As Malaysia climbs TIP ranking, MCA wants more done to protect locals

MCA has urged Putrajaya to improve efforts to address the trafficking of Malaysians who fall victim to overseas job scams.

In a statement, MCA international bureau deputy chairperson Neow Choo Seong (above) said many Malaysians still fall victim to such scams.

"Since 2021, MCA has received an increased number of reports or complaints from the public, seeking help to rescue job scam victims abroad. We witnessed many victims who lost their money to these syndicates and their lives were also at risk.

"MCA hopes the government could make efforts to address this issue. To keep our people safe, MCA stands ready to assist the government in tackling human trafficking issues, including the alarming overseas job scam syndicates," he said.

In recent years, many Chinese-speaking Malaysians were lured to Myanmar and Cambodia by high-paying job offers.

However, this was usually a ruse by Chinese syndicates to recruit slave labour for operating telephone scams targeting victims in China.

Several political parties have been working with other groups to help secure the release of these Malaysians.

Neow said Malaysia needs to increase efforts to combat human trafficking, given the progress made to move up the US State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2023.

"MCA congratulates the home minister, the police, the immigration department, and other relevant agencies on the latest development. We must give credit where credit is due," he said. - Mkini