Clear law needed to block forced labour goods, say activists

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia needs a clear law to block goods made with forced labour from entering the country, activists say, following a US probe that found Putrajaya had failed to impose or enforce such a ban.

The Office of the US Trade Representative is proposing an additional 10% duty on Malaysian products after finding the country lacks an effective ban on imports made wholly or partly with forced labour.

Malaysia has faced years of scrutiny over forced labour risks, particularly involving migrant workers.

The 2023 Global Slavery Index estimated that 6.3 in every 1,000 people were living in modern slavery in 2021, while the US State Department placed Malaysia on Tier 2 in its 2025 Trafficking in Persons report.

Tenaganita executive director Glorene Das said Putrajaya had taken steps to address forced labour in domestic industries, particularly in the glove, palm oil, electronics and manufacturing sectors.

However, she said this was not enough as Malaysia was also a trading nation where goods, raw materials and components moved across borders.

“If we only look at forced labour within our own factories but ignore what enters our markets through imports, subcontracting and regional supply chains, we are only addressing part of the problem,” she said.

She said the use of forced labour often begins long before workers reach factories — through unethical recruitment, excessive fees, debt bondage, deception, passport confiscation, wage theft and poor living conditions.

Glorene said any forced labour import ban must include strong enforcement, supply chain checks, and safe reporting channels for workers.

She also said forced labour must be addressed not just due to trade pressure, but because no worker should face exploitation, abuse or trafficking.

North-South Initiative executive director Adrian Pereira said the gap in Malaysia’s response to forced labour lay not only in labour laws, but also in Malaysia’s inability to deal with goods linked to forced labour once they have entered the country’s trading system.

He said the issue stemmed partly from earlier US concerns over the use of forced labour in the making of products and components, especially by the Uyghurs in China.

Pereira said Malaysia’s competition laws have not been tested in cases involving forced labour or unfair labour-linked advantages, and did not directly address import-export controls.

He said a proper mechanism is needed to deal with suspect goods entering or leaving the country.

Former Klang MP Charles Santiago said while the US was “no saint on labour rights”, Malaysia had opened itself to the forced labour allegations through weak enforcement, unethical recruitment, debt bondage risks and impunity.

“The question is not whether the US is hypocritical. Of course it is. (The question is) why has Malaysia left its workers so exposed that hypocrites can weaponise their suffering?” he asked on X.