2007 04: Suppressing human trafficking

NST online. Sunday interview. 29/04/07

THE trafficking of women and children, the role of the Welfare Department, child beggars, and an increasingly aging Malaysian society have been making the headlines recently.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil talks to TAN CHOE CHOE about the challenges before her.

Q: How serious is human trafficking in Malaysia today?
A: There are more than 800,000 people being trafficked — for sexual exploitation, forced labour, begging — across international borders each year. In June 2006, 19 Malaysian women were rescued from brothels in Britain which involved a multi-million ringgit human trafficking syndicate. The number of trafficked women rescued in Malaysia stood at 371 between 2004 and last year, but this could be the tip of the iceberg. The situation is not alarming. The proposed Anti-Trafficking in Persons Bill is our preventive measure. But we recognise that if we don’t control the situation now, Malaysia may become a trafficking hotspot. This is because of it being one of the most economically dynamic countries in the region.

Q: Why is the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Bill important?
A: My ministry brought to the attention of the Cabinet Committee on Gender Equality in July last year the need to have a specific law to address the problem of trafficking in persons. This bill was then drafted and passed by the cabinet on April 11. The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (Untoc), forms the basis of this bill. This law will strengthen the ability and capacity of the authorities, such as the police and the immigration, to pursue, prosecute and convict traffickers.

Q: The issue seems to involve many stakeholders. Which other ministries or agencies will be involved in tackling this menace?
A: One of the provisions of the bill is to establish a Council for Anti-Trafficking in Persons chaired by the secretary-general of the Home Affairs Ministry. The proposed member-ministries include Foreign Affairs, Internal Security, Human Resources, Transport, Information, and us. Other members will include the Attorney-General, the Inspector-General of Police, and the directors-general of Immigration, Customs, Maritime Enforcement Agency as well as several non-governmental organisations. The council will co-ordinate the implementation of the Act, and formulate policies and programmes to prevent and suppress human trafficking. It will also render assistance to victims, and increase public awareness on the causes and consequences of trafficking.One of the provisions of the bill is to set up halfway houses for victims of trafficking. These homes will be under the Welfare Department. Welfare officers will provide counselling and rehabilitation for victims while they wait for their cases to be disposed. For a start, two halfway houses in Kuala Lumpur should be ready in two months’ time.

Q: There seems to be an influx of foreign child beggars in Malaysia today. Are they victims of child trafficking too?
A: It is possible. There should not be a single beggar on our streets because we are not a poor country. There are opportunities for everyone and there are various welfare institutions for the disabled or disadvantaged. Help can come from the government and NGOs. Most of the beggars are not hardcore poor but just taking advantage of Malaysians’ generosity and kindness.The case of Yin (Muhammad Nazrin) highlighted the issue of foreign beggars. The cabinet is not happy with the situation. A task force has been formed to monitor and rid major towns of beggars. It would be led by the police and assisted by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, local authorities, Immigration Department, Tourism Malaysia and Customs Department and the Islamic Development Department.I am also not happy with some institutions which are sending children out to eating places, mosques and rest and recreation centres to sell things to raise funds for charity. We will take the operators to task.

Q: You have a large ministry and the Welfare Department alone accounts for 4,500 staff.
A: When we were just Women and Family (Development), things were much easier. The Welfare Department is a powerful agency and it has done so much over the last 60 over years, but much more still needs to be done. When we first took over, we looked at the morale of staff, which was low. They were working long hours and expected to know everything about welfare — from caring for abandoned senior citizens and disaster victims to helping pregnant girls. They also have to prepare reports and attend to cases in court. Yet they were not given the respect they deserved. We were also under-staffed and staff training was a concern. We reorganised the department into special divisions like children, handicapped and senior citizens so that officers could specialise in one area at a time.Then we intensified staff training at the ISM (Social Institute of Malaysia).

Q: What about claims on the lack of professionalism among social workers in the Welfare Department. A survey pointed out that only one out of 10 workers were properly trained.
A: Welfare officers are very good and dedicated but we do recognise that we need to improve their training. ISM has tied up with several universities like the University of Berkeley — which is supposed to be one of the better schools for welfare — and UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). Their lecturers are coming here and we are also sending our officers there for training. We’re also looking at tie-ups with local universities like Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Q: In the meantime, those not properly trained are still taking on cases by themselves?
A: If I insist on sending all officers for a two-month training stint, we would have to close down the department. However, we have in situ training and we are also reinstating the mentor system to guide them. We work closely with NGOs and they’ve been really helpful and many of them are expert groups with special expertise.

Q: What other changes are in the pipeline?
A: We are looking at total welfare reform, at rolling out a comprehensive welfare scheme for the country. We do not want to do bits of changes here and there any more. We are looking at revamping the welfare system — administrative changes, financial changes and forward planning for the next five years or so. We are also looking at empowering the whole nation to be welfare-savvy, to make welfare a responsibility for all. It’s not tenable any more for it to be on the shoulders of welfare officers alone.It’s one big package and we’re finalising the details before presenting it to the cabinet.

Q: What do you think about calls to introduce a law to force children to look after their parents like in Singapore?
A: We feel that it’s not necessary now. I firmly believe that Malaysian children still love and respect their elders.Sending their elderly parents to old folk homes is the last thing they want to do. It is only when the parents are infirm and need 24-hour medical supervision that the children have no choice in the matter.I’m not saying no to it forever, just not now. I would rather have the private sector coming in to establish more day care centres because what we really need is better infrastructure.We are also preparing a memorandum to push for local governments to make it a must for each new development project to have provision for a child-care centre, a day-care centre for the elderly, and a community hall.

Q: But there seems to be increasing reports of children abandoning their old parents.
A: Those are isolated cases and not representative of the whole nation. Look around you — the nation still has a heart.But we have to plan for an increasingly aging society.

Q: Since independence, we’ve built only two more old folk homes, bringing to 32 the number of state-run homes.
A: For too long, the focus has been on economic development and welfare has been regarded as an afterthought. While we needed the economic development, it is now time to look at social development as well.