malaysia is studying a mechanism that would assess compliance at the company level, rather than imposing blanket restrictions on an entire country.

“For example, if four out of five companies in a country comply with forced labour regulations while one does not, we will only choose the compliant companies,” he said.

He said Putrajaya is seeking further engagement with Washington to ensure there is a common understanding of the issue.

“What we want to do is have tariff engagement with the US to make sure they understand this issue. If they do not understand the issue, it is very difficult to get it ratified,” he said.

On the proposed 10 percent tariff linked to forced labour concerns, Johari said the measure has yet to be finalised.

“The 10 percent that was announced yesterday has not yet been approved by the US president.

“Therefore, we have to wait. Many people were confused about whether this 10 percent is on top of Section 301. The 10 percent under forced labour has not been finalised yet,” he said.

Johari also said Malaysia is seeking clarity on the issue of excess capacity, which is also being investigated under Section 301 and has been cited in discussions surrounding trade measures.

“As far as we are concerned, in this country there is no excess capacity,” he added.

- Bernama