Country : Malaysia

Topic Area : Combating the Global Network of Migrant Smuggler

Comittee : United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime

The wider road traffic between countries in this era of Globalization has also led to
increase mobility of goods and people between countries then it raises the potential for
deviations and cause a transnational crime. One of the problem of transnational crime
that become our concern is smuggling. 1Smuggling of Migrants is a crime involving the
procurement for financial or other material benefit of illegal entry of a person into a State
of which that person is not a national or resident. Migrant Smuggling is a hingly profitable
in which criminals enjoy low risk detection and pusihment, so the crime become
increasingly attractive to criminals. Migrant smugglers are becoming more organized,
establishing professional networks that transcend borders and regions. Highly
sophisticated and expensive services rely on document fraud or ‘visa-smuggling’. The
modus of migrant smugglers is the low cost methods which often pose high risk for
migrants and have lead to a dramatic increase in loss of life in recent years.
2In Malaysia smuggling of migrants cases increases every year and couldn’t be
easily be reflected by the statistics identified. This still couldn’t reflect the smuggling
problem that Malaysia is facing because the smuggled migrants are clandestine with the
huge number oftrafficking victims cases that may reached 2 million or more a year.
Migrant Smuggler can also lead to other deviations such as drugs and crime. Malaysia
Rank number 1 in South East Asia for highest crime rate and for past few years within top
20 for its world ranking in crime rate. 3Nearly three-quarters of the 1,281 people on death
row at the end of October have been convicted of drug crimes and just over half of the
more than 65,000 prisoners in the country's jails.
4The government of Malaysia has made a great effort in combatting smuggling.
The main approach is to tackle the trafficking of person’s problem in order to discourage
the smuggling activities. Malaysia has developed Five-Years National Plan (2010-2015)
to show the world of Malaysia determination to combat trafficking in persons activities
and to eliminate Malaysia negative image transit from this inhumane activities. 5On
Thursday, 27th June, as Health Minister, Dzulkefly announced that the goverment was
set to introduce the “significant game-charger policy” of decriminalising drugs. The move
is a crucial step "towards achieving a rational drug policy that puts science and public
health before punishment and incarceration. 6UNODC has done some primary goal with
respect to combating migrant smuggling as they’re the guardian of the United Nations
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. To promote global adherence to the
Smuggling of Migrants Protocol and assist States in their effort to effectively implement
it the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol aims to prevent and combat the smuggling of
migrants, protect the rights of smuggled migrants, and promote cooperation between
States.
As it’s such a serious problem that have to be solved, we give some solutions to that :
1. Recommend Asian Countries to conduct sharing data which is aimed to maximize
 prevention of irregular migration with several guidelin:
a. Sharing data is provised by authorized institutions;
b. Information shall be taken and distributed by Ministry of Security or any
relevant ministry;
c. Information shall be utilized to improve countries’ borders and prevent
irregular migration;
2. Recommend Asian countries to conduct joint patrol in preventing migrants extend
their routes and making immediate help towards migrants :
a. Joint patrol shall be conducted among Asians regions, around sea and borders;
b. Joint patrol allow member states to share and exchange information and any
other instruments, depends on agreements;
3. Recommend origin countries of migrants to enhance country’s development through
economic, social, political, and cultural capacity building with the assistance from
UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNHCR, and NGOs:
a. Social capacity building which comprises family skills training by developing
communication, bonding, recovery, and resilience, empowerment of women and
youth by increasing participation in local socioeconomic communities, and
empowerment of local vulnerable communities including but not limited to
indigenous people, minority groups, tribe, and refugees;
b. Educational capacity building which includes formal and nonformal school by
improving national school’s curriculum, conducting seminar and focus group
discussion in rural and sub-urban areas, and addressing literacy capacity
through cultural approach;
c. Cultural capacity building by conducting intercultural and interfaith dialogue
within society;
d. Economic capacity building by establishing or strengthening existing economic
programs, transferring technology and knowledge regarding entrepreneurship,
and vocational training;
e. Political capacity building by addressing leadership training and national issues
in formal and nonformal education;

1
UNODC Smuggling of Migrants. (2019, November 14). Retrieved from UNODC:
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/smuggling-of-
migrants.html 2Combating Smuggling in Persons :A Malaysia Experience. (2015).
EDP Sciences
3
Drugs Worth $161m Seized in Malaysia’s Biggest Haul. (2018, November 29). Retrieved
from Aljazeerah.com : https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/malaysia-death-penalty-
abolition- opens-door-drug-policy-review-181128061558622.html
4
Combating Smuggling in Persons :A Malaysia Experience. (2015). EDP Sciences
5
Malaysia Proposes Softening Drug Laws. (2019, June 28). Retrieved from Channel News Asia :
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/malaysia-anti-drug-laws-decriminalisation-
11670236
6
UNODC Smuggling of Migrants. (2019, November 14). Retrieved from UNODC:
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/smuggling-of-
migrants.html