KUALA LUMPUR – The government has been urged to make public the findings from the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the mass graves discovered in Wang Kelian, Perlis in 2015, two years after the conclusion of the probe.
RSN Rayer (Jelutong-PH) said at the least, the report should be provided to all MPs to ensure any issues pertaining to human smuggling can be discussed and addressed.
“I would like to ask, what happened to the RCI that was formed in 2019 when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (Langkawi-PH) was the prime minister?” he asked, when debating on the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Amendment) Bill 2021 in the Dewan Rakyat today.
“I want to know if the RCI report can be provided to all MPs. What’s wrong with supplying the report to us so that we can deliberate on it.
“Make the report public so we can discuss it and take better measures to improve our international borders,” he said.
The RCI was established to probe on the Wang Kelian human trafficking case, following the discovery of over 100 makeshift graves and 29 temporary detention camps in 2015, deep in the jungle of Bukit Genting Perah and Bukit Wang Burma, just a few hundred metres from the Malaysia-Thailand border.
The probe concluded in June 2019, before it was submitted to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah in September.
In January last year, then home minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had said the report will be tabled in cabinet to decide if it can be made public, but there has been no news since.
The RCI lasted for 17 gruelling days spanning over two months, which saw 48 witnesses being questioned, including high profile names like former inspector-general of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and former Perlis police chief Datuk Zul Aznam Haron.
Rayer said it is pertinent that the findings of the RCI be made public considering no Malaysian authorities were charged over the matter, although several security personnel from neighbouring Thailand have been.
“We want to cooperate with the government to improve the security of our borders to ensure Lorong-lorong tikus (illegal routes) are constantly monitored.” – The Vibes, December 15, 2021
