This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 6, 2025 - October 12, 2025

Malaysia remained in Tier 2 in the US Department of State’s (DoS) 2025 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, indicating that the country had not fully met the minimum international standard required to eliminate human trafficking, although it had made improvements.

The report highlighted that Malaysia was making a significant effort to eliminate human trafficking, including investigating more potential trafficking cases, prosecuting complicit officials and increasing resources for anti-trafficking activities.

However, the DoS noted that the Malaysian government “did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas”. It also said the government had prosecuted and convicted fewer traffickers and did not identify any victims or prosecute labour traffickers in the palm oil sector or disposable glove manufacturing industry despite ongoing reports of trafficking in these sectors.

It added that insufficient interagency coordination and significant gaps in services for victims, including shelter, discouraged foreign victims from staying in Malaysia to participate in criminal proceedings. This hindered successful anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts.

However, what stood out was the DoS’ mention of corruption and official complicity that undermined anti-trafficking efforts and allowed traffickers to operate with impunity. It also noted the resource constraints in Malaysia’s criminal justice system and “uneven application of investigative and prosecutorial standards, which at times prevented judicial authorities from following through on trafficking cases”.

As shown in the past, allegations of labour trafficking and exploitation have led to economic losses for companies involved as shipments of their products were barred from the US. Not only that, the reputational damage often lingers even after the issues have been resolved. The companies involved spend years and financial resources undoing the damage in order to be allowed to export to the US again.

As for the government, there is much to be done to be upgraded from Tier 2, according to the TIP report, which outlined 15 priority recommendations on areas of improvement for the Malaysian government.

While the efforts made to eliminate human trafficking are commendable, will a Tier 1 rating remain a pipe dream given the entrenched corruption and lackadaisical attitude in the ecosystem?

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