In early 2009, Malaysia had the dubious privilege of being investigated by the US senate for the trafficking of humans. News reports stated that the migrants involved were mostly from Myanmar, but other foreigners were also allegedly taken by the government officials to the Malaysian-Thai border, where they were extorted or sold to human trafficking syndicates. According to AFP reports, a senate official stated: US Senate foreign relations committee staff are reviewing reports of extortion and human trafficking from Burmese and other migrants in Malaysia, allegedly at the hands of Malaysia government officials… The allegations include assertions that Burmese and other migrants – whether or not they have UNHCR documentation– are taken from Malaysian government detention facilities and transported to the Thailand-Malaysia border. According to the allegations, money is demanded from them at the border, or they are turned over to human traffickers in southern Thailand. However, that Malaysia might be a hotspot of human trafficking is not a new development. Veteran opposition leader, Mr Lim Kit Siang, posted on his blog that Malaysia was included in the United States Government’s 2007 Trafficking In Persons (TIP) Report in the Tier 3 list of the worst human trafficking offenders in June 2007. Photo courtesy of Adli Ghazali Mr Charles Santiago, Opposition politician, stated on his blog: The recent news report stating that the US Senate is investigating allegations of Malaysian officials extorting money from foreign migrants are linked to human trafficking comes as no surprise. I had raised this issue in Parliament last year with regards to the Burmese refugees, together with human rights organisations like Tenaganita and the Migration Working Group. But the Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar had only glossed over the matter… responding in a typical fashion, Syed Hamid in a reply to my question in Parliament said that a special committee formed by the Immigration Department to investigate claims contained in the programme had found that immigration officials were not involved in trafficking of the Burmese or other refugees. Either Syed Hamid is naive enough to buy the story dished out by the Immigration Department, which had set-up a special team to investigate its own officers. Or he is desperate to ensure Malaysia does not receive bad press worldwide. Photo courtesy of M.A.M09 Santiago went on to say: The refugees live in fear of being caught by the immigration authorities and being deported to their countries of origin, to face political persecution, despite holding UNHCR cards. They are constantly harassed by Rela* officers, a volunteer force, who are known to constantly be on the prowl for migrants and refugees. They even burn down make-shift homes of refugees in jungles. If arrested, the migrants and asylum-seekers are lumped together in tiny immigration detention cells where flogging is the main form of punishment. In short refugees live in a limbo in the country as Malaysia is yet to ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention. This means, the government does not need to officially recognise the refugees or the UNHCR documents that they carry. It also, unfortunately, means that the government can shut a blind eye to allegations of abuse of power by immigration officers who make quick bucks extorting money from the refugees. Those who cannot pay off the extortionists are sold to brothels, fishing boats or as bonded labourers. Meanwhile the refugees and migrants who are still in the country live in appalling conditions without proper sanitation facilities, housing, food and medicine. They and their children depend on handouts and the goodwill of others. ‘Miniaturz’, on the Star newspapers’ blog facility, stated: It is to my personal hope that the US will be able to prove that the Malaysian Immigration personnels are involved in human trafficking. Although I do not approve of illegal immigrants in Malaysia, but the alleged modus operandi of the Malaysian Immigration is deliberate in nature to allow the abuse of subsequently detained illegal immigrants… So, once again – the hypocrisy of the Malaysian Government is exposed big time. They talk about aiding the people from certain countries but right in our own country, fellow human beings are being treated like slaves for monetary purposes. That Myanmar refugees and undocumented migrant workers face hardship is well known among Malaysians. Most urbanites, or at least those involved in civil society, are also aware of the allegations of abuse and torture in Malaysia's detention camps. That Malaysia is a ‘hotspot’ for human trafficking appears to be the logical next-step in the unfortunate sequence.