SUBANG JAYA: All 49 member countries in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Academy Association (FBINAA) in the Asia Pacific region should have a uniform set of laws to stamp out illegal activities.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said this was necessary to curb activities such as transnational terrorism, drugs, cybercrime, civil rights violations, white-collar crime, cross-border criminal activities and human trafficking.
"The situation today does not provide any room for complacency.
"Without proper cooperation to combat the negative elements at our border, it will open more doors to the propagators of illegal activities, notably cross-border crime, drug and human trafficking.
"Malaysia has and is experiencing all this. Being in the South-East Asia enclave, we are vulnerable to these illegal activities," he said in his speech before launching the 23rd FBINAA Asia Pacific Retaining Conference on Monday (June 26).
Zahid said he was glad forMalaysia’s listing on the Tier-2 Watch List of the US State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons (or TIP) Report 2023.
"It has a positive impact on the trade sector, and counters negative perceptions related to the issue of forced labour in the country.
"However, I believe more should be done," he said.
"Drug trafficking is also a major issue in the region. For instance, the Statistics Department reported that there were 108,220 drug-related cases and 129,604 drug-related arrests in 2021.
"For cases involving drug suppliers and... related arrests, there was a rising trend from 14,823 suppliers in 2020 to 16,629 cases in 2021 and from 23,536 arrests in 2020 to 25,277 in 2021, respectively," he said.
Malaysia has been focusing on a preventive approach which seeks to transform high-risk addiction areas into safe zones, he added.
"The government has to fork out (a substantial budget) for rehabilitation. Imagine (if) the huge amount of money went to finance projects for the people," he said.
Strengthening border security through greater maritime surveillance, security operations and advanced technology could help deal with the challenge of human trafficking but inadequate to wipe it out, he noted.
If anything, it was showing trends of escalation, especially in view of the global economic crisis, he said.
"As human trafficking is a multi-dimensional issue and inextricably linked to migration and human rights, addressing the structural factors, namely push and pull factors, is pertinent.
"The key to bolstering Malaysia's security lies in sound economic and investment policies, to discourage the influx of undocumented immigrants and introducing an effective immigration framework that also addresses demand for cheap labour.
"Migrant exploitation and public corruption are (also) fuelling trafficking," he added.
Ahmad Zahid said he would like to see more cooperation, especially involving the police, maritime and intelligence agencies, in cross-border law enforcement.
"This is vital to strengthen the mechanism of security at common borders.
"Developing our (respective) nations should not be hampered by having to counter these illegal activities," he said.
