VZCZCXRO2223
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHKL #0006/01 0070757
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 070757Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3653
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0455

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 000006 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG MY
SUBJECT: TIP: MALAYSIAN DIRECTOR GENERAL OF LABOR SAYS GOM 
MAKING PROGRESS ON LABOR TRAFFICKING ISSUES 
 
REF: A. KL 775--TIP AMBASSADOR CDEBACA'S VISIT TO 
        MALAYSIA AUGUST 25-27 
     ¶B. KL 908--DEATH OF INDONESIAN MAID HIGHLIGHTS 
        CONTINUING MIGRANT WORKER PROBLEMS IN 
        MALAYSIA 
 
SUMMARY AND COMMENT 
-------------------- 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Ismail Abdul Rahim, Director General of 
Labor in the Ministry of Human Resources, told Polcouns 
during a December 24 meeting that the GOM had acted to 
prevent outsourcing companies from fraudulently recruiting 
workers overseas and was close to reaching an agreement with 
Indonesia on treatment of maids. Joined by eight of his top 
advisors, Ismail stated that he believes the source of labor 
trafficking is economic disparity between Malaysia and its 
neighboring countries; he pointed to outsourcing companies as 
a significant contributor to this problem; he noted the 
responsibility of source countries to act to prevent 
trafficking in persons (TIP); and, at times during the 
meeting, he attempted to minimize both incidents of abuse of 
migrant workers as well as the scope of the TIP problem in 
the labor sector in Malaysia. Poloffs emphasized that the GOM 
needed to demonstrate the results of its anti-TIP efforts in 
connection with the review period ending in March. Recalling 
TIP Ambassador Cdebaca's visit in August 2009 (Ref A), 
Poloffs asked how GOM plans for cracking down on and reducing 
the number of labor recruitment agencies operating in 
Malaysia have progressed, but Ismail did not provide 
specifics on actions against such agencies. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Comment: Ismail was well-prepared with talking 
points for the meeting and well-versed on recent actions 
taken by the GOM to combat human trafficking. He was 
knowledgeable on the subject matter and able to point to 
anti-trafficking actions being taken by the GOM such as 
cracking down on outsourcing companies and coordinating with 
Indonesia on a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 
regarding treatment of migrant workers. That said, Ismail was 
short on specifics and continued to take an artificial and 
narrow interpretation of what constitutes human/labor 
trafficking vs. traditional labor disputes. This may be in 
part driven by HR Ministry efforts to retain jurisdiction 
over labor cases and not cede these responsibilities to the 
Attorney Generals Office for handling under the new 
anti-trafficking law. Post will be requesting a meeting for 
the Ambassador with the Human Resources Minister in the 
coming weeks to follow-up on a number of these issues and our 
pending TIP labor concerns. End Comment. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Human Resources Ministry Director General of Labor 
Ismail, accompanied by Director of Labor Enforcement 
Division, Zaharah Binti Zainal Abidin, Principal Assistant 
Director of Labor Foreign Workers Division, Yusoff Bin Harun, 
and six other advisors, during a December 24 meeting with 
Polcouns and Poloff, shared Ministry views on the current 
labor trafficking situation in Malaysia. He explained that 
many of the USG's concerns outlined in the U.S. TIP Action 
Plan had already been addressed, citing actions to curtail 
labor trafficking and progress on protecting Indonesian 
maids. Ismail had been an active participant in a meeting 
with Ambassador CdeBaca in August 2009, wherein Deputy 
Minister of Human Resources Maznah Mazlan explained that her 
ministry was working to amend the Employment Act to better 
address labor trafficking and outlined GOM plans for cracking 
down on and reducing the number of labor recruitment agencies 
operating in Malaysia. Ismail's comments echoed those made by 
Maznah Mazlan to Ambassador CdeBaca that many of the USG's 
concerns regarding how TIP matters are handled were already 
being addressed (Ref A). 
 
GOM ANTI-TIP EFFORTS 
-------------------- 
¶4. (SBU) Emphasizing that the GOM needed to demonstrate the 
results of its anti-TIP efforts in connection with the review 
period ending in March, Polcouns asked what the Human 
Resources Ministry was doing about well-documented NGO 
allegations that fraudulent labor trafficking -- where 
foreign workers pay high fees to be placed in jobs that don't 
exist, and are then subject to labor trafficking -- was 
continuing. Ismail pointed to his government's recent efforts 
to crack down on "fraudulent and unscrupulous outsourcing 
companies." Ismail explained that in July 2009, the GOM 
changed how it handles the processing of foreign workers into 
the country. In the past, outsourcing companies had 
flexibility in the number of workers recruited and what jobs 
they were assigned. Starting in July, outsourcing companies 
were required to specifically demonstrate to the Labor 
Department that a real job exists for every worker that is 
being recruited. If the outsourcing company is unable to 
prove such a job exists, the request is denied. He asserted 
 
