Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Wang Kelian and Wang Prachan Belatedly Wanting

Macaques roamed freely the extent of the surrounding forest that covered the border between Wang Kelian, Perlis and Wang Prachan, Satun. For the macaques, these monkeys don't have borders and they seem to be satisfied with the exploits on both sides of the border as humans leave a trail of food in the rubbish bins at the borders. These creatures have already formed a liking and had learned to open up the rubbish bins and looked for the contents. Disappointed, on what's available in the bins, they left a trail of thrown rubbish by the side of the bins.

Macaques foraging for food that in the rubbish bins
It's a quiet evening and I have arrived at Wang Kelian, Perlis on March 8, 2019, in a rented Perodua Axia just a while ago in Arau, Perlis. The border posts are closed at 7pm, every day. I was 18 minutes late and was assuming that perhaps there could be a cross border night market. I was mistaken. At the sight of the macaques, I was thrilled. However, on a closer observation at the border post, it looked deserted, locked and ICQS staff have gone home. There were a few Thai citizens at a covered bus stand, just outside the public toilet, and another couple further down the road sitting under an undergrowth. They looked tired, dejected from an arduous journey (in Thailand) and apparently were (patiently) waiting for some public transportation to fetch them to other localities in Malaysia.

Welcoming Sign, Wang Kelian, on the side next to it is the public toilet
Closed at 7pm daily
As I proceed to closer to the ICQS checkpoint, I noticed that the whole structure belongs to Malaysia, today. It used to be a shared facility between Malaysia and Thailand. How it functioned before was, the Southern end of the building was run by Malaysian ICQS, and the Northern end, by the Thai immigration and security. Thai immigration today have their own ICQS post and checkpoint. I am very sure that this only happened after the massacre and incident that happened just not too far away in the forests around here. This incident that was uncovered on 1 May 2015 and an additional 139 mass graves were discovered on May 24 the same year. It was the Thai authorities who discovered the murders, initially on some other homicide cases in Satun, and later, the case became delicate on their end and ended cooperating with the Malaysian authorities that found mass graves on the side of our border.

A lengthier probe and investigation led to the conviction to a very senior security figure in Bangkok and today, Malaysia is relaunching the Royal Commission Inquiry into the Wang Kelian massacre. No arrests were made on the Malaysian side. In 2018, the US State Department in its Human Trafficking Report downgraded Malaysia into the Tier 2 cluster - An undesirable cluster that includes countries that are considered violators of human trafficking laws.

It's of no surprise Thailand did their part in rooting out culprits behind the tragedy and the expose of the intricate human trafficking cartel. Hence, they wanted a new beginning, proper facilities, technologies, and more effective laws. Tourism is the number one revenue income for the country and in order to thwart tragedies such as the Wang Kelian incident, the establishment of the procedures, enhanced protocols, and the encouragement of people, travel and tourism, to upgrade a lonely facility to one that's frequented with patrons. It's a view that a lonely cross bordering checkpoint that's frequented by locals and localised traders will have lackadaisical checks and security. Smugglers and traffickers who have a recce and study these parts could enhance their strategies against those security measures. That said, land and sea borders checkpoints have always been difficult to secure because of the isolated areas. In most of the land borders, there are various ways to get across illegally and that has been identified in the other blogs in this series; for example, the Tumpat and Tak Bai crossing, even though it's across an estuarine.

Closed at 7pm, daily
This area is really a sight if it wasn't for the tragedy. It affected the border market that used to be the main attraction on both sides of the divide. Before the tragedy, the Sunday market thronged on both sides of the market but today, it's only vibrant in Wang Prachan after the Thai ICQS. The Malaysian side of the businesses looked lifeless and lacked activities in both the Duty-Free Green Earth Emporium and the 'Arked Pekan Sehari Wang Kelian' (Wang Kelian Weekday Arcade). The Arcade is basically now a defunct and empty structure.

Duty-Free Green Earth Emporium

Wang Kelian Weekday Arcade
The Arcade is massive but there's no business
Such wasteful resources
With that, on the very next day upon my return, I didn't bother to waste time on the Malaysian side. Eager to know what's on the other side I decided to prod to the immigration and beyond. Wang Kelian-Wang Prachan border only accommodates mostly travellers and traders on both sides of the divide. It's easy to cross the Malaysian side. Customs enforcement isn't visible. But four kilometres before the immigration and just after three kilometres from the T-junction between Kaki Bukit and Wang Kelian, there's an AKSEM (Agensi Kawalan Sempadan Malaysia) roadblock. Individuals and vehicles have to declare their presence, and if requested to see identifications or documents, they have to be surfaced for inspection. Nevertheless, the checks and inspections are very much minimal. An observation, I made (at the Wang Kelian immigration post) was that a few officers just sat around the building (outside) not doing anything at all, perhaps their tasks to only observe and mingle if there are any confused travellers.

After the Malaysian immigration check, Thai immigration is about 80 metres to the Thai ICQS after the Wang Kelian immigration main gate. Just before the Thai immigration, and about 15 or 20 metres after the main gate, the Duty-Free Green Earth Emporium compound is situated on the right. The gate is opened but it seemed there were no patronisers. And just after that, the Thai ICQS compound came into view with a number of travellers mingling in the area under shady trees.

A queue extended from the 'Arrival' window of the Thai ICQS. The queue consists mostly of Malaysians and travellers either travelling in groups or individuals like me. Like all Thai immigration counters, the land borders seem to process the documents much faster than those at the airports. Most Malaysians were on their way to the town of Satun for shopping at Makro. Most other travellers prefer island or beach destinations like Ko Lipe or Pak Bara. Satun is becoming quite a gem for the island and beach travellers as many of the other islands in Southern Thailand had grown congested and expensive. There are also a lot of pickup trucks like Chevrolet Colorado, Toyota Hilux, and Ford Rangers commuting between Malaysia and Thailand. Most bore Thai plates and these pickups ply mostly to Malaysia to ferry sundry items and foodstuffs to Satun. Having said that, many of the foodstuffs like noodles, condiments, milk powder, etc., (at the border) do come from Malaysia especially in Satun, Songkhla, Narathiwat, and Jala.
Just After the Thai Immigration - A Spanking New Facility

Just Outside the Thai ICQS, the Border market

The Arked is defunct but the new Boundary Market of Thailand-Malaysia is seemingly thriving today
Just wondering whether the businesses in Malaysia have gone 'nolo contendere' since the mass graves incident that causes Malaysian border residents of Perlis and Kedah from having anything to do with Wang Kelian. If that's the case, the Perlis government have not been at the heels trying to reform the border economy on the Malaysian side. Pakatan Harapan should step in to revive the border market again.

Upon seeing what's happening, reviving the Wang Kelian's economy can help Malaysian and Thai residents forge better relations. As there's activity going on human traffickers will also shy from the areas. Having said that in the whole land border crossings, I have seen very little activity in Wang Kelian using 'Lorong Haram' or illegitimate land border crossings. In fact, it's quite impossible, after witnessing the steep ravines on both sides of the land border. In fact, not many travellers will drive to Wang Kelian, as a part of the journey is quite adventurous. Steep hillsides and the sharp upward road bends for 3 kilometres is not to someone's liking if one's not prepared for such an adventurous drive.

However, that wasn't the case. According to an anonymous Kaki Bukit aunty I spoke at the public toilet before I departed the immigration checkpoints, she deliberated that the main cause was the massive graves found in Wang Kelian. As many of these Kampung residents still believe in supernatural telltales, local residents will have to be brave to accommodate the tragedies and the telltales. The only businesses today, before the Wang Kelian checkpoints, are the food stalls near the checkpoint and a Caltex petrol station and a vibrant Thai food stall before proceeding up the steep granite mountain.

Despite the gloom on the Malaysian side, the Thai side is definitely thronging. Back then, about 11 or 12 years ago, Wang Prachan, was basically a sleepy hole for cross-border residents. There were only some stalls, which basically sold drinks and food stalls before the Thai immigration. Only on Sundays, did both the Perlis and Satun government allow a realistically cross border market that thronged not only at the Arked but also a Kilometre from the Wang Kelian side to the Wang Prachan side. Back then security was pretty lax on both sides and residents can cross the land border freely on Sundays to participate or purchase food, farm equipment or kitchen utensils, pots and pans at the market. But years back before the incident, Wang Prachan market did sell violent weapons like handguns. [There was someone in the past that photographed the handguns - At first thought, they were BB handguns, but they weren't. I tried to source it again on the web but it had since been removed.] After the incident, less violent weapons are still sold like combat knives, machetes and defensive torchlights. Moreover, Thai security authorities are hiking up and down the roadsides, and any irregularities by any traders can be apprehended upon selling or trafficking weapons.

