KUALA LUMPUR – No civil servants or enforcement officers were involved in the existence of migrant camps found in Wang Kelian, Perlis, according to a recently declassified report by a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the matter.
The RCI had embarked on investigating the possibility of corruption and abuse of power among enforcement personnel and public officers in the case, following concerns brought up by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) and human rights advocacy group Fortify Rights.
In finding no involvement of public officials, the RCI said its findings were supported by depositions given by several victims who had been brought to the camps by Thai nationals, while the guards at the camps were also Thai, Myanmar or Bangladeshi nationals.
“From the victims’ statements, it was found that no Malaysian citizens, whether civilians or public officers, had been involved in the human trafficking syndicate in the case of Wang Kelian.
“Their statements show that the involvement of Malaysians was limited to being ‘tekong’ (middlemen) for illegal immigrants to be taken to determined destinations in Malaysia.
“There have been cases where foreign nationals residing in Malaysia played a role in bringing illegal immigrants to specific destinations, making arrangements for the journey and getting jobs for the illegal immigrants,” said the report.
The commission said it had received the opportunity to examine the Suhakam and Fortify Rights reports on the alleged misconduct of public officers but concluded that “the statements were merely speculation and belief on their part, and were not supported by any evidence”.
The RCI had called up Datuk A. Aziz A. Rahim, then chairman of the Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission (EAIC), to obtain more information on the possibility of corruption within the agencies under its purview for this case.
Based on Aziz’s statements, the EAIC had even called up a representative from the New Straits Times (NST), which had reported on the case but found no additional information to support allegations of misconduct among public officials.
“The matter was brought before the EAIC meeting, where it was decided that an investigation was not required, as significant time had passed and there was no supporting evidence indicating any misconduct among enforcement personnel on the border based on comparison of information between the NST and Royal Malaysian Police,” said the report.
News of the mass graves, including the bodies of 139 migrants, was first reported by veteran journalist Datuk Arulldas Sinnappan in 2015 when he was reporting for the Malay Mail.
The RCI was established to probe into the Wang Kelian human trafficking case, following the discovery of over 100 makeshift graves and 29 temporary detention camps in 2015, deep in the jungles of Bukit Genting Perah and Bukit Wang Burma, just a few hundred metres from the Malaysia-Thailand border.
The RCI 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.
The RCI lasted for 17 gruelling days spanning over two months and 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. – The Vibes, October 19, 2022
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