Human traffickers are abusing social visit passes to bring in foreigners seeking jobs in the country, only to then entrap them in appalling work conditions.
The foreigners would be flown in by these criminal syndicates and enter the country legally on these passes that do not entitle them to work.
But instead of the well-paid jobs promised to them, these foreigners would find themselves trapped in a hellish world of debt bondage and unpaid salaries, and their families would often be blackmailed.
MigrantCare Malaysia representative Alex Ong said he had rescued 40 domestic workers who were promised work permits once they arrived in Malaysia.
However, no permit ever materialised and they were forced to work in other sectors as the positions they were initially promised were inexplicably filled.
Malaysia's Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Council (MAPO) has rescued 495 such victims — including children — in the past five years, with most of them from Indonesia, but authorities believe the actual number might be higher.
The unscrupulous employment agents, who lured the victims in their home countries, continue to be on the loose as many are not easily tracked down by the authorities.
MAPO division secretary Syuhaida Abdul Wahab Zen told NST Focus that most of the victims trafficked into Malaysia were from Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar.
According to the Immigration Department website, Asean nationals, except for those from Myanmar, do not need a visa for stays in Malaysia not exceeding a month.
Syuhaida said MAPO also arrested 1,868 people — 456 women and 1,242 men — in anti-human trafficking raids in the last five years.
As the victims had no work permits, there would be no employment contract which makes them easy prey for the employers to take advantage of by withholding their salaries.
She did not rule out the fact that some victims might have evaded law enforcement at airports by having fraudulent documents provided by the traffickers.
"Sometimes their passports are fake. They would use these (fraudulent passports) to enter Malaysia, where some of them subsequently get trafficked," she said, adding that most victims were duped by agents who were known to them.
She said once the victims were trafficked into the country, they would be saddled with debts arising from their travel costs.
"This could lead to their families being blackmailed, or the victims being forced to take up jobs they were not prepared for, including as sex workers and working at plantations.
"Normally people are duped or lured into this (trafficking) by unscrupulous agents, some of whom are quite challenging to identify. So, normally we can't apprehend these agents or the masterminds behind these syndicates."
She said the syndicates could be charged under the Immigration Act, the Penal Code and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act.
"Recently, we charged six individuals with 11 offences.
"When we were upgraded to the Tier 2 Watch List in the Human Trafficking Report 2023 issued by the United States Department of State for the period between April 2022 until March 2023, the number increased to 14 individuals charged with 51 offences.
"We cannot directly compare the number of prosecutions with the number of victims rescued as the number of people rescued may be just the latest victims but the charges (in court) may be from previous cases," she said, adding that the increase in prosecutions reflected the government's resolve to combat the crime.
To make it easeir for victims to testify in court against their alleged tormentors, Syuhaida said Malaysian authorities had appointed Victim Assistance Specialists (VSAs) and Victim Identification Champions (VICs).
VSAs are experts who support the victims through the course of the investigation and act as liaison between the victim and investigating officers, as well as prosecutors.
They are either government officers or non-governmental organisation (NGO) activists who have experience in dealing with trafficking victims.
"We encourage NGOs which would like to help to come forward. This is something we learnt from the best practices in the US and Australia," Syuhaida said.
VICs are attached to enforcement agencies and are trained to identify victims of trafficking.
"It just started this year, and hopefully next year we'll see the result of this initiative where more cases will be identified, more people are rescued and more convictions are secured," Syuhaida said.
Former deputy home minister Tan Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Wan Jaafar said Malaysia should eliminate corruption at the borders and strengthen enforcement to prevent unscrupulous agents from trafficking victims into the country.
He said the government should also impose harsher penalties on agents and employers who force workers into working in other sectors.
Former Human Rights Commission of Malaysia commissioner Jerald Joseph said Malaysia and countries sourcing workers should prosecute unscrupulous employers and agents and slap hefty fines or impose lengthy jail terms on them.
He said the government should also work with the embassies of the respective victims' countries and combat the corruption that enables human trafficking.
Those with information on human trafficking can call the government hotline 03-8000 8000 or email MAPO at mapo@moha.gov.my.
This package of stories by NST Focus is part of the Tip The Narrative: Beyond The Headlines Fellowship Programme by Project Liber8