Exotic gadgets sold at the market
Today, the Thai and Satun government just wanted to rid the negativity and hence, a flood of traders have set up more stalls stretching as long as about 1.2 Kilometres each side of the road. Most of the traders sell daily items like I have spoken before, but what caught my attention was that most of the foodstuffs, especially the condiments, biscuits, sweets, and junk foodstuff like chips, come from Malaysia. As such, not many Malaysians like myself, thronged the market if the individual did not just come for borderland's shopping spree. As for me, its to see the kind of wares they are selling. I saw a group of Malaysians, that seemed to be interested in combat knives and machetes. I did not ask them how they are going to bring across the border but in any case, if it's just the immigration checks no one will notice. AKSEM (further down the road after Wang Kelian) may seek to do a security check but when I approached them (on my way back after the market), I told them about visiting the border market and they did not seem to even bother to peek into the car or check the car boot. Sigh! That said, the AKSEM guys were very pleasant and nice.

The best to enjoy this sort of market is to walk both sides of the divide, talk to the stall holders either in Malay or Thai language. The Malay language in these parts are different again, they have the Kedah lingo, slang and accent, and the pronunciations are softspoken and audible. Unlike Malaysian stall traders, they tend to be more aggressive and hence, when any patronisers walk pass by their stalls they tend to advertise audibly in the Thai language. In Jala, Narathiwat, and Pattani, its less and perhaps more like the Malaysian traders, i.e., your choice, hence less influence.

Its Saturday, hence the activity picks up rather slow
This is Sunday, notice two security officials going up and down checking and mingling with the patrons
I bought a big packet of pistachio that's considered cheap. As the morning sun began to sizzle and am profusing as if I just stepped out of the shower, I decided to head back to the immigration checkpoints. Just before I returned, a few objects caught my observation; coaches on the far end of the trading stalls just after the military security checkpoint and bird cages in the middle of the road divider.

Buses or coaches from Bangkok. Most people from Central Thailand come to Wang Prachan to purchase Malaysian conditions and foodstuffs.
These buses, years back hardly come to this part of the province. Perhaps, the current Thai government find it important to develop these remote areas and provide jobs not only for the people in Satun but also people in the Deep South, particularly to steer them away from troubles. At this writing, and in my hotel room, I learned from Malaysian TV 3 Channel in the evening, that Satun town, that is, 35 Kilometres from Wang Prachan, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) had exploded, Further up in Phatallung (province), bombs also went off in the city centre.

Whatever is the case the Thai authorities should not just be lackadaisical about their attitudes by just increasing security, military and law enforcement officials. It's not enough. Mara Patani was disgusted by the fact that one of the most senior Thai negotiators was not present at the negotiation in Kuala Lumpur.  Gen Udomchai Thammasaroraj refusal to meet with Mara Patani leader Encik Dulloh did not fare well for the Deep South problems. Already, Barisan Nasional Revolusi (BRN) refuses any discussions with the current Thai government but its opportunistic for Udomchai to straighten some issues like for example, disarmament, demilitarisation, and the giving up of weapons and I think perhaps the Thai general wasn't interested and only keen to meet the ex-IGP YB Tuan Rahim Noor.  Well, since the collapse of the talks, it seems one of these rebel groups decided to notch up their disappointment by expanding their militaristic activities into Satun and Phatallung. Thailand is already beguiled by the latest tragic episodes of the Chinese tourists shying away from Thailand as a form of boycott. Coupled with these terrorist threats, these are not going to jive well. The land of smiles will be smiling but the current troubles may only jeopardise those happy smiles. Satun is a new gem for Thailand because of Ko Lipe, the surrounding isles and Pak Bara.

Red-Whiskered Bulbul or Crested Bulbul
The Crested Bulbul is stressed, thus flustering in the cage as I was taking its picture
This picture was taken on Saturday, hence the bird cages were not visible then. Only the security checkpoint. Notice that I didn't include the post because there were officers manning the checkpoint.
Red-Whiskered Bulbuls (RWB)loved to chirp in the notes of happiness. Security officials parading the roads may seem relaxed, but the terror issues, the human trafficking issues, and other security issues may crop up sporadically. Will the Deep South ever enjoy a comprehensive peaceful resonance, it's only the residents of Malaysian - Thailand border willing to give it a chance.

Just one quick note about the caged RWB. Southern Thailand is a treasure of resources for agriculture, natural resources and tourism. Hence, many people in the Deep South has developed a liking for the bird-song contest. Many birds that chirp wonderfully well especially like RWBs, the Myrnas, Oriental-Magpie Robin, etc., are captured and trained for the bird-singing contest. Despite its not illegal, still, this sort of action extended appreciation towards the enslavement and poaching of other animals as well. Pangolins and various anteater species are exotic aphrodisiac dishes in countries like China. There were instances in the past where Thai poachers came into Malaysian jungles to trap exotic species of animals like sun bears and tigers. In many parts of Asia and in their wet markets, there are certain animals either sold for food or for pets. It's difficult at times to educate them, firstly, it's a cultural activity, and secondly, they will tell you that they don't hunt or capture these animals for pleasure but for a purpose. Sometimes the question is about priorities. Only when the animal is endangered, then the full force of the law is there to curb the smuggling and trafficking. Otherwise, it's business as usual. Traders do get angry when these animals' pictures are taken or videoed. They do know about the reasons behind their pictures or videos. Most of these traders rely on hunted and captured wildlife as a source of income. Their actions can be deemed deplorable but its always difficult to ascertain a morality to these issues, as long as it's not a greedy income. However, then again these traders used such exotic animals to treat us marketers into believing their word. There are still many ways to do trading, but they want these animals as a form of attraction and distraction to many interested patrons that eventually being tricked to make a purchase.

Wang Kelian-Wang Prachan border is a step in the right direction. There're more improvements to be ascertained especially if the idea is to push for a better and more livelier border. Opportunities abound and in the next few years, Satun will offer a new direction for the other Deep South provinces to follow. On the Thai side, it will be better, no doubt. On the Malaysian side, I am still unsure what's the ideals for the Perlis government and PH to improve this area, only time will tell.

One Last Note:
One of the most important facts about this trip had me forgotten to relate in this article is how foreigners used the Wang Kelian border post to extend their stay in Thailand. The province of Satun has given many foreigners the opportunity to experience the sand, the sun, the sea, and the islands. One particular island here in Satun is Ko Lipe. The upturn and influx of foreigners are unbearably a fortune for the province. Because Satun is predominantly a Muslim province, the service sector that serves the entertainment industry prevents Muslims from engaging in the industry. Bars are a no-go for pious and religious Muslims and the massage parlours that spell close proximity with the opposite sex is also a prohibition. Food industries that thrived on non-Halal ingredients also become a bane for the local residents to work in this industry. Hence, Muslims only can provide information on tourism packages, managing accommodations in hostels or hotels or running errands and transportation services. As with many provinces in Thailand, most of the entertainment service industries have employees sourced from Northern and Northeastern provinces in Thailand. Satun has its share of troubles in the past, and most Thais that come from the North have a biased view about the Southern Muslims. The reason being the violence that's deeply rooted in the 'Deep South'. Hence non-Muslim employers in the entertainment and service industry have a dilemma. The only strategy, source foreign workers from the Mekong basin, and in this case, Laos. Laos has always been at the heart of Thailand and the main reason is that the whole of Laos was once part of the Siamese nation, historically. Many Thais still have suspicions with Burma (Myanmar) and Cambodia.

So what has Laos and Western foreigners had anything to do with Wang Kelian?

Well, the immigration conditions for Thailand in the last 2 years have changed drastically. One of the things is that any foreigners in Thailand that have their passport renewed after the 2nd time, they can no longer stay in Thailand. Foreigners have to go to a nearby ASEAN nation and supposedly stay there for a few days. But recently, the procedures changed again in Thailand as after the Chinese debacle and violence that flared up in social media have angered many Chinese. The Chinese boycotted Thailand. In order to thwart the dwindling influx of Chinese tourists, Thai immigration allows foreigners to just obtain proof of 'exit' from the country. It DOES NOT matter when they returned.