KUALA LUMP 00000006  002 OF 003 
 
 
that such action has already served to correct the problem 
and any cases that have since cropped up simply reflect 
workers who were in country prior to the change in policy. 
Ismail added that the Attorney General's Chambers would 
prosecute outsourcing companies who were not complying with 
this new policy but did not elaborate as to whether any such 
cases had gone forward. Polcouns requested further 
information about the July 2009 policy changes and their 
implementation, noting that the media and NGOs report that 
labor trafficking by outsourcing companies still continues. 
The Human Resources Ministry has yet to provide the requested 
information. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Ismail explained the outreach that his office and 
the Ministry of Home Affairs were conducting on the TIP 
issue. He said that on December 26, GOM officials were 
travelling to Sarawak and Sabah to conduct a "road show" to 
promote public awareness of TIP. (Note: This is consistent 
with the GOM's recent launching of a public awareness 
campaign on TIP which has included full page adds in local 
daily newspapers and radio spots calling for an end to human 
trafficking; details to be reported septel. End Note). He 
also noted that his Ministry was in the process of creating a 
Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on the hiring and 
treatment of domestic workers. His department is also 
creating a Maid Case Task Force to work in coordination with 
the Home Ministry and its enforcement agencies to provide a 
layer of protection for domestic workers. He did not 
elaborate on when the SOP would be available or when the task 
force would be operation. 
 
Two Types of Trafficking 
------------------------ 
¶6. (SBU) Ismail said that economic migration is the source of 
the labor trafficking problem and that economic disparity 
between Malaysia and its neighbor countries, an open-door 
immigration policy and porous borders were at the heart of 
this issue. Traffickers prey on the poor, noted Ismail, 
promising them job opportunities for lucrative pay only to 
place them into forced-labor situations once the migrants 
arrive in Malaysia. He noted that it was a large problem -- 1 
to 1.5 million illegal workers -- but that Malaysia was doing 
its best to resolve it. He emphasized that the Human 
Resources Ministry had a responsibility to protect all 
workers, to include foreign workers, from discrimination and 
mistreatment. Ismail divided the victims of trafficking into 
two groups - one group consisting of individuals who were 
"tricked" into coming into Malaysia for lucrative employment 
only to be forced into prostitution and a second group 
consisting of workers who came to Malaysia willingly and 
without being "tricked" but were later abused or unpaid. He 
explained that he felt that the definition of trafficking in 
persons was too broad and should include only members of the 
first group and not the second. The second issue was a labor 
issue and should be exclusively handled under the labor laws. 
When Polcouns and Poloff argued that the second group could 
also include victims of trafficking, he reluctantly agreed 
that such cases needed to be looked at on a case-by-case 
basis, but reemphasized that the labor laws have been in 
place for years and that many cases could be handled under 
the labor laws. (Comment: Prior to the enactment of the 2007 
Anti-TIP Act, Malaysia historically handled many trafficking 
cases as simple labor disputes under the labor laws. Labor 
disputes continue to be handled in separate court system by 
Labor Department officials. Ismail's comments were defensive 
and may reflect an attempt to retain HR Ministry control over 
these matters rather than forfeit them to the Attorney 
General's Chambers. End Comment.) 
 
¶7. (SBU) Ismail downplayed the incidents of abuse of domestic 
servants in Malaysia. Malaysia has had a number of high 
profile incidents of abuse of Indonesian maids in recent 
years (Ref B). He claimed that the GOM has received only 400 
reports of abused maids in the past few years while his 
office has received 8000 reports of maids running away from 
their employers. While he acknowledged that abuse of domestic 
workers was a problem that his ministry needed to address, he 
felt it paled in comparison to the issue of run-away maids. 
Ismail noted that Malaysian employers front considerable 
money to hire foreign maids, yet claimed that many maids come 
to Malaysia with no intention of working and flee within days 
of their arrival, thereby causing a significant financial 
loss to their employers. He explained, "I know you do not 
want to hear it, but keeping their passports prevents them 
from running away." He acknowledged that a new MOU with 
Indonesia on maids would likely prevent employers from 
holding passports, as well as regulate salaries and vacation 
days. He also noted that a sticking point in these 
negotiations has been agreeing to the amount of fees charged 
by labor recruiting agents in Indonesia. 
 
 
KUALA LUMP 00000006  003 OF 003 
 
 
FINGERPOINTING AT BANGLADESH 
---------------------------- 
¶8. (SBU) Ismail pointed out that source countries have a 
responsibility to prevent the labor trafficking problem. He 
added, "I do not want to push this problem on to anyone else, 
but Bangladeshi agents are to blame." (Note: This is a 
reference to the large number of Bangladeshis present in 
Malaysia who claim to have been duped by outsourcing agents. 
It resulted in the GOM cancelling work visas of 55,000 
Bangladeshis in March 2009. End Note.) He agreed with 
Poloff's suggestion that this issue needed to be addressed 
regionally and that ASEAN may provide one forum for doing so. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Ismail closed by encouraging Embassy Kuala Lumpur to 
continue to work with his office on TIP issues. He identified 
Zaharah Binti Zainal Abidin and Yusoff Bin Harun as points of 
contact. 
KEITH