Human rights group Hakam (National Society for Human Rights) has expressed grave concern that Malaysia has been downgraded to Tier 3 in the 2021 United States State Department’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.

Tier 3 is the worst tier ranking in the TIP Report, and forced labour has been identified as the predominant form of crime linked to Malaysia’s downgrade, according to US State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons acting director Kari Johnstone.

“The Malaysian government has to...