Malaysia plans new steps in fight against forced labour
Stakeholders meet in Kuala Lumpur to review progress and shape a stronger, more coordinated National Action Plan on Forced Labour.
20 June 2025
Kuala Lumpur (ILO News) - Malaysia is stepping up its efforts to eradicate forced labour through the development of a renewed National Action Plan on Forced Labour (NAPFL) with the support of the International Labour Organization.
Over 70 representatives from government agencies, employers’ and workers’ organizations as well as civil society gathered in Kuala Lumpur 18–19 June 2025 to discuss the preliminary findings of an assessment of the existing NAPFL and lay the foundation for the next phase.
“Let the delivery of the national action plan be comprehensive, practical and most importantly sustainable and adaptable in the rapidly changing world of work,” said YB Puan Norzawatil Amali binti Alias, Undersecretary of the Policy Division at the Ministry of Human Resources.
The current NAPFL 2021–2025 serves as a national framework to eliminate all forms of forced labour by 2030. It is structured around four strategic goals—awareness, enforcement, protection and partnership—and seeks to strengthen institutional capacity, ensure victim-centred responses and promote inclusive stakeholder collaboration.
Participants reviewed the preliminary findings of an ILO-supported assessment of the current NAPFL 2021-2025. The assessment emphasized the need to strengthen coordination across overlapping national action plans addressing forced labour, trafficking in persons and business and human rights. Key priorities included clarifying institutional roles, harmonizing data systems, reinforcing results-based management frameworks and establishing joint mechanisms for monitoring and evidence-based action.
A roadmap was outlined for the coming three to six months to guide the drafting of the new NAPFL, with a focus on alignment with international standards and strengthening inter-agency coordination.
Tuomo Poutiainen, Deputy Director of the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, emphasized shared responsibility: “What sets the Plan apart is the shared ownership by all stakeholders, united in their commitment to building a future free from forced labour. This collective responsibility is key to ensuring the Plan’s lasting effectiveness and long term sustainability,” he said.
The two-day workshop was organized by the Ministry of Human Resources with technical support and funding from the ILO’s Advancing Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work project funded by the Government of Canada in collaboration with the Building Responsible Value Chains in Asia through the Promotion of Decent Work in Business Operations project (Phase II) funded by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan; and the Ship to Shore Rights South-East Asia programme and Enhanced Access to Education for Children and Training Opportunities for Youth on Plantations in Sabah Project, both funded by the European Union.
According to the latest global estimates, there are still about 25 million people globally who are forced to work under threat or coercion, many of whom are migrant workers employed in services, manufacturing, construction, agriculture, fishing and domestic work.