Malaysia will seek an explanation from the United States embassy on its government's report which placed Malaysia on its list of top trafficking offenders.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday making judgments beyond Kuala Lumpur's control would be unfair."I need to know what it was that has become an issue. If it is within our control, we will do whatever we can to overcome it, but, of course, there are limitations."Our borders and shorelines are very porous and they should be realistic about this and take all this into consideration." He said issues regarding human trafficking could not be solved overnight.
"We will get an accurate and true account from the embassy. Like what we did in 2007, this is nothing new."Malaysia was blacklisted in 2001 but its ranking improved to Tier 2 in subsequent years until 2007, when it was relegated to Tier 3. Last year, after the enactment of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act 2007, Malaysia was again elevated to Tier 2.Hishammuddin said he was not surprised with the report but Kuala Lumpur would not submit any protest note.Malaysia is listed with 16 other countries in Tier 3 this year, including six newly-added African nations.Tier 3 countries face possible sanctions such as the withholding of non-humanitarian, non-trade related US aid."What is there as the impact? If an economic sanction is to be imposed, it will not affect our position in this present economic slowdown."Human trafficking is an international issue and they have no teeth, except to put Malaysia at that level. However, this does not mean that Malaysia has no responsibility towards the world community."Hishammuddin stressed that it was incumbent upon Malaysia to address the problem.To prove a point, he said he had spoken to the British high commissioner to Malaysia on the matter recently."My colleague from Australia will be here to sign a memorandum of understanding on trafficking. We will also work with the US on this."Hishammuddin said a tripartite agreement on human trafficking was timely "but without any threat or sanctions, and without pressure on us".He said Malaysia wanted to be part of the international community and would do whatever it could within its capacity to address the issues."We have come up with the (Anti-Trafficking in Persons) Act. The situation has been remedied but now, I have to find out the truth about this."Hishammuddin also said the cabinet committee on foreign workers and the committee on legal workers had been combined into one and would be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin."They will discuss issues on refugees, illegal workers, street children and others. "We are fully aware of our responsibility to address these issues. I will do it without any pressure from anybody because that is our responsibility," he said, adding that Muhyiddin would chair the first meeting soon.
addthis_pub = 'nstonline';
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Malaysian drug mule held at Sydney airport
A Malaysian woman, 26, has been held on suspicion of smuggling drugs into Australia last week.
She apparently swallowed small packets of drugs in a bid to escape detection. The woman was detained at the Sydney International Airport after arriving on a flight from Phuket, Thailand.A federal police spokesman said the woman was believed to have behaved in a suspicious manner at the airport and this caught the attention of the Customs and Border Protection officers."The woman was stopped and her luggage searched thoroughly. Despite not finding anything, the authorities were suspicious and believed that the woman had swallowed the drugs," the spokesman said.
"She was taken to a nearby hospital where X-rays showed more than two dozen little white packets in her stomach. After being questioned, the woman admitted she had been paid US$5,000 (RM17,600) to smuggle the drugs."It is understood 25 packets of heroin, weighing about 500g, were retrieved from the woman. The drugs are believed to be worth several thousand Australian dollars.Drug syndicates in Malaysia had also used a Filipino to smuggle drugs abroad. The woman, in her 30s, was arrested recently by airport authorities in Hong Kong on arrival from Kuala Lumpur. She was found to have 42 packets of heroin, weighing 206g, in her stomach.Bukit Aman is probing the possibility that the two cases may be connected to the arrest of four Africans, one of whom was a woman, in Jalan Ampang on Tuesday.Police found 16.5kg of heroin, valued at RM1.3 million, on them. Police later picked up two Pakistanis.The six are believed to have used Malaysia as a transit for distributing the drugs. The heroin is believed to have been smuggled from Afghanistan via Pakistan with Australia as its final destination.
She apparently swallowed small packets of drugs in a bid to escape detection. The woman was detained at the Sydney International Airport after arriving on a flight from Phuket, Thailand.A federal police spokesman said the woman was believed to have behaved in a suspicious manner at the airport and this caught the attention of the Customs and Border Protection officers."The woman was stopped and her luggage searched thoroughly. Despite not finding anything, the authorities were suspicious and believed that the woman had swallowed the drugs," the spokesman said.
"She was taken to a nearby hospital where X-rays showed more than two dozen little white packets in her stomach. After being questioned, the woman admitted she had been paid US$5,000 (RM17,600) to smuggle the drugs."It is understood 25 packets of heroin, weighing about 500g, were retrieved from the woman. The drugs are believed to be worth several thousand Australian dollars.Drug syndicates in Malaysia had also used a Filipino to smuggle drugs abroad. The woman, in her 30s, was arrested recently by airport authorities in Hong Kong on arrival from Kuala Lumpur. She was found to have 42 packets of heroin, weighing 206g, in her stomach.Bukit Aman is probing the possibility that the two cases may be connected to the arrest of four Africans, one of whom was a woman, in Jalan Ampang on Tuesday.Police found 16.5kg of heroin, valued at RM1.3 million, on them. Police later picked up two Pakistanis.The six are believed to have used Malaysia as a transit for distributing the drugs. The heroin is believed to have been smuggled from Afghanistan via Pakistan with Australia as its final destination.
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