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Viewing cable 07KUALALUMPUR1557, POLICE IN EAST MALAYSIA DISCUSS TRAFFICKING IN

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07KUALALUMPUR1557 2007-10-23 09:53 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Kuala Lumpur
VZCZCXRO6789
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHKL #1557/01 2960953
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 230953Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0147
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 001557 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MTS AND G/TIP 
DOJ FOR ICITAP AND OPDAT 
JAKARTA FOR ICITAP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KCRM KJUS ID MY
SUBJECT: POLICE IN EAST MALAYSIA DISCUSS TRAFFICKING IN 
PERSONS, WELCOME TRAINING 
 
REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 1236 - MALAYSIA ENACTS TIP LAW 
 
     B. KUALA LUMPUR 1145 - SENIOR ENGAGEMENT ON TIP 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
1.  (SBU) Poloff met with police leaders in East Malaysia 
during the first week of October to discuss trafficking in 
persons (TIP) issues in their region.  To date, police have 
prosecuted or detained local syndicates and "gangsters" 
involved in trafficking under various legal options not 
specifically related to trafficking.  Police were cognizant 
of the new anti-TIP law and considering approaches to 
implementation.  The police officials expressed their desire 
for U.S. technical assistance for identifying victims and 
investigating trafficking crimes.  At the Tebedu/Entikong 
border crossing between Sarawak and Indonesia's West 
Kalimantan, we witnessed the wide latitude enjoyed by 
employment agents seeking to recruit Indonesian workers on 
the spot.  Septel will report additional TIP information from 
our East Malaysia visit.  End Summary. 
 
East Malaysia -- Destination and Transit Area for TIP 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
2.  (U) Poloff traveled to the East Malaysia states of Sabah 
and Sarawak, September 30 to October 5, and met with senior 
police officials to discuss TIP.  Both states are destination 
and transit areas for human trafficking.  According to NGO, 
press and diplomatic sources, an unknown number of foreign 
victims are trafficked into prostitution in East Malaysia, 
while there are also reports of forced labor on plantations 
and timber operations.  Sabah is located relatively close to 
the southern portions of the Philippines, a couple hours via 
boat, and offers traffickers relatively easy entry points 
into Malaysia.  Both Sabah and Sarawak share land and 
sea-lanes with Indonesian Kalimantan and are used by 
traffickers to transport mainly Indonesians into and through 
Malaysia. 
 
Police Views on Trafficking 
--------------------------- 
 
3.  (SBU) Poloff met respectively with Abdul Rahman bin 
Hussin, Sarawak State Acting Police Commissioner; Noor Rashid 
Ibrahim, Sabah State Police Commissioner; and Zakaria Yusuf 
and Abdul Razak bin Arshad, Deputy Superintendents of Police 
for Labuan in East Malaysia.  The senior police officers in 
all three meetings opened with a statement that they did not 
have a major TIP problem, only "isolated cases."  The 
discussion then centered on the difficulties of combating 
trafficking.  Common difficulties exist in all three regions; 
the greatest challenge according to police is the use of 
legitimate travel documents with counterfeit information. 
Traffickers and their victims, along with intending illegal 
migrants, make extensive use of bought passports or valid 
tourist visas to enter Malaysia.  On the Indonesian side of 
the border, individuals can purchase an Indonesian passport 
for approximately $170 (600 Ringgit), Malaysian police 
claimed.  The most common trafficking pattern according to 
police involves employment agents in countries of origin who 
use deception to recruit TIP victims. 
 
4.  (SBU) All three police leaders were cognizant of 
Malaysia's new anti-TIP law, and were considering efforts to 
implement the law, although Police Commissioner Noor Rashid 
stated he had yet to receive a copy of the new statute. 
(Note: We understand from national level officials that 
police have yet to receive instructions to act on the new 
law, septel.  End Note.)  Police also discussed methods to 
pursue the traffickers.  The police believed most traffickers 
to be "gangsters" and members of "loose syndicates" involved 
in more than just trafficking.  To date, police have used a 
variety of statutes to arrest and charge suspected 
traffickers.  Police in both Sarawak and Sabah described the 
difficulty in gathering evidence to convict a trafficker in 
court.  The alternative readily available to police in such 
cases is preventive detention and detaining suspects without 
trial under the Emergency Ordinances.  In Sarawak, police 
voiced their frustration that the U.S. did not recognize 
their past efforts to detain and jail traffickers. 
Nevertheless, police officials uniformly voiced their desire 
for U.S. technical training on investigating trafficking 
cases.  In particular, the police wanted training in evidence 
collection and processing; identifying, safeguarding, and 
interviewing possible trafficking victims; and coordinating 
 
KUALA LUMP 00001557  002 OF 002 
 
 
transnational trafficking investigations.  Police in Sarawak 
welcomed the recent U.S. support (via ICITAP) for the TIP law 
enforcement seminar they hosted in July (ref B). 
 
Border Crossing Scene 
--------------------- 
 
5.  (SBU) Poloff visited the Tebedu / Entikong border 
crossing between Malaysia and Indonesia on September 30.  The 
morning is the busiest period at the border; however, a 
steady stream in both directions continued during the 
afternoon.  Within the no-man's land about a dozen employment 
agents freely roamed, looking for recruits.  The agents even 
have their own designated rest area.  Poloff saw employment 
agents at the border-crossing attempt to entice a group of 
Indonesian women who told Poloff they were on their way to 
work in Brunei.  The employment agents offer women and men 
jobs in Malaysia and elsewhere.  When the individual accepts 
the offer, the agents shepherd the person through immigration 
into waiting vans.  According to police and local Catholic 
Church officials, once illegitimate employment agents have a 
victim inside Malaysia, they send their "recruits" to various 
locations like brothels, bars, timber operations, and 
plantations.  Traffickers transport some victims to West 
Malaysia or other countries.  When Poloff asked Malaysian 
immigration officials about the agents working in the 
no-man's zone, the officials appeared visibly nervous and 
would not answer Poloff's questions. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
6.  (SBU) With Malaysia's new comprehensive TIP law as the 
entry point, our conversations with police leaders in East 
Malaysia highlighted the opening we have to engage with 
Malaysian law enforcement officials to increase their 
awareness of TIP and improve their skills for combating 
trafficking.  The July 17-19 TIP law enforcement conference 
in Sarawak, hosted by the Sarawak police and supported by 
ICITAP/Jakarta and the French Government, was a modest but 
constructive beginning (ref B) in East Malaysia. 
National-level officials appear to be equally inclined to 
work with USG counterparts for law enforcement training for 
anti-trafficking (septel). 
KEITH