So what happened at Wang Kelian on weekends is that many of the foreigners (including Laotians) exited Wang Prachan, Satun, Thailand, and walk about 150 meters to the Wang Kelian immigration. They obtain their Malaysian chops and then 'exited' Malaysia on the next immigration window. Once done, they walked back into Thailand and re-chop their passport as if anew.

Well, basically, Malaysia should care about this. Firstly, these people never entered Malaysia and they only make use of the immigration post. And secondly, this gives false positives and figures to our tourism statistics that these people actually visited Malaysia and do good to our economy. What's to be needed is the fact that there's a need to charge some nominal fee, and they have to pay in ringgit or US dollars. This will alleviate our tourism figures and statistics and generate a sizeable income for our country.

33 comments:

  1. Retrieved from Malaysiakini:

    Wang Kelian mass graves: Suhakam fingers cops over 'four-month delay'

    B Nantha Kumar
    27 Mar 2019, 4:47 pm (Updated 27 Mar 2019, 5:16 pm)

    A A
    Police had dispatched its forensics team to exhume the bodies at the Wang Kelian human trafficking campsite in May 2015, four months after the mass graves were discovered.

    This was among the findings of a 121-page report prepared by the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) and NGO Fortify Rights titled “Sold like a Fish”, which was revealed in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.

    Suhakam, in a statement, said the delay could have affected evidence to facilitate police investigations.

    “The four-month delay in exhuming the bodies delayed post-mortem examinations and, in turn, hampered forensic specialists from identifying the cause of death of exhumed remains,” the commission said.

    The report also urged Malaysian authorities to ensure those responsible face the music in tandem with international human rights laws.

    “If possible, Suhakam and Fortify Rights also suggest that the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) identifies the individuals who committed the crimes and bring them to justice in Malaysia,” it added.

    The RCI on Wang Kelian, headed by former chief justice Arifin Zakaria, is expected to reveal its findings in June.

    The mass killings made headlines in 2015 when police discovered 139 graves, 106 bodies, believed to be Rohingyas, and 29 illegal immigrant detention camps deep in the jungles of Bukit Genting Perah and Bukit Wang Burma, a few hundred metres from the Malaysia-Thai border in Wang Kelian.

    Malaysian authorities have only prosecuted four foreigners linked to the trafficking syndicate, while the Thai authorities have charged 62 individuals, including nine civil servants.

    According to the 121-page Suhakam report, some 170,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis were smuggled in through the Malaysia-Thai border, between 2012 and 2015.


    The report said that in that period, the traffickers managed to reap in between RM175 million and RM349 million from the activity.

    It also contains interview with more than 270 witnesses, including the survivors of the camp, traffickers, civil servants and others.

    "The traffickers comprised Myanmar nationals, Thais and Malaysians, who tortured the victims with pipes, baseball bats, belts, wires, nails, and threatened and intimidated them.

    "Every victim was forced to pay US$2,000 in exchange for freedom. Those who could not afford to pay, were deprived of food, drink, and shelter, contributing to illness, disability, and even death," read the report.

    The victims also comprised female children who were sold into slavery and marriage in Malaysia, it added.


    "People died every day. Some jumped off boats as they could not take the torture inflicted on them."

    The trafficking survivors told the same story about their predicament - that the traffickers approached them at their villages, talking about job opportunities in Malaysia, and once they got on the boat, they were tortured for ransom.

    "Some victims are even sold as slaves and into the sex trade. The female victims are often kept in the boats or in the traffickers' camps, to gratify the lust of the latter.

    "We hope the new government in Malaysia will right the wrong, by giving justice to the Rohingya, and other victims of this crime."

    Tags: WANGKELIAN, SUHAKAM, HUMAN RIGHTS, POLICE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sold Like Fish: Crimes Against Humanity and Human Trafficking
      https://reliefweb.int/report/malaysia/sold-fish-crimes-against-humanity-mass-graves-and-human-trafficking-myanmar-and

      Delete
    2. Retrieved from Malaysiakini:

      Wang Kelian queries raised at George Town refugee festival
      Susan Loone | Published: 7 Apr 2019, 9:49 am | Modified: 7 Apr 2019, 9:49 am

      Rohingya refugee Zahid Alom questioned yesterday why Malaysian authorities have not been able to prosecute any of the culprits behind the human trafficking atrocities witnessed at Wang Kelian since the discovery of the mass graves in 2015.

      Zahid – who arrived in the country in 2006, and who now volunteers with Penang Stop Human Trafficking (PHST) – pointed out that after the mass graves were discovered at the Perlis border, Thai authorities had charged some 60 suspects involved in the crime.

      "But on the Malaysian side, only four people were charged, and they are mostly foreigners.

      "The counter-argument from the government is that we do not have evidence, how can we proceed to charge or persecute people?”

      “There are many stakeholders who are trying to push the government to take action against the criminals, but those involved in the crimes tried their best to hide the evidence and did not leave any clues behind,” he told the crowd at the 2019 Refugee Festival in George Town.

      As Zahid claimed, those responsible for the atrocities were aided by local villagers.

      “Wang Kelian happened in the jungle, where over 100 people were massacred, but there were people in the kampung or town nearby who provided them food, medicines, and other assistance.

      “If we want to bring those culprits to court and charge them, go to the nearest village and talk to those who have knowledge of this incident.

      "Perhaps then we will be able to find some clues about the culprits involved in this crime,” he stressed.

      The Wang Kelian mass graves, which contained the bodies of at least 139 human trafficking victims, was first discovered by journalist S Arulldas and photographer Sayuti Zainuddin in May 2015.

      In February, the Pakatan Harapan administration announced the formation of a royal commission of inquiry into the crimes, which drew worldwide condemnation.

      The Sold Like a Fish report by the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) and NGO Fortify Rights alleged that the police delayed exhuming bodies from the graves by up to four months after their discovery.

      Besides Zahid, speakers at the panel included former Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights chairperson Edmund Bon, Asean Interparliamentary Committee on Human Rights chairperson and Klang MP Charles Santiago, PSHT coalition representative James Lochhead.

      Delete
    3. Cont....

      Roadmap on refugee needs

      Bon (below) said that it is time for the refugee community to come up with a roadmap on what it wants from the international community, as they have been lamenting their plight for decades.

      Despite some 70 civil society groups here committed to assisting refugees, he said, none had produced a roadmap on what refugees really want.

      “We can invite new NGOs who are interested to help to at least prepare a policy document for education, healthcare and employment for refugees.

      "Lawyers need to know what is really required. We need to have a concrete document on this, and we do not have enough technical experts,” added the lawyer, who said he was willing to take up cases on a pro bono basis.

      Bon reminded the audience that Harapan had made a "U-turn" on their election manifesto by withdrawing from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which could be used to penalise perpetrators of war crimes and genocide.

      “We are also supposed to sign on to the United Nations International Convention on Refugees. However, even without this, there have been positive outcomes of our long engagement with the authorities.

      “These positive changes include the commitment not to abuse asylum seekers, especially when they are documented.

      "While they have no right to education, the government will not stop any community learning centres who educate their children.

      "They have no right to employment in this country, but the refugees have been able to do informal work, and in terms of healthcare, they have been able to enjoy discounts,” he explained.

      The 2019 Refugee Festival, which began on April 5, will conclude today with a workshop on the Theatre of the Oppressed by Parastoo Theater Team director Saleh Sepas, a panel discussion on mental health access for refugees in Malaysia, and a film screening of Bou, the award-winning documentary by investigative filmmaker Mahi Ramakrishnan.

      On Friday, the audience at the festival were entertained with musical performances, poetry recitals and artworks by several refugees, including Ali Farran, Anwar Bahrami, Hassan Al-Akraa, Komeil Zarin, Esmail Ghaibi and Mwaffaq Al-Hajjar.

      Delete
    4. Retrieved from Malaysiakini:

      Muhyiddin: Suhakam report could aid Wang Kelian RCI
      Faisal Asyraf | Published: 28 Mar 2019, 5:31 pm | Modified: 28 Mar 2019, 5:31 pm

      Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) could be useful in facilitating the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI)'s ongoing investigations into the case.

