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LAST month (see “Human trafficking victims rescued”, The Daily Express, 18th March 2026: ( https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/277968/human-trafficking-victims-rescued/ ), authorities in Sabah rescued five victims of forced labour, which included a child. 

There were raids at plantations in Kunak, Kinabatangan, and Beluran. 

The police detained 16 people, including plantation supervisors and those suspected of managing the workers. 

Initial police investigations illustrate a typical example of forced labour, how the victims were controlled and exploited, employers holding the workers’ passports, paying them low wages and subjected them to poor living condition.

Forced Labour might be a foreign for some, even to employers.  International Labour Organization (ILO) (Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)), defines forced labour as “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily”.

It involves coercion, a lack of free consent and the inability to leave. While, U.S. Department of Homeland Security explains forced labour as individuals being compelled against their will to provide work or service through the use of force, fraud or coercion.

Sabah which was once known as North Borneo has a long heritage in dealing with forced labour or slavery. 

It started with the formation of the North Borneo Chartered Company (NBCC) also known as the British North Borneo Company (BNBC). 

Slavery in North Borneo was said to be influenced by the role of ‘Datu’s and ‘Pengiran’ (aristocrats) of the Sulu Sultanate and Brunei which sparked demand for slaves. 

In the late 1870s, the coastlines of North Borneo were a landscape both for Borneo charm and terrifying peril for the indigenous communities, who lived in constant fear of sea raiders or pirates who took them captives to be sold in slave markets. 

While Alfred Dents companies primary ambition was commercial exploitation of the region’s natural wealth, the British government was wary of handing absolute power to a private entity without moral safeguards. 

When the British North Borneo Company was officially established by Royal Charter on 1 November 1881, it was bound by a “Royal Charter” designed to bring a sense of British order to the chaotic frontier.

Article 7 of that 1881 Charter, decreed that the Company must actively discourage and eventually abolish the practice of slavery, while strictly forbidding any British officer from owning or dealing in human lives. 

For the indigenous people who had long been the victims of coastal raids, this turning point meant the Company was now duty-bound to use its fledgling police forces and its modern steamships to suppress the maritime slave trade.

The company while primarily focused on profit, used its Royal Charter to dismantle the ancient and brutal economy of forced labour. 

Fast forward, Article 6 of the Constitution (the highest law in Malaysia) prohibits any form of slavery and forced labour in Malaysia.

11 Forced Labour Indicators

The ILO released its revised edition of its Indicators of Forced Labour in 2025. 

The 11 indicators serves as a practical guide for law enforcement and employers to identify those trapped in exploitative situations.

These 11 operational indicators are: abuse of vulnerability, deception, restriction of movement, isolation, physical and sexual violence, intimidation and threats, retention of identity documents, withholding of wages, debt bondage, abusive working and living conditions and excessive overtime. 

Debt Bondage and High Recruitment Fees

Promised with better futures in another country, migrant workers frequently incur massive debts in their home countries to pay recruitment agents and facilitators. 

According to the ILO, debt bondage arises when individuals are coerced into working to repay a debt, a situation often manipulated by employers through inflated prices for food and accommodation, illegal wage deductions or extremely high interest rates.  

Retention of Identity Documents

The confiscation of passports and identity documents is a systemic method of control. There are employers in Malaysia who practice retaining their workers’ passports for ‘safekeeping’ or ‘administrative convenience’. 

They also justify holding into the passport of their workers to prevent them from ‘absconding’ to avoid losses associated in recruiting migrant workers. 

Without their documents, workers live in constant fear of arrest by the authorities and deportation, severely restricting their freedom of movement. 

This practice is actually illegal. Under Section 12(1)(f) of the Passports Act 1966, holding another person’s passport without lawful authority is a criminal offence. 

Employers, agents or individuals who retain another person’s passport without consent face fines up to RM10,000, imprisonment for up to 5 years, or both.

Abuse of Vulnerability, Intimidation and Isolation

Employers frequently exploit the vulnerable position of migrant workers, capitalising on their irregular migration status, lack of local language proficiency and geographic isolation. 

Many workers are recruited under false pretenses regarding the physically isolating workers from broader communities, support networks, and law enforcement. 

Some employers might intimidate their workers; workers are usually threatened with denunciation to immigration authorities, violence, or severe financial penalties.

Deception and Abusive Conditions

Deception arise in situations where workers are misled about the nature or conditions of their employment. 

Migrant workers would have been promised better pay and working conditions but upon arrival, they may find themselves subjected to substandard, overcrowded and unhygienic living quarters lacking basic privacy and amenities. 

While irregular or delayed payment of wages does not automatically imply a forced labour situation but when wages are systematically and deliberately withheld, it might point towards forced labour. 

Malaysian Legislation Dealing with Forced Labour

Penal Code (Act 574)

Section 374: unlawfully compelling a person to labour against the will of that person, can be punished with imprisonment up to one year or with fine or with both. 

Section 370: Buying or disposing of any person as a slave can be punished with imprisonment up to seven years and also be liable to fine. 

Section 371: Habitual dealing in slaves can be punished with imprisonment up to 20 years and also be liable to fine.

Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007(Act 670) 

Under this provision, “trafficking in persons” is defined as all actions involving recruiting, conveying, transferring, acquiring, maintaining, harboring, providing, or receiving a person for purposes of exploitation, including the use of threat, force, or other forms of coercion. 

“Exploitation” includes all forms of forced labour or services, slavery, practices similar to slavery, and other relevant acts. 

This Act aims to stop human trafficking and smuggling of people activities, which may lead to forced labour. 

Some offences may result in an imprisonment up to 20 years and a fine up to RM1 million.

Sabah Labour Ordinance (Cap 67)

Section 18B of the Ordinance (officially came into force on 1 May 2025) criminalises forced labour in Sabah. 

The provision explicitly outlaws any instance where an employer threatens, deceives, or forces an employee to perform work or services. 

It also criminalises the act of preventing an employee from leaving the place or area where the work is being performed. 

A person or employer on conviction, may be liable up to RM100K or imprisonment up to two years or both.

Reminders for Businesses

Businesses in Sabah must scrutinise the risk of modern slavery by conducting regular due diligence on workers’ rights and welfare, ensuring no part of their operation is tethered to exploitative practices, determine remedial actions to insulate the business from future risk. 

They must primarily ensure compliance with the Sabah Labour Ordinance (Cap 67). Businesses must take proactive responsibility for their direct operations and their extended supply chains. Steps include:

1. Zero-Fee Recruitment: Employers must bear the full cost of recruitment, ensuring that migrant workers are not saddled with crippling debts that inevitably lead to debt bondage. 

2. Fair and Transparent Contracts: Contracts must be provided in a language the worker can easily understand, clearly outlining regular working hours, overtime limits, wages and legally permissible deductions. 

Companies must conduct strict due diligence on recruitment agencies to ensure workers are not deceived about the terms of their employment.

3. Freedom of Movement and Document Access: Employers must immediately cease the practice of retaining passport. 

They should instead, provide secure facilities, such as personal lockers or safes, where workers can safely store and access their documents at their own volition.

4. Decent Living Conditions: Providing clean, safe and uncrowded accommodation

5. Comprehensive Orientations: Employers should ensure workers receive pre-departure and post-arrival orientations on their rights, workplace safety and grievance channels.