KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 ― The United States should not have upgraded Malaysia on its annual human trafficking watchlist or allowed it to keep the ranking this year, said The Washington Post.

In an editorial piece criticising Malaysia’s performance in addressing people smuggling here, the US newspaper that migrants working in the oil palm plantations and electronic factories continue to suffer despite efforts to protect them via reformed systems.

It added that no one was held accountable for the discovery of mass graves in Perlis near the Thai border last year.

“Malaysia did not deserve a promotion last year, and it does not deserve this year to keep a prize it did not earn,” The Washington Post wrote.

“Countries have little incentive to curb trafficking when they are not held to account. By censuring those that condone abuse, the State Department’s rankings give delinquent governments a reason to try.”

The US raised Malaysia to Tier 2 ranking in its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report last year, drawing suspicion that the move was to facilitate the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Malaysia had been in Tier 3, the worst possible ranking on the watch list, which included sanctions that would have prevented the US from entering into a trade agreement with the country.

The editorial piece was written as a comment on the recent US annual TIP report released late last month in which there was no change to Malaysia's current ranking.

According to the report, although Malaysia made progress in the last reporting period, which led to its upgrade from the bottom tier last year, it did not show an increase in efforts to eliminate trafficking.

Among the recommendations in this year’s report is for Malaysia to publicly gazette and fully implement the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Amendment) Act 2015, which was passed in Parliament last year.

It also calls on Malaysia to allow trafficking victims to obtain employment and move freely in and out of government and NGO facilities, and increase the number and effectiveness of trafficking prosecutions and convictions including of complicit officials.