Malaysia's Mass Graves makes Minister grapple with its 'Tier 3 Rating'

Malaysia hopes to make it into the TPP coalition. It's track record on Forced Labor and its 'mistreatment' of Migrant Workers -- might preclude them from U.S. Trade Agreement. That is if Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) gets his say on the matter.

Malaysia finds graves of trafficking victims

by Eileen Ng and Todd Pitman, nwasianweekly.com; Associated Press -- 31 May 2015

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The finding follows a similar discovery earlier this month by police in Thailand who unearthed dozens of bodies from shallow graves in abandoned camps on the Thai side of the border. The grim discoveries are shedding new light on the hidden network of jungle camps run by traffickers, who have for years held countless desperate people captive while extorting ransoms from their families.

Most of those who have fallen victim to the trafficking networks are refugees and impoverished migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh, part of a wave of people who have fled their homelands to reach countries like Malaysia, where they hope to find work or live free from persecution.
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“These graves are believed to be a part of human trafficking activities involving migrants,” he said, adding that police have discovered 17 abandoned camps that they suspect were used by traffickers.
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by Eileen NG, huffingtonpost.com; AP -- 05/26/2015

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Malaysian police took journalists to one of 28 abandoned camps found after a regional crackdown was launched on human trafficking earlier this month.

The camp, reached after a 2-hour hike up a steep jungle path, appeared to have been abandoned a while ago, police said. A jungle prison remained that included at least two large wooden pens wrapped with barbed wire.

"These structures were believed to be used as human cages," said Mohammad Bahar. He said the camp may have held up to 300 people. It also contained a watch tower and a cooking area littered with dishes and pots. During the tour, authorities pointed out what looked like the skeletal remains of a jaw on the ground.
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by Elizabeth Zachariah, themalaysianinsider.com -- 10 June 2015

Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said in the Dewan Rakyat that Malaysia’s Tier 3 ranking had affected its chances in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).

"We are in Tier 3, which the lowest possible ranking. If we are in this position, it is hard for us in TPPA," he said in answer to a supplementary question from Jasin MP Datuk Wira Ahmad Hamzah (BN).

"If we improve on our condition, our position (in the ranking) will be better. So the government has proposed this bill and hopefully this will see our rankings improve."

The US State Department's 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report has issued a damning statement on the Malaysian government's poor efforts in fighting modern day slavery, noting that there was ample evidence of forced labour and sex trafficking in the country.
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