KUALA LUMPUR: There have been 280 cases of human trafficking reported in the country since 2022 until this year, said Datuk Seri Shamsul Anuar Nasarah.
The deputy home minister told the Dewan Rakyat today that in total, 526 arrests had been made, while 992 victims had been rescued.
"For 2024, there have been 38 cases of human trafficking involving 59 arrests (to date). A total of 141 people have been rescued."
He said this in response to a question from Muhammad Ismi Mat Taib (Perikatan Nasional-Parit) who had asked the ministry to state the statistics of human trafficking cases in the country and efforts to tackle them.
Shamsul said Malaysia was committed to addressing the issue through the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Council, chaired by the Home Ministry and comprising 22 ministries, agencies and non-governmental organisations.
He added that the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 had been strengthened through an amendment made in 2022.
"The amendments focused on several improvements including the definition of human trafficking, to enhance victim identification and increase the number of prosecutions and convictions in human trafficking cases.
"These amendments also emphasise prevention by imposing heavier penalties on offenders."
Meanwhile, Shamsul said Malaysia had raised the issue of job scams on the Asean level, including at the Asean Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime, and the Asean Senior Official Meeting on Transnational Crime in 2022.
"This issue has been a permanent agenda for both meetings," he added.