PROSECUTION
The government increased investigations and prosecutions, but obtained only three trafficking convictions—a disproportionate number of convictions compared to the large scale of the human trafficking problem in Malaysia. Malaysia’s 2007 Anti- Trafficking in Persons Act (amended in 2010) prohibits all forms of human trafficking and prescribes punishments of up to 20 years’ imprisonment, which are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious offenses, such as rape.
In 2014, the government reported 186 investigations of potential trafficking cases, compared with 89 in 2013. It initiated prosecutions against 54 alleged trafficking offenders (including 26 for forced labor, 12 for sexual exploitation, and an unknown charge for 16 cases), an increase from 34 in 2013. The government convicted three traffickers for forced labor and none for sex trafficking, marking a decrease from nine traffickers convicted in 2013. Sentences ranged from two to five years’ imprisonment for each trafficking

charge.The government issued a written directive in August 2014 requiring public prosecutors to engage with victims at least two weeks prior to trial. Prosecutors reported they spent time with victims in government facilities, better understood victims’ concerns about the trial process and timing, and worked to address these concerns. The Royal Malaysia Police operated a specialized anti- trafficking unit, and the immigration and labor departments had specialized trafficking enforcement agents.The Attorney General’s Chamber had 29 deputy public prosecutors throughout Malaysia specializing in human trafficking cases. Prosecutors reported increased interaction with law enforcement during the investigation process and were more familiar with victims’ accounts prior to courtroom appearances than during the previous reporting year.
NGOs reported officials often failed to investigate complaints of passport confiscation or withholding of wages, especially involving domestic workers, thereby failing to recognize trafficking indicators and instead responding to those who complained by taking action against them for immigration violations.The government continued to inadequately enforce the prohibition on employers withholding employee passports. In 2014, the government convicted one defendant for withholding 29 employees’ passports and fined him RM 5,000 ($1,400).
In 2014, each of the enforcement agencies continued to conduct anti-trafficking trainings, reaching nearly 700 officials. For example, Malaysian officials trained 103 coast guard officers on trafficking in Sabah, Kuantan, and Sarawak. Several ministries coordinated a series of anti-trafficking trainings on investigative interview techniques for 205 frontline officials.The Attorney General’s Chamber hosted and convened a seminar for 30 judges and prosecutors throughout Malaysia to discuss victim-centered approaches to prosecution. Topics included effective victim interviewing, identifying and meeting victims’ needs, and working with interpreters. Reports continued to purport some corrupt immigration officials allegedly facilitated migrant smuggling, which may have contributed to trafficking crimes; however, the government did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government officials complicit in trafficking.

PROTECTION
The government increased efforts to improve Malaysia’s victim protection system. The government consulted with civil society stakeholders to draft amendments to the existing anti-trafficking law. The cabinet approved the draft amendments and introduced them to Parliament, but Parliament had not passed the amendments at the end of the reporting period. Under the current anti-trafficking law, the government housed victims in government facilities under 14-day interim protection orders for suspected victims and 90-day protection orders for certified victims that were renewable until a victim was no longer needed in judicial proceedings against a suspected trafficker.The government housed most victims in these facilities for one to six months. It denied foreign victims the liberty to leave the premises without a chaperone; victims remained under police custody for hospital visits or court appearances. However, the government cooperated with the embassies of some of the largest sending countries to record legal statements from trafficking victims and allowed the victims to return to their home countries before the end of the legal proceedings when outstanding legal issues, such as repayment of back wages, were resolved.The government did not allow foreign victims to work outside the facilities while under protection orders, and repatriated them to their home countries after their protection orders expired,

in accordance with Malaysian law.This policy discouraged some victims from cooperating with authorities or bringing cases to governmental attention.
In 2014, the government identified 1,684 potential victims, of which it confirmed 303 as trafficking victims, an increase compared with 270 in 2013.The majority of the victims were Indonesian nationals, followed byVietnamese and Filipino citizens.The number of victims subjected to sex or labor trafficking was unclear. NGOs and government officials report labor trafficking was far more common than sex trafficking in Malaysia. The government reported law enforcement agencies followed standardized procedures to identify trafficking victims. Officials continued to rely on workers to report nonpayment of wages to initiate labor trafficking investigations. Front-line officials and prosecutors did not receive adequate training to work with victims, and investigations were typically not victim-centered. Some NGOs reported they did not refer victims to the police, as they believed doing so was detrimental to the welfare of the victims, and some foreign embassies sheltered victims to expedite their repatriation and provide an alternative to being housed in government facilities during lengthy criminal proceedings. Some government officials continued to view foreign victims as migrant workers and not victims, hampering progress on victim protection efforts.
The government operated six facilities to house victims. The Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development operated four facilities for women and one for child trafficking victims.The home affairs ministry operated Malaysia’s only facility for male trafficking victims in Malacca. Progress on the 2014 pilot project to enable two NGOs to operate a government-owned facility for victims was set aside in favor of pursuing holistic change through legal amendments to Malaysia’s Trafficking in Persons Act. The government provided basic services to those staying in its facilities; however, NGOs, without government-allocated funding, provided the majority of victim rehabilitation and counseling services. Victim services were inadequate; in some facilities, victims were only allowed to call their families once per month for 15 minutes. Authorities did not disclose full budgetary details on protection efforts but allocated RM 4,000,000 ($1,100,000) to the Ministry of Home Affairs and RM 4,600,000 ($1,300,000) to the women’s ministry to operate facilities for female trafficking victims in 2015.
The anti-trafficking law provides victims immunity from immigration offenses, which are outside the scope of the penal code. NGOs and foreign embassies report that victims often preferred to be repatriated immediately rather than remain in Malaysia and wait for the judicial process to conclude. Some trafficking victims, particularly those who denied that they were subjected to trafficking or whose employers confiscated their documents, were not identified as trafficking victims and instead were detained, deported, or charged with immigration offenses.