VZCZCXRO2196
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHKL #0600/01 2020821
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 210821Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3001
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000600 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EAP/MTS, INL/G-TIP, BANGKOK PLEASE PASS TO SECRETARY 
AND PDAS MARCIEL IN PHUKET 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM KTIP PHUM PREF PREL MY
SUBJECT: TIP: FIRST ARREST OF IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS 
 
REF: KL 596 - INCREASED GOM RESPONSIVENESS ON TIP 
 
Summary and Press Guidance 
-------------------------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Police have announced the arrest of five immigration 
officials under Malaysia,s Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act 
for alleged involvement in a TIP syndicate.  As the first GOM 
acknowledgement of official involvement in TIP, this is a 
significant step forward in Malaysia's newfound activism in 
combating trafficking.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) Suggested Press Guidance: 
 
Q: Any comment on the report that Malaysian authorities have 
arrested immigration officials suspected of involvement in 
trafficking of Burmese refugees?  Is this the result of U.S. 
pressure and Tier 3 ranking in the U.S. Trafficking in 
Persons Report? 
 
A: --- I welcome this news of Malaysia,s arrest of 
immigration officers suspected of involvement in trafficking. 
 We are making excellent progress together in the short time 
since Prime Minister Najib took office on April 2. 
 
--- The Malaysians have made it very clear that they wish to 
partner with the U.S. and others in the region and globally 
to resolve trafficking issues.  I commend my colleague, 
Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah, for his forthright support 
of an activist approach to this issue at the Non Aligned 
Movement summit in Egypt. 
 
--Our Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking minority 
member Senator Richard Lugar has been instrumental in 
bringing to light allegations of abuse of Burmese refugees in 
Malaysia.  We owe Senator Lugar and his staff a debt of 
gratitude, along with dedicated NGOs and parliamentarians who 
have been working hard to shed light on traffickers, 
enslavement of innocent victims. 
 
¶3. (SBU) At a July 20 press conference, Police Criminal 
Investigation Department (CID) Director Mohd Bakri Zinin 
announced the arrest of five Malaysian Immigration Department 
officials and four others for alleged involvement in a 
trafficking in persons syndicate. Our NGO contacts, who have 
been in close touch with the police regarding this case, have 
confirmed that these arrests have taken place. As indicated 
in reftel, this case was closely supervised by the Attorney 
General,s Chambers and Head Prosecutor Tun Majid, apparently 
with little or no coordination with the Ministry of Home 
Affairs which oversees Immigration.  Immigration Department 
Director General Abdul Rahman Othman told the press on July 
20 that he was unaware of the arrests. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Bakri said the immigration officials and four 
others (drivers who ferried the immigrants around the 
country) were believed to have received payments from a 
syndicate for the 'sale' of a group of people, comprising 
mostly Burmese Rohingya migrants, as forced labor in various 
sectors including the fisheries industry.  The CID Director 
pointed out that the officers acted as middlemen and 
protectors for the human-trafficking syndicate which 
recruited the migrants. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Bakri's description of the modus operandi of the 
syndicate was similar to that described in the Senate report. 
  He stated that the senior Immigration officers would wait 
at several northern and southern border landing points to 
bring in the Rohingya migrants, who were charged between 
US$85 (RM300) and US$170 (RM600) each. The drivers used small 
deserted roads to transport them to various parts of the 
country for work.  If they were unable to pay, they would be 
sold by the syndicate to, among others, owners of fishing 
industries in Thailand, where they would have to work until 
their debts were paid off. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Bakri stated that the immigration officers received 
payment into their accounts locally and abroad. On some 
occasions, middlemen helped to broker the deals. The CID 
Director also stated that the police are investigating how 
many people have been trafficked and whether the immigration 
officers were also involved in forging documents and other 
illegal activities.  He claimed that nine suspects were 
believed to have worked closely with the syndicate which had 
been active since last year, adding that the police were in 
the midst of tracking down syndicate members and their 
accomplices.  The suspects have been remanded until July 24, 
and would be investigated under Section 13 of the 
Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act 2007 which carries an 
 
KUALA LUMP 00000600  002 OF 002 
 
 
imprisonment for a term which may extend to 20 years and a 
fine, if convicted. 
 
¶7. (SBU) This is the first official GOM acknowledgement of 
the involvement of immigration officials in a human 
trafficking syndicate since the release of a U.S. Senate 
Foreign Relation Committee report on April 3, which detailed 
such allegations.  According to Bakri, police had been 
monitoring the activities of the suspects since March (a 
month before the Senate report). 
KEITH