By Yee Mei
KUCHING, Aug 23: Twenty-five human trafficking cases involving 71 victims have been reported in Sarawak from 2018 until July 2022, said Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.
Sibu recorded the most with eight cases, followed by four each from Kuching, Miri, and Bintulu; two in Samarahan; and one each in Serian, Kapit, and Saratok.
“This is based on statistics provided by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM),” said Fatimah during her opening remarks at a sharing session programme entitled ‘Human Trafficking as Global Issues’ at a hotel here today.
Breaking it down by country of origin, she said the majority are from the Philippines, followed by Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Bangladesh. Out of the 71 victims, 65 are females and six are males.
Fatimah, who is also Dalat assemblywoman, said that based on the US Annual Report on Human Trafficking 2021, Malaysia is placed in Tier 3, the lowest tier, alongside Myanmar, China, South Korea, Russia, and 12 other countries.
“The report suggests that we exceed the minimum standards stipulated in the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000 by implementing appropriate measures to deal with human trafficking and migrant smuggling issues,” she said.
However, Fatimah pointed out that a major challenge in dealing with human trafficking in Sarawak is the lack of safe shelters for victims in accordance with the provisions under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007.
“These shelters are crucial to care, protection, and welfare services for victims such as food and drink, medical facilities, learning, training and skills, counselling, and recreational activities besides access to services and the justice system for trafficked persons.
“With shelter, victims will have a safe place to recover after being removed from an exploitative environment. I am made to understand that our federal Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, together with the Ministry of Home Affairs, are already engaging with an NGO (non-governmental agency) to set up a shelter in Sarawak,” she said.
The sharing programme was also attended by Minal Patel Davis, who is the director of the Mayor’s Office of Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence in Houston, Texas of the United States of America (USA).
“I am confident that this sharing session will provide us with insights on best practices from Houston, USA relating to anti-human trafficking strategic action plans, crisis response and risk mitigation, and cross-sector collaboration that we can adopt and adapt as evidence-based approaches to address human trafficking issues here in Sarawak.
“Hopefully, with improvement measures taken, we will be able to improve Malaysia’s reputation at the international level,” she said. — DayakDaily
