Documents and Statements
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This page presents some of the documents and statements of which Penang Stop Human Trafficking Campaign has been part. In seeking solutions to the many issues related to human trafficking, modern day slavery, and the abuse and marginalisation of groups of people like refugees and migrant workers, Penang Stop Human Trafficking has consistently urged a comprehensive approach.
We have joined with others to urge a comprehensive assessment of the many factors related to labour migration in Malaysia (and the region) so that a comprehensive policy can be developed to address all the issues coherently. Ad-hoc, one-off initiatives have not and will not work. We have done the same with regard to human trafficking. And with regard to our approach to refugees in this country. The first three documents below relate to this.
We also sadly have to issue statements responding to particular events. This is sad because it indicates how little is being done to address the issues, and that the people who suffer (and in some cases, die) are women, men and children from refugee and migrant communities. We carry examples of these statements below.
Towards a Comprehensive Policy on Labour Migration for Malaysia
This report is the work of the Migrant Workers Right to Redress Coalition, of which we are a member.
Its Introduction provides the context of why a holistic approach is necessary and what steps are available. The seven sections then provide recommendations for policy actions on a range of crucial issues relating to the recruitment and employment of migrant workers and refugees.
All of these recommendations came out of a series of roundtables with a wide range of stakeholders, including government.
This report has been used to lobby the new federal government, not least via the on-going government-appointed Committee on the Management of Foreign Workers (see next document).
It has recently been updated to reflect any new developments and to include reference to the employment of foreign spouses; the main approaches and recommendations still remain the same.
Human Trafficking in Malaysia: Proposals for Action
The Penang Stop Human Trafficking Campaign has been consistently engaged in lobbying government agencies and others responsible for combatting human trafficking. We have consistently highlighted key areas for action, as summarised in the document here. Please download and lend your voice to the advocacy goals.
Child Marriage In the Rohingya Community in Penang
Child Marriage is found in nearly all communities in Malaysia, and is an issue too in the refugee communities, perhaps especially the Rohingya. This community-inspired documentation outlines the factors behind the choices to marry young. These include that it is at the moment legal, and tied to factors of poverty, vulnerability (refugees have no status), 'protection' for daughters which includes lack of options for both girls and boys, and gender and cultural norms.
This Report aksod escribes the connection to human trafficking and people smuggling.
The approaches and sort of content needed to tackle the issue are outlined in the later sections of the Report, something that the Penang Stop Human Trafficking Campaign/ASPIRE Penang are putting into practice in partnership with PS The Children. Workshops with community religious leaders, women and men are on-going and will result in a community-based action plan. Watch this space.
Picture: freeforall blog
Updated Child Marriage Strategy 2024
The Penang Working Group (which is an informal forum including refugee women, men and youth together with learning centre persons, NGOs, UN agencies and other interested parties) has adopted a Child Protection STarategy from 2023. Penang Refugee Network is leading on child marriage and produced an update to the report above, being an unpdated strategy (2024). You can link to it here.
Initiatives and documentation on community experience and attitudes to GBV
There have been significant initiatives taken with respect to SRH and GBV issues faci9ng the refugee community in Penang. A collaborative workshop was held in January 2026 brining together some 53 persons active on the issues, including refugees, NGOs, and UN agencies. A report of the workshop is available here.
At the same time, the Penang Refugee Network, supported by the Mixed Migration Centre, has documented community attitudes and responses to GBV issues and situations. This report gives an insight into how refugee women and men are thinking about GBV, and what assumptions we may have to take care over. The emphasis as always is to make sure that refugee women and men and youth are included fully in any inittaive directed at improving SRH or GBV services. The community know their own starting piint and how best to move forward. Again, click here to get you the report.
A Framework for Action relating to Refugees
The Penang Stop Human Trafficking Campaign and more recently the Penang Refugee Network has been working over many years with many agencies, other groups and other refugees to advocate for change.
Despite various promises, refugees continue to have no rights at all in Malaysia: there is no legal or administrative framework which gives refugee women, men and children any status.
They, therefore, remain unprotected; their employment is as ‘undocumented workers’, with all the attendant vulnerabilities that bring; children have no access to mainstream education. human traffickers and modern-day slavers flourish in these situations. Xenophobia is ever present and is ramped up when it suits certain political forces. It is a long hard road to travel but let’s hope that together we can make something change and for the better.
MWR2R Coalition Submission to the government-appointed Committee on the Management of Foreign Workers, November 2018
In 2018, the government established an Indpendent Committee on the Management of Foreign Workers, to collect evidence relating to the situations faced by different migrant workers (including refugees) and to make recommendations for appropriatre poilicy responses.
The Committee toured the country holding a series of open meetings and hearing submissions. Members of the Migrant Workers Right to Redress Coalition made a series of recommendations, based on the Report above (Towards a Comprehenvie Policy on Labour Migration for Malaysia), supplemented by individual recommendations.
The Committee then brought together all the different evidence into a report which it submitted to Cabiner in early 2019. Sadly this weas not made public and we still await any new policy initiative arising freom this.
We haven't quite given up hope but.......we look forward to significant and major changes being made as soon as possible.
Questions for the Bukit Kukus Enquiry, November 2018
Tragedies such as recently occurred at Bukit Kukus in Penang remind us of how little concern is being shown by developers, contractors, federal, state and local government, and other parties, in terms of ensuring people and environment are safe.
These are man-made ‘disasters’ in which workers die.
The statement attached here sums up some of the concerns.
We do hope that we won’t have to issue similar statements in the future, but given the lack of concern and response from the authorities, we are sadly pretty sure this will not be the last.
