If the world were to believe the narratives of the United States’ Central Investigation Agency (CIA), Malaysia would be a nation many would want to avoid.
In the “country report” category on its website, the CIA continues to list Malaysia as a Tier 3 country, improperly branding it a hub for foreign prostitutes, transit centre for the world’s drug distribution and home of syndicates using corrupt government officials to engage in human trafficking.
Surprisingly, the same report does not contain a single word about the prostitution rings and open activities of sex workers some of our neighbours seem to be notorious for.
It is not that these activities do not happen in Malaysia but maintaining what was listed several years ago in strong and convincing language without updating it is simply irresponsible on the part of an authority with global influence.
According to the report, the page was last updated on July 25.
Yet, it is shocking that a nation which presumes it has the authority to tell the whole world what they should and should not do has not moved Malaysia up to Tier 2 of the US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report watchlist for this year, despite an upgrade which came into effect in June.
Tier 3 means Malaysia is not making enough effort to combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling crimes, with anti-trafficking investigations declining and fewer prosecutions of government officials allegedly involved in such crimes.
On the other hand, Tier 2 is an indication that Malaysia is making significant efforts although there are still pockets of violations.
The report does not end there. It continues to give the impression that law enforcement is in disarray, which can be misconstrued as meaning that Malaysia is a lawless nation and the government not taking any action to correct the problem.
It says large organised crime syndicates are involved in the trafficking of young foreign women and girls, most of whom are from Southeast Asia and some from Nigeria.
These victims are duped by false promises of employment in restaurants, hotels and beauty salons but forced into commercial sex work when they enter the country.
The report adds that Rohingya and other asylum-seekers, and stateless individuals are vulnerable to being trafficked for sex and labour, while syndicates are forcing Malaysian orphans and children to beg.
It concludes by saying corrupt immigration officials facilitate trafficking by accepting bribes from brokers and smugglers at the borders and airports. Other government officials profit from bribes as well as the extortion and exploitation of migrants.
It is a damning report to say the least, but the allegations have been there since Malaysia was downgraded to Tier 3 in 2021, having sat one tier higher between 2018 and 2020.
Potential investors from abroad will likely refer to reports from reputable agencies such as the CIA for an outlook before deciding whether to bring in their money. The way it is worded, many may have reservations about investing in Malaysia.
Such inaccurate and unfair descriptions are also bound to affect the nation’s push to bring in foreigners under the government’s Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme.
Clearly, the CIA has acted unfairly by leaving Malaysia rooted in Tier 3 of the TIP report.
Sure, Malaysia has weaknesses in the surveyed areas but the low ranking is an injustice to both the country and its law-abiding people. We are by no means a crime-infested country and, by and large, our people do not live in fear.
The TIP report on Malaysia is also unusually long when compared to that of several of our neighbouring countries. There is no basis for this.
The US government must be fair to Malaysia and revise its report immediately. - FMT
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
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