      Muhyiddin said this after declining to comment on Suhakam's discovery that police had dispatched its forensics team to exhume bodies four months after the mass graves were discovered in May 2015.

      It was among the findings of a 121-page report prepared by Suhakam and NGO Fortify Rights titled “Sold like a Fish”, which was launched yesterday.

      "As of today, I will not comment on that. Maybe Suhakam has its own information or foundation (which came up with the findings).

      "But we have established the RCI, which has been doing its job for about three weeks now. We have given it six months.

      "Although Suhakam has its own findings, my view is that we can't precede the investigation conducted by the RCI," he told the media after closing the 11th TSM Golf Challenge at Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur.

      Nevertheless, Muhyiddin welcomed the Suhakam report (photo, below).

      "So since there's a report, maybe it helps in the investigation, and it's up to the RCI to refer to the findings prepared by Suhakam," he said....

      Delete
    5. RCI soon on human smuggling near Thai border amid claims of a police cover-up
      Khairil Ashraf - January 27, 2019 8:34 PM

      PETALING JAYA: The government will set up a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into allegations of human trafficking in Wang Kelian, Perlis, where authorities discovered mass graves four years ago.

      Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the decision was to address claims that there had been attempts to cover up human trafficking activities in the area.

      “There are many who are not happy that certain people are trying to hide the truth of what happened there.

      “Therefore, we have decided to set up a RCI. Now we await the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, after which the inquiry will commence,” he told a gathering in Kangar today.

      In early May 2015, then inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar had announced the discovery of more than 130 graves in 28 temporary camps of a human trafficking syndicate in Wang Kelian.

      This followed the discovery of similar graves in Thailand, which led Thai police to launch a massive crackdown on human trafficking networks.

      Two years later, the New Straits Times reported that police had cleared the campsite where the mass graves were discovered, destroying potential evidence at the crime scenes before they were processed by forensics personnel.

      The paper said that its investigations revealed that Wang Kelian might have been part of a “massive, coordinated cover up”.

      -FMT

      https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2019/01/27/rci-soon-on-human-smuggling-near-thai-border-amid-claims-of-a-police-cover-up/

      Delete
  2. Retrieved from Malaysiakini:

    Wang Kelian RCI: Cop tells of 'beep' which led woman to shout 'police are here'
    Annabelle Lee | Published: 17 Apr 2019, 1:04 pm | Modified: 17 Apr 2019, 1:04 pm

    WANG KELIAN RCI | Police corporal Mat Ten told the Wang Kelian Royal Commission of Inquiry in Putrajaya how he discovered the human trafficking camps near the Thai border on Jan 18, 2015.

    The General Operations Force member said he and his partner noticed tracks from the bushes leading to the road when patrolling the area.

    The next morning, Mat and his immediate superior, sergeant Yusuf Islam Hassan, followed the tracks deep into the jungle, and discovered several watchtowers built on trees, camps, wooden structures and several people.

    He later reported this to his superiors.

    That evening, Mat and nine other police personnel embarked on a surveillance mission into the area, but had their presence detected.

    Mat (below) told the panel that he observed a woman at the camp area receiving a beep on her mobile phone before alerting others to flee.

    “There was a woman who shouted ‘polis sampai!’ (police are here).

    “That is how we knew there were people in the houses. But they destroyed and broke everything (when trying to escape),” he added.

    Mat said his team failed to arrest those who ran away, but managed to detain six “pendatang” (foreigners) who could not flee due to injuries. The six were inside a wooden structure which was fenced and locked.

    The corporal added that he did not ask the nationalities of the six, who were taken to the Wang Kelian police station for processing.

    The panel questioned the corporal multiple times about the team's mission, with the latter maintaining they had obtained instructions to only surveil the camps, not to raid or conduct arrests.

    Following a short break, Yusuf (below) concurred in his testimony that the mission had been a mere surveillance operation.

    When the panel asked why police surveillance could be so easily detected by their targets, he answered that he was unsure how it happened.

    Cont. below

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Inspector kept seized items in desk for 9 days

      Meanwhile, inspector Mohd Mossadique Azni, who led the surveillance team, told the RCI that he kept items seized from the raid in his desk for nine days before handing it over to his superiors.

      He also admitted to not making detailed records of the items.

      The inspector said he had instructed his personnel to search the area, which resulted in them seizing several items – including a notebook scribbled in Thai, a Thai driver's license, a Nokia mobile phone, three SIM cards, a CD player and several CDs.

      “I kept the items in my desk, but I did not have a locker or any cupboard which I could lock. So I just kept it in my desk, but out of plain sight,” he told the panel.

      When quizzed if he had informed his superior, MA Joeking, about the seized items, Mossadique went silent for several minutes before uttering, "I think I did tell him."

      Some nine days later, on Jan 29, he handed the items to police inspector Mohd Azizie Mohd, but added that they did not fill up a submission form (borang serahan).

      As Mossadique explained, he did so because Azizie's quarters had a cupboard which could be locked.

      Contradictions on detainees

      Mossadique (below) also testified that the six undocumented migrants that his team detained from the camps were not injured, as Mat said, but just "lemah (weak)."

      “Some had scars from old wounds, but none were hurt,” he said.

      Azizie was the last to take the witness stand.

      Working as an ethics officer at the time, he confirmed Mossadique had handed him items seized from the Jan 19 raid for safekeeping when he visited the latter’s office eight days later.

      He also confirmed not filling up any submission forms for the items.

      Prior to that visit, Azizie said that a Padang Besar Special Branch officer, one inspector Shah, had asked him to inquire if any items were seized from the Wang Kelian operation.

      When the panel quizzed him on why an ethics officer would help safekeep seized items, Azizie admitted that the move had been beyond his job scope.

      He also admitted to not informing his immediate superior superintendent Wan Hamzah about the items, which he handed directly to Shah a day after receiving them on Jan 29.

      The RCI panel is chaired by Ariffin Zakaria (above).

      The former chief justice is being assisted by former inspector-general of police Norian Mai, along with five commissioners.

      They comprise former ambassador to Thailand Nazirah Hussin, former Public Accounts Committee deputy chairperson Tan Seng Giaw, former chief prosecutor Noorbahri Baharuddin, former diplomat Razali Ismail, and former head of research at the Attorney-General’s Chambers Junaidah Abdul Rahman.

      The inquiry has been given until September this year to prepare its report.

      The public hearing will resume tomorrow.

      Delete
  3. Retrieved from Malaysiakini:

    Commissioners grill inspector over lapses in police procedure
    Annabelle Lee | Published: 17 Apr 2019, 7:23 pm | Modified: 17 Apr 2019, 7:23 pm

    WANG KELIAN RCI | Police inspector Mohd Mossadique Azni struggled to answer a barrage of questions directed at him during the Wang Kelian Royal Commission of Inquiry today.

    Taking the stand after the lunch break, Mossadique recounted how he had led a 10-man team deep into the jungle near the Thai border on Jan 19, 2015, for a surveillance mission.

    This followed information received on the presence of "human camps" and possible illicit activity at the location.

    However, Mossadique said the mission went awry when people at the camps detected the presence of the police, and fled before he and his team arrived.

    When he led that mission, the inspector said he had already been stationed at the border for four years, and had arrested undocumented migrants who slipped through the border “one or two” at a time.

    When commissioner Tan Seng Giaw questioned why he had led a large team into the jungle for a mere surveillance mission and not a raid on the jungle camps, Mossadique answered that it was for “security purposes.”

    He also admitted that he had underestimated the size of the camps.

    Mossadique's response seemed to upset commissioner Razali Ismail.

    “I am not satisfied with what the inspector has said. You knew there was human trafficking (happening at the border), but yet you were not equipped to detect it?

    “How could you not suspect that human trafficking was happening?” he asked.

    Mossadique (above) reiterated that his only experience up to that point was arresting “one or two” undocumented migrants at a time, and that police had not realised that human traffickers were keeping large numbers of people deep in the Wang Kelian jungle.

    Tan and Razali then took turns firing questions at the inspector on why the police were not better informed about human trafficking activities, and were not better equipped to tackle them.

    Before he could respond to the questions, the RCI's deputy chairperson and former inspector-general of police Norian Mai stepped in and asked Mossadique whether the Special Branch had ever shared with him information about undocumented migrants crossing the border.

