KUALA LUMPUR: The United States has welcomed Malaysia's latest efforts in combating human trafficking despite its move to put Malaysia back on its list of countries not doing enough to combat the menace.

An official of the US embassy here told Bernama in a telephone conversation that the US welcomed the arrests of nine people recently, including five Immigration Department officers, for alleged involvement in human trafficking.

He said the US understood that the Malaysian government was carrying out investigations and legal proceedings on the cases and it looking forward to its completion.

"The Malaysian government has indicated that it is interested in partnering the US and others in the region to combat human trafficking.

"We are encouraged by pledges made by the Malaysian government on human trafficking and we are looking forward to continued progress on this issue."

Last month, the United States put Malaysia back on its list of countries suspected of not doing enough to combat human trafficking, together with six African countries--Chad, Eritrea, Niger, Mauritania, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

Yesterday the media reported that nine people, including five Johor Immigration Department officers, were arrested recently for alleged involvement in an international human trafficking syndicate.

The suspects were believed to have received payments from a syndicate for the "sale" of a group of people, comprising mostly Rohingya refugees, as forced labour in various sectors like the fisheries industry. (Bernama)