Shocking description of Malaysia in CIA website

 

While doing some fact-checking for a recent story on Malaysian terror suspects in Guantanamo, I checked out the US Central Intelligence Agency website’s country profiles.

I was keen to see how Malaysia is viewed by arguably the world’s foremost spy agency and by extension, the US government itself.

Governments around the world do not take the CIA findings lightly. Foreign investors doing due diligence on whether to invest in a certain country will take into account the CIA’s “pronouncements” of that country, and Malaysia is no exception to this mode of assessment.

I was in for a rude shock after reading how the CIA’s World Factbook rated the country in its Transnational Issues section. It was a damning report, albeit a blatant generalisation of the nation.

However, the report also carried some harsh truths.

Under the “current situation” of Malaysia’s status which was last updated on April 30 this year, it said:

“Malaysia is a destination and, to a lesser extent, a source and transit country for men, women and children subjected to forced labour, and women and children subjected to sex trafficking; Malaysia is mainly a destination country for foreign workers who migrate willingly from countries, including Indonesia, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Nepal, Burma, and other Southeast Asian countries, but subsequently encounter forced labour or debt bondage in agriculture, construction, factories and domestic service at the hands of employers, employment agents and labour recruiters; women from Southeast Asia and, to a much lesser extent, Africa, are recruited for legal work in restaurants, hotels and salons but are forced into prostitution; refugees, including Rohingya adults and children, are not legally permitted to work and are vulnerable to trafficking; a small number of Malaysians are trafficked internally and subjected to sex trafficking abroad.”

The CIA’s “verdict” is shocking to say the least, because it has painted the entire nation with the same brush. All because there are some rotten scoundrels in all segments of our nation including the enforcement agencies, underground operators and ordinary citizens working in cahoots.

However, it cannot be denied that we are a nation where corruption, persecution and abuse of illegal workers as well as human trafficking seems to have flourished year in and out.

Who is at fault here? Do we blame the government, politicians and others in authority for how we have been branded? It’s painful to know that we are seen as a heartless country which is either allowing or ignoring these nefarious acts of tyranny.

The CIA World Factbook says migrant workers “encounter forced labour or debt bondage…at the hands of employers, employment agents and labour recruiters”

While each and every Malaysian who loves this nation should be outraged by this description, I have to point out that there are specific ministries and enforcement and security agencies that ought to wake up and clean up their act to put things right.

I must say the home ministry should be at the forefront to correct the perception while the human resources ministry has an important role too as the description touches a lot on abuse of foreign workers.

Of course the mighty enforcement agencies like the police and immigration department, which unfortunately have been receiving quite a bit of bad press over alleged links with underworld kingpins, will have no choice but to come clean if there are any hopes of the CIA reviewing its post.

It is easy to point the finger at the enforcement authorities but Malaysians must also take part of the blame for condoning corrupt and unethical practices that they have consciously or unconsciously condoned.

Many of us are quick to criticise and viral any news or video of corrupt practices. However, many among us are also the first to try to “settle” matters when caught in a bind to avoid paying up the fines or going to court. Many are also ready to offer “duit kopi” to civil servants as an inducement to “speed things up” for them.

As we have seen, unscrupulous employers of foreign workers too have put the nation on the spot, practising child labour and debt bondage. As the saying goes, it takes two to tango, and both Malaysians and the enforcement authorities have contributed to our international status.

Our illegal immigrants detention centres are teeming with detainees, yet for some reason, we hardly hear about their employers being hauled up to court and slapped with hefty fines and prison sentences as provided by law. Why is this so?

Of course some may say why is Malaysia even bothered by the CIA report as the agency is an American tool, but I beg to differ. I am sure they have agents here who send the reports back which cannot be dismissed as fictitious. If there is no smoke, there is no fire.

With this damning CIA assessment of Malaysia, it is no wonder that the US State Department has placed Malaysia on its Tier 2 Watch List. It means we do not fully meet the requirements of its Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, but are making significant efforts. We have been on this list since 2014.

We need a whole-of-the-nation battle to change Malaysia’s negative image in the eyes of the US and the rest of the world as our economy is very dependent on international trade.

It is not enough to just clean up the police force and the immigration authorities. Most importantly, each and every Malaysian needs to stand up and be counted.

It’s obvious the government and its people need to own up and work harder to correct the injustices that have sullied the image of the country for far too long. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.