    “As far as I know, they did not,” Mossadique said.

    Cont. below...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SOP for undocumented migrants

      Earlier, the inspector had also struggled to answer questions from the panel as to whether police had a standard operating procedure when they arrested undocumented migrants at the border.

      He was also asked if he or his officers had been given training on how to process undocumented migrants.

      To both questions, Mossadique stayed silent for several minutes before eventually muttering “I am not sure” after the commissioners repeated the questions.

      In 2015, 139 graves containing 106 bodies, many believed to be of trafficked Rohingya refugees, were discovered deep in the jungles of Bukit Genting Perah and Bukit Wang Burma in Wang Kelian, just a few hundred metres from the Thai border.

      Twenty-eight trafficking detention camps were also discovered.

      So far, authorities have charged just four foreign nationals linked to a trafficking syndicate for the mass graves.

      Thai authorities, meanwhile, have charged 62 individuals, including nine government officials.

      The Home Ministry set up the RCI back in January and appointed former chief justice Ariffin Zakaria as its chairperson.

      Aside from Tan, Razali and Norian, the commission also comprises former ambassador to Thailand Nazirah Hussin, former chief prosecutor Noorbahri Baharuddin, and former head of research at the Attorney-General’s Chambers Junaidah Abdul Rahman.

      The inquiry has been given until September this year to prepare its report.

      The public hearing will resume tomorrow.

      Delete
  4. Retrieved from Malaysiakini:

    'We found graves on mission to destroy human trafficking camps'
    Annabelle Lee | Published: 18 Apr 2019, 12:23 pm | Modified: 18 Apr 2019, 12:23 pm

    WANG KELIAN RCI | A police commander told the Wang Kelian Royal Commission of Inquiry today that he discovered graves while on a mission to destroy human trafficking camps.

    On Jan 19, 2015, MA Joeking headed a surveillance operation into the jungles of Wang Kelian after receiving information about human trafficking camps and possible illicit activity.

    Joeking's officer, Mohd Mossadique Azni, led a smaller 10-officer team into the actual camps.

    The commander was informed by his subordinate that the team had their presence detected by the people at the camp, who were able to flee the scene.

    The following day, Joeking attended a meeting chaired by the then-Perlis deputy police chief to brief his superiors on the previous day's mission. He showed them photographs and PowerPoint slides detailing what the operation uncovered.

    During the meeting, the commander was instructed to "destroy the camps (musnahkan kem tersebut)."

    Despite not being a specific reason for the order, he believes it was to prevent human traffickers from continuing to use the camps.

    On Jan 21, Joeking (above) led a 30-officer team to destroy all structures at the human trafficking camps. They began by burning pieces of blue canvas found at the site.

    However, he instructed his officers to stop burning or destroying anything after discovering several graves in the area.

    “We were burning the canvases, but we stopped when we found the graves.

    “(After that) we did not destroy any of the structures and let them be,” he told the RCI panel.

    When pressed to explain why he had flouted orders to destroy the camps, Joeking stated that he was surprised to find the graves, and wanted to probe them further.

    “We found the graves and I did not want to destroy them further," he explained. "I wanted to do further investigation."

    Cont. below...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 'Mossadique didn't hand me seized items'

      Earlier, Joeking told the RCI that he did not receive any items seized by Mossadique's (below) team from the jungle camps during the Jan 19 mission.

      "No exhibits were ever handed to me.

      "If they were handed to me, I would have included them in my report (about the operation),” he said after repeated questions from the panel.

      Joeking also stated that he had questioned Mossadique after the operation if any items had been taken from the camps, to which the latter said there were none.

      Yesterday, Mossadique told the RCI that he had instructed his team to search the camps after realising most people there had fled.

      The search resulted in the seizure of several items – including a notebook scribbled in Thai, a Thai driver's license, a Nokia mobile phone, three SIM cards, a CD player and several CDs.

      These exhibits were physically produced before the inquiry panel and identified by Mossadique.

      He also revealed that he had kept the seized items at his desk for nine days before handing them over to ethics officer Mohd Azizie Mohd for safekeeping.

      Migrants' story

      Joeking told the inquiry that his team had managed to arrest a total of 38 foreign nationals from the Jan 19 mission. Six were detained by Mossadique’s team at a fenced structure within the jungle camp, while the rest were arrested while trying to escape from the jungle.

      Of the 38, 22 were from Bangladesh while 16 were Myanmar nationals. None of the latter admitted to being Rohingya refugees.

      One of the detainees recounted to Joeking how they had ended up at the camps.

      “They told me that ‘agents’ had promised them jobs in Malaysia. They paid the agents about RM2,000 and they were taken on a ship before walking their way into the jungle to the camps.

      “Once there, some were asked to pay more money if they wanted to enter Malaysia,” the police commander said.

      The 38 were later sent to the Padang Besar district police headquarters and processed by the Smuggling Prevention Unit (UPP) at its depot.

      When asked by inquiry commissioner Razali Ismail whether he considered the Jan 19 operation a “failure” since the police did not manage to arrest any of the traffickers, Joeking disagreed.

      “In my opinion, it was successful because we were able to find out that there was a camp on the hill and we saved 38 lives.

      “We only understood the matter after the operation,” he answered.

      The Home Ministry set up the RCI back in January and appointed former chief justice Ariffin Zakaria to chair it.

      Ariffin is assisted by former inspector-general of police Norian Mai along with five commissioners - former ambassador to Thailand Nazirah Hussin; former Public Accounts Committee deputy chairperson Tan Seng Giaw; former chief prosecutor Noorbahri Baharuddin; former Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) chairperson Razali Ismail; and former head of research in the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Junaidah Abdul Rahman.

      The proceedings are being conducted by deputy public prosecutors Khairul Anuar Abs Halim and Saiful Hazmi Mohd Saad.

      The inquiry has been given six months till September this year to prepare a report.

      The public hearing will resume on Monday (Apr 22).

      Delete
    2. Special Branch team found human bones 'scattered' at jungle camps
      Annabelle Lee | Published: 22 Apr 2019, 1:54 pm | Modified: 22 Apr 2019, 1:54 pm

      WANG KELIAN RCI | Aside from human trafficking camps and mass graves, police also found human skeletal remains deep in the jungles of Wang Kelian, near the Thai border, in 2015.

      Testifying before the Wang Kelian Royal Commission of Inquiry today, former Special Branch officer Jamaluddin Shah Mohd Jawan said his team hiked up Bukit Wang Burma in Wang Kelian on Aug 15, 2015, and stumbled upon six exposed human skeletons at an abandoned jungle camp.

      “The skeletons were in the camps, not in the graves. The camps were made of wood and covered with canvas. That’s where the skeletons were.

      “We found six skeletons on top of a pelanta (platform),” he said.

      Jamaluddin said the bones had been found in a "berselerak (scattered)" manner.

      During the operation, police had also found 20 graves, which they later dug up and uncovered 20 bodies.

      Photographs of the skeletons and graves were produced before the RCI panel, but not shown on the television screens at the public gallery.

      The mission was a follow-up to an earlier operation in January that year, in which a separate police team had discovered human trafficking camps and graves at a different part of Bukit Wang Burma.

      ccording to Jamaluddin, this second camp was located on the peak of Gunung Perlis, and was a mere 30m to 50m from a stone that served as a border marker between Malaysia and Thailand, or an hour’s walk up the hill from the first site.

      On Aug 16, a day after the operation, he made a police report detailing what they found to allow his superiors to take further action.

      Aside from the trips in January and August, Jamaluddin said the police had made a trip up Bukit Genting Perah in March that year and discovered more human trafficking camps there.

      From that mission, they arrested two Thai nationals along with three Myanmar nationals and learned of another route used by “syndicates” to transport undocumented migrants into the country.

      Jamaluddin also claimed to have sent “more than 10" reports on human trafficking syndicates operating along the border to his superiors at the time.

      The Home Ministry set up the RCI back in January and appointed former chief justice Ariffin Zakaria to chair it.

      Ariffin is assisted by former inspector-general of police Norian Mai along with five commissioners - former ambassador to Thailand Nazirah Hussin; former public accounts committee deputy chairperson Tan Seng Giaw; former chief prosecutor Noorbahri Baharuddin; former Suhakam chairperson Razali Ismail; former head of research at the Attorney-General’s Chambers Junaidah Abdul Rahman.

