Reaffirming its commitment to combatting human trafficking, Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) has partnered with Stop Human Trafficking Association (SHUT), a non-governmental organisation in Malaysia that advocates the prevention of human trafficking via a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Through the MoU, held in conjunction with World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, both organisations will work together to develop specific role-based training modules on observing, identifying and reporting human trafficking victims onboard the flight and in the airport.
As a result, the partnership will help government and law enforcement personnel in their efforts to save vulnerable adults and minors from being trafficked throughout the world.
“The aviation industry is crucial in the global fight against human trafficking. MAG believes that providing airport and airline personnel with training, materials, and information is an important step toward raising awareness and catching traffickers in the act, thus saving lives,” said Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi, Group CEO of MAB.
With global borders steadily reopening, this demands for active cooperation with law enforcement agencies to devise pragmatic solutions to combat human trafficking and smuggling.
“By working closely with our national carrier through the SHUT FLY-HT campaign, we will be able to stop the vulnerable people from being victims of human trafficking,” added Dini Dalilah Wan Nordin, founder and president of SHUT. “I also hope to see more industry players to follow in the footsteps of Malaysia Airlines Berhad.”
Over the years, MAB has undertaken several initiatives to combat the issue of human trafficking in the aviation business including a public exhibition in KLIA on anti-human and wildlife trafficking in 2017 to enhance the awareness about the issue among travellers and members of the public at KLIA.
The airline has also collaborated with International Organization for Migration to train its crew and ground personnel on recognising and reporting potential human trafficking victims onboard and at the airport. Through this initiative, over 3000 crew and ground staff trained on anti-human trafficking enhanced and digitalised learning modules.