      The inquiry has been given six months till September this year to prepare a report.

      The public hearing will resume tomorrow.

      - M'kini

      https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/473219

      Delete
  5. Retrieved from Malaysiakini:

    Cop: Superior ordered us to delete photos of Wang Kelian operations
    Annabelle Lee | Published: 18 Apr 2019, 3:02 pm | Modified: 18 Apr 2019, 3:02 pm

    WANG KELIAN RCI | A police officer, who led a team to surveil and later destroy human trafficking camps in the jungle near the Malaysian-Thai border, claimed his superior instructed him to delete photographs of the operations.

    “There was a time in March or April 2015 when I received an order from my 'pegawai pemerintah' (commanding officer) that those with photographs of Wang Kelian must delete them (from their devices).

    “The photographs could only be stored at the battalion,” said ASP MA Joeking, adding that he complied with the order.

    Pressed on who issued the order, Joeking (photo,above), who was testifying at the Wang Kelian Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) in Putrajaya today, repeated that it was his “pegawai pemerintah.”

    Earlier, he had revealed that his immediate superior at the time was one Supt Wan Hamzah Wan Kadir.

    Wan Hamzah is expected to be called to testify before the RCI.

    On Jan 19, 2015, Joeking headed a surveillance mission into the jungle after receiving information about the camps and possible illicit activities there.

    His officer Mohd Mossadique Azni, who led a smaller 10-member team into the actual camps, later informed him that people at the camps had detected their presence and most of them escaped before the team arrived.

    The next day, Joeking received specific instructions from then-Perlis deputy police chief to “musnahkan kem tersebut” (destroy the camps), but was not given a reason.

    On Jan 21, the ASP led a 30-member team to destroy all structures at the human trafficking camps and they began by burning the pieces of blue canvas found there.

    However, he instructed his team to stop burning or destroying anything after discovering several graves in the area.

    Back in 2015, 139 graves containing 106 bodies, many believed to be of trafficked Rohingya refugees, were discovered deep in the jungles of Bukit Genting Perah and Bukit Wang Burma, just a few hundred metres from the Thai-Malaysian border in Wang Kelian, Perlis.

    Twenty-eight trafficking detention camps were also discovered.

    Four years on, Malaysian authorities have charged just four foreign men linked to a trafficking syndicate for the mass graves while Thai authorities have charged 62 individuals, including nine government officials.

    The Home Ministry set up the RCI in January and appointed former chief justice Ariffin Zakaria to chair it.

    Ariffin is assisted by former inspector-general of police Norian Mai, along with five commissioners - former ambassador to Thailand Nazirah Hussin; former Public Accounts Committee deputy chairperson Tan Seng Giaw; former chief prosecutor Noorbahri Baharuddin; former Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) chairperson Razali Ismail; and former head of research in the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Junaidah Abdul Rahman.

    The proceedings are being conducted by deputy public prosecutors Khairul Anuar Abs Halim and Saiful Hazmi Mohd Saad.

    The inquiry has been given six months till September this year to prepare a report.

    The public hearing will resume on Monday (Apr 22).

    ReplyDelete
  6. Special Branch team found human bones 'scattered' at jungle camps
    Annabelle Lee | Published: Today 1:54 pm | Modified: 22 April 2019 1:54 pm

    WANG KELIAN RCI | Aside from human trafficking camps and mass graves, police also found human skeletal remains deep in the jungles of Wang Kelian, near the Thai border, in 2015.

    Testifying before the Wang Kelian Royal Commission of Inquiry today, former Special Branch officer Jamaluddin Shah Mohd Jawan said his team hiked up Bukit Wang Burma in Wang Kelian on Aug 15, 2015, and stumbled upon six exposed human skeletons at an abandoned jungle camp.

    “The skeletons were in the camps, not in the graves. The camps were made of wood and covered with canvas. That’s where the skeletons were.

    “We found six skeletons on top of a pelanta (platform),” he said.

    Jamaluddin said the bones had been found in a "berselerak (scattered)" manner.

    During the operation, police had also found 20 graves, which they later dug up and uncovered 20 bodies.

    Photographs of the skeletons and graves were produced before the RCI panel, but not shown on the television screens at the public gallery.

    The mission was a follow-up to an earlier operation in January that year, in which a separate police team had discovered human trafficking camps and graves at a different part of Bukit Wang Burma.

    According to Jamaluddin, this second camp was located on the peak of Gunung Perlis, and was a mere 30m to 50m from a stone that served as a border marker between Malaysia and Thailand, or an hour’s walk up the hill from the first site.

    On Aug 16, a day after the operation, he made a police report detailing what they found to allow his superiors to take further action.

    Aside from the trips in January and August, Jamaluddin said the police had made a trip up Bukit Genting Perah in March that year and discovered more human trafficking camps there.

    From that mission, they arrested two Thai nationals along with three Myanmar nationals and learned of another route used by “syndicates” to transport undocumented migrants into the country.

    Jamaluddin also claimed to have sent “more than 10" reports on human trafficking syndicates operating along the border to his superiors at the time.

    The Home Ministry set up the RCI back in January and appointed former chief justice Ariffin Zakaria to chair it.

    Ariffin is assisted by former inspector-general of police Norian Mai along with five commissioners - former ambassador to Thailand Nazirah Hussin; former public accounts committee deputy chairperson Tan Seng Giaw; former chief prosecutor Noorbahri Baharuddin; former Suhakam chairperson Razali Ismail; former head of research at the Attorney-General’s Chambers Junaidah Abdul Rahman.

    The inquiry has been given six months till September this year to prepare a report.

    The public hearing will resume tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SB man: Thais may have 'encouraged' illegal migration into M'sia

      Annabelle Lee | Published: 22 April 2019 7:56 pm

      WANG KELIAN RCI | Malaysian intelligence previously learned that Thai authorities had transported undocumented migrants to be detained at temporary camps near the Malaysian-Thai border.

      ASP Jamaluddin Shah Mohd Jawan (above), who was stationed at the border as a Special Branch (SB) officer from 2006 to 2015, said he believed that Thai authorities were indirectly “encouraging” the migrants to cross over into Malaysia.

      Testifying before the Wang Kelian Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) today, he said he had discovered how undocumented migrants detained in different parts of Thailand were being sent to temporary camps at the border town of Sadao, which is located near Genting Perah in Perlis.

      “If their lock-ups in other districts were full, the detainees would be sent south. We saw this as an excuse to bring the detainees to Sadao and then onto Padang Besar (in Perlis) before coming into our country,” he said.

      Asked by RCI deputy chairperson Norian Mai if he was implying that the Thai authorities were indirectly encouraging the detainees to enter Malaysia, Jamaluddin answered “Yes”.

      “Based on information we obtained, yes. And I observed that these Thai temporary camps were exactly the same as the (jungle) camps we uncovered in our country.

      “Not a single thing we found in the jungle camps were from our country,” he revealed, adding the two camps were also structurally similar.

      The jungle camps he referred to were the human trafficking camps which police first uncovered in January 2015 deep in the jungles of Wang Kelian, Perlis. Graves and human skeletons were also found.

      Jamaluddin said he had confirmed his suspicions through interviews with undocumented migrants arrested by Malaysian police.

      “These undocumented migrants who entered Malaysia were the same ones who were previously detained in Thailand,” he said.

      The former SB officer said he had reported all this information to his superiors for further action.

      'We should build a wall'

      Pressed if he believed that Malaysian authorities were complicit in the arrangement, Jamaluddin said "No".

      “It was mostly by the other side. On the Malaysian side, we were not involved in it directly [...] but maybe some of our people took advantage of the situation,” he answered.

      However, he stressed that he had advised the National Security Council (NSC) at the time to fortify Malaysia’s borders to prevent encroachment but to no avail.

      This was especially along an 11km mountainous stretch in Perlis where there was nothing demarcating the two nations. Neither did the police patrol the area frequently due to its challenging terrain.

      “I already asked the NSC to build a wall or a fence there. “[...] to get there from the nearest police station, you need to travel 700 to 800 metres. The area is very hilly and difficult to get to,” he said.

      Cont...below...

      Delete
    2. Names named in closed-door session

      Jamaluddin was also asked to verify a list of Malaysians previously alleged of being accomplices to a human trafficking syndicate in Wang Kelian.

      He said he recognised “some” of the names as they were previously monitored by the Special Branch.

      When pressed to reveal who exactly was being monitored, Jamaluddin declined to answer and gestured to deputy public prosecutor Khairul Anuar Abd Halim, who was conducting the proceedings, to indicate that such information could not be disclosed to the public.

      Those seated in the public gallery were then requested to step outside to allow the inquiry to continue behind closed doors.

      The public hearing resumed about 30 minutes later with testimonies from retired sub-inspectors Abdul Rahman Kashim and Zainuddin Husin as well as Corporal Roshaidi Hussin.

      All three, who oversaw the Wang Kelian area back in 2015, said they had arrested a small number of undocumented migrants while patrolling the border but had not known of any large-scale human trafficking activities there at the time.

      The ongoing RCI was set up by the Home Ministry in January with former chief justice Ariffin Zakaria appointed as its chairperson.

      Ariffin is assisted by former inspector-general of police Norian Mai along with five commissioners - former ambassador to Thailand Nazirah Hussin; former Public Accounts Committee deputy chairperson Tan Seng Giaw; former chief prosecutor Noorbahri Baharuddin; former Suhakam chairperson Razali Ismail and former head of research at the Attorney-General’s Chambers Junaidah Abdul Rahman.

      The inquiry has been given six months till September this year to prepare a report.

      The public hearing will resume tomorrow.

      Delete
    3. Wang Kelian RCI: Ex-SB chief says names mentioned by previous witness already on watch list

      By Teoh Pei Ying and Beatrice Nita Jaya - April 22, 2019 @ 6:46pm

      PUTRAJAYA: The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) probing the Wang Kelian human trafficking incident was today told that persons of interest mentioned by other witnesses were already the police watch list prior to the discovery of the Wang Burma camp in January 2015.

      The 7th witness, Assistant Superintendent Jamaluddin Shah Mohd Jawan, who is now Tumpat police Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department chief, said information channelled by the sixth witness, former Deputy Superintendent S. Sivanganam, was not new to the SB.

      Jamaluddin, who was the acting Padang Besar SB chief, said the 11 names mentioned in Sivanganam's report which associated them with the human trafficking syndicate were only nicknames.

      “Several names in Sivanganam's report also appeared in an SB report. Hence the names were not new information, and they were only runners (for the human trafficking syndicate),” he told the seven-member panel.

      When asked by commission chairman, former chief justice Tun Arifin Zakaria, whether the middleman mentioned by Sivanganam, identified as Aziz or Azim, really existed, Jamaluddin nodded.

      He then requested media practitioners leave the hall, through conducting officer Khairul Anuar Abd Halim, when Arifin asked him to reveal the names that were under police surveillance as the information has been classified as confidential.

      Last week, during the second day of the public hearing, Sivanganam revealed that he had information on a middle man with the name "Azim or Aziz" who had helped the human trafficking syndicate to transport illegal immigrants out of the northern state.

      Meanwhile, three other witnesses were also called to testify at the inquiry today.

      Retired sub-inspectors Abdul Rahman Kashim and Zainuddin Husin, as well as Corporal Roshaidi Hussin, who is the supervisor at Wang Kelian police beat base, were called to testify on the standard operating procedures when it comes to detaining illegal immigrants.

      Among issues which were raised were the language barrier between the police and illegal immigrants and the number of police placed at the Kaki Bukit police station.

      When asked by one of the panel members, former Public Accounts Committee (PAC) deputy chairman Dr Tan Seng Giaw, if there was a need for the policemen to be fluent in several languages, Zainuddin agreed that it was necessary.

      Zainuddin said the three nationalities most commonly detained at the border there were mainly Thai, Myanmar and Bangladeshi.

      He also added there needs to be at least 30 policemen attached to the Kaki Bukit police station as patrols were frequently conducted.

      The RCI will continue on April 25.

      Delete
    4. This SB official is carrying the deceptive torch for someone and definitely he is trying to protect the interests.

      Delete
  7. Retrieved from Mkini...reporting provided by BERNAMA

    Cop says was told not to investigate after first body found in Wang Kelian
    Bernama | Published: 23 Apr 2019, 5:59 pm | Modified: 23 Apr 2019, 5:59 pm

    WANG KELIAN RCI | A witness in the Wang Kelian Royal Commission of Inquiry today testified that he was instructed not to proceed with the investigation after the first body was found at the summit of Bukit Wang Burma on March 6, 2015.

    Padang Besar Criminal Investigation Department acting head Junaidy Md Saad said the instruction was issued by a senior official after the case was classified as sudden death.

    Junaidy said he was not sure why the instruction was issued by the Padang Besar police chief, when the latter was leading the mission to dig out the grave-like structure with the forensic team on their return visit to the scene on March 6.

    "The mission that day was to ascertain whether there were bodies buried in that grave-like structure, and after digging at a depth of more than one foot, the team members found something wrapped in white cloth.

    "When the cloth was removed we found decomposed human remains… the body was not removed, but was reburied after photographs were taken,” he said when testifying on the fourth day of the public hearing before the seven-member RCI panel led by former chief justice Arifin Zakaria here today.

    Junaidy, who is currently based in Kedah as Pendang police headquarters Crime Prevention and Community Safety Division chief, said the forensic members then marked the 34 grave-like structures with forensic numbers for further action.

    Junaidy said upon instructions received from Padang Besar district police chief, an sudden death report was opened on March 8 for a postmortem to identify the cause of death.

    "Following that date, I did not conduct any investigation or follow-ups after being instructed by the district police chief, until I was called by Bukit Aman to meet the deputy inspector-general of police on May 11, 2015," he said.

    Junaidy earlier told the inquiry that they returned to the camp after the 38 illegal immigrants who were detained on Jan 19, 2015 were interviewed.

    Six of them had reported seeing a piece of land that resembled a grave at the temporary transit camp.

    Subsequently, he said he was directed to go to the location on Jan 23 to have a look and make a rough sketch of the area to be presented to his superiors.

    After presenting the report, he returned to the temporary transit camp on March 6 with the Perlis forensics team to identify whether there were bodies buried in the grave-like structures.

    When questioned by former IGP Norian Mai as to why no immediate action was taken when intuition should have told him that this was a criminal case, Junaidy said he could not take matters into his own hands, as this was a big case and he had no experience in handling such cases.

    Junaidy also informed the inquiry that the case which was initially classified as a police inquiry paper was investigated under Section 26A of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti- Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 after his meeting with the DIGP on May 11, 2015.

    According to him, then-IGP Khalid Abu Bakar later launched an operation codenamed ‘Op Wawasan Khas’ on May 25, 2015, for a thorough inspection to be carried out at the Bukit Wang Burma and Genting Perah areas and the operation was conducted entirely by Bukit Aman.

    He said subsequently ‘Op Wawasan Khas 2’ was mounted on August 16, 2015, during which the remains of 106 victims were discovered, adding that some of the remains were found in a detention shack.

    - Bernama

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cop involved in Wang Kelian camp discovery probed by MACC, suspended
    Anne Muhammad | Published: Today 4:29 pm | Modified: Today 4:29 pm

    WANG KELIAN RCI | A senior police officer, who was part of the discovery party that located human trafficking camps and mass graves in Wang Kelian in 2015, was allegedly twice probed and arrested by the MACC.

    As witness Wan Hamzah Wan Kadir told the Wang Kelian Royal Commission of Inquiry today, the officer in question, MA Joeking, was investigated twice by the commission over the smuggling of ketum leaves, rice and diesel.

    Wan Hamzah, the 14th witness in the RCI, served as the General Operations Force (GOF) 3rd Battalion Northern Brigade commanding officer in 2015, and Joeking as the 3rd Batalion Nothern Brigade Company B commander.

    Joeking had led a team to surveil and later destroy the jungle transit camps near the Thai border. He was also the fifth witness called to testify in the RCI.

    Wan Hamzah explained that MACC had begun observing Joeking (below) in 2011, arrested him in 2015 and 2019, and he was suspended from duty last month.

    "On March 2, 2015, MACC came to my office and arrested Joeking and several other officers.

    "I was the witness and (the arrest) had nothing to do with (the discovery of the camps in) Wang Burma," he said.

    Wan Hamzah added that following the arrests, he sent a letter to Joeking and the other officers affected not to conduct any operations with the GOF again.

    The RCI panel also questioned Wan Hamzah on Joeking’s credibility as a witness, considering the latter’s prior arrests. He did not respond, however.

    During his testimony on April 18, Joeking claimed that he was instructed by his commanding officer to delete photographs of the Wang Kelian operations, and that these photographs could only be stored at the battalion.

    He said that Wan Hamzah was his immediate superior at the time.

    Joeking also testified that he received specific instructions from the then-Perlis deputy police chief to destroy the camps without being given any reason to do so.

    He later instructed his team to stop burning or destroying anything after discovering several graves in the area.

    The deputy police chief in question, Md Zukir Md Isa (below), testified earlier today that the instruction to clear the camps was not to eliminate evidence, but rather prevent it from being used by undocumented migrants in the future.

    In May 2015, some 139 graves containing 106 skeletal remains – believed to be of Rohingya migrants – along with 28 abandoned human trafficking camps on Bukit Wang Burma, were discovered in Wang Kelian.

    An RCI into the matter was formed earlier this year, headed by former chief justice Ariffin Zakaria.

    He is being assisted by former inspector-general of police Norian Mai, along with five commissioners – former ambassador to Thailand Nazirah Hussin, former Public Accounts Committee deputy chairperson Tan Seng Giaw, former chief prosecutor Noorbahri Baharuddin, former diplomat Razali Ismail, and former head of research at the Attorney-General’s Chambers Junaidah Abdul Rahman.

    The inquiry has been given until September this year to prepare its report.

    The RCI entered its fifth day today.

    - Malaysiakini

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    Replies
    1. Instruction to destroy camp not meant to erase evidence, says ex-cop
      Anne Muhammad | Published: Today 4:35 pm | Modified: Today 4:35 pm

      WANG KELIAN RCI | Perlis deputy police chief Md Zukir Md Isa today stressed that his instruction to have the human trafficking camp in Wang Kelian cleared was not to eliminate evidence, but to prevent it from being used by undocumented migrants in the future.

      The retired cop is the 13th witness to testify at the Wang Kelian Royal Commission of Inquiry in Putrajaya, which entered its fifth day today.

      "The instruction was not to clear the camp overall, but only some parts of it. I did not intend to destroy the evidence.

      "I only asked to clear some parts such as the canvas covering the camp shelters (kanvas bahagian pelindung) and the water storage. The intention was to ensure that they were not to be used again," he said.

      On March 27, the Human Rights Commission and the NGO Fortify Rights in their report stated that the clearing of the camp had reduced the amount of evidence that could be used to facilitate investigations.

      The report also raised the issue of the four-month delay in exhuming bodies at the site, which complicated forensic experts' efforts to ascertain the causes of death.

      Last Thursday, the commander of the General Operations Force Company B 3rd Battalion Northern Brigade MA Joeking told the inquiry that the instruction to destroy the camp and graves had come from Zukir in a meeting before the operation commenced.

      Joeking added that before the decision was made, there was another discussion held by Zukir without his presence.

      Zukir today explained that his first instruction was to examine the grounds that appeared to be gravesites near the camp.

      "Towards the end of my instruction, I was asked about the temporary camps.

      "I asked to examine the grave-like structure and then to destroy the camp," he said, adding that he felt Joeking did not conduct the investigation thoroughly.

      On the delay in the investigation, Zukir admitted that there was no coordination between police personnel during the preliminary investigation.

      He said Bukit Aman had its own reasons on why the investigation was not expedited.

      "As far as I can remember, during a media conference by the former inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar, when asked on why police were slow in their action, he said that they needed more time to inspect the area."

      In the previous hearing, a former cop told that he was advised against conducting operations in the area, while another witness said he was instructed to halt investigations after the discovery of the first body at the peak of Bukit Wang Burma on March 6, 2015.

      In May 2015, some 139 graves containing 106 skeletal remains – believed to be of Rohingya migrants – along with 28 abandoned human trafficking camps on Bukit Wang Burma, were discovered in Wang Kelian.

      An RCI into the matter was formed earlier this year, headed by former chief justice Ariffin Zakaria.

      He is being assisted by former inspector-general of police Norian Mai, along with five commissioners – former ambassador to Thailand Nazirah Hussin, former Public Accounts Committee deputy chairperson Tan Seng Giaw, former chief prosecutor Noorbahri Baharuddin, former diplomat Razali Ismail, and former head of research at the Attorney-General’s Chambers Junaidah Abdul Rahman.

      The inquiry has been given until September this year to prepare its report.

      - Malaysiakini

      Delete
  9. Ex-IGP told us to 'hold on' when graves discovered, witness tells RCI
    Anne Muhammad | Published: Today 7:34 pm | Modified: Today 7:34 pm

    WANG KELIAN RCI | The delay in the police's handling of the mass graves in Wang Kelian was due to orders from then inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar, the Wang Kelian Royal Commission of Inquiry heard today.

    The inquiry's 16th witness, former Perlis police chief Zul Aznam Haron, said he immediately called Khalid upon hearing of the discovery of the graves, but the latter asked him to "hold."

    "When I contacted (Khalid), he issued specific orders to 'hold on' before taking further action.

    "He (Khalid) told us to hold on, as the matter required close scrutiny, as it had a big impact on the country and involved foreigners."

    Some 139 graves containing 106 skeletal remains – believed to be of Rohingya migrants – along with 28 abandoned human trafficking camps on Bukit Wang Burma, were discovered in Wang Kelian in January 2015.

    However, the bodies and remains were only brought down in stages, between May and August that year.

    An RCI into the matter was formed earlier this year, headed by former chief justice Ariffin Zakaria.

    He is being assisted by former inspector-general of police Norian Mai, along with five commissioners – former ambassador to Thailand Nazirah Hussin, former Public Accounts Committee deputy chairperson Tan Seng Giaw, former chief prosecutor Noorbahri Baharuddin, former Human Rights Commission chairperson Razali Ismail, and former head of research at the Attorney-General’s Chambers Junaidah Abdul Rahman.

    'You do not understand the police's job'

    Earlier, the hearing session became heated when Zul Aznam took aim at Razali for questioning the police's professionalism in handling the case.

    He alleged that the former Suhakam chief did not understand the job scope of the police.

    "As a retired police officer, I know how the police work, and how they act.

    "Perhaps Tan Sri (Razali) does not understand. The police should be left to investigate, we know what to do," he said.

    Earlier, Razali had called into question Zul Aznam's (above) professionalism for not knowing about the mass graves in Wang Kelian despite being the state police chief.

    Razali had also asked about the delay in bringing down the bodies discovered at the site.

    According to Zul Aznam, the police had sent an elite unit to the site in March 2015 to conduct surveillance and intelligence.

    "Tan Sri does not understand my explanation. The elite team does not make arrests, they conduct surveillance, they do the mapping.

    "These are the earlier courses of action before action is conducted. They (the elite unit) are not many (in number), they infiltrate the site," he said.

    - Malaysiakini

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  10. Wang Kelian victims were held up for months, forced to pay RM6,500
    AMAR SHAH MOHSEN / 25 APR 2019 / 14:51 H.

    PUTRAJAYA: Illegal immigrants who were trying to enter Malaysia through Thailand were kept in enclosures in human trafficking camps for months and extorted to pay about RM6,500 to the syndicates there to cross over the border, or risk being beaten to death.

    The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the Wang Kelian camps and mass graves was told that captives who were unable to make payment would be brutally tortured, and they were also forced to bury fellow victims who succumbed to injuries in shallow makeshift graves just meters from where they were held.

    The eighteenth witness in the RCI, Inspector Husyairi Musa, who was the then chief investigator at the Padang Besar district police headquarters, said this was based on statements recorded from several victims who managed to escape the camp into Malaysia in May 2015.

    “We arrested six Myanmar illegal immigrants, who at that time, was being ferried by a taxi near the border. In their statements, they claim that they were fleeing the conflict in their country. They took about 15 days by boat with over 300 people to reach Thailand, before they were detained by the syndicate.

    “They were then brought to a camp, and kept there about three to four months. Only those who paid RM6,500 are released and allowed into Malaysia,” he said, here, yesterday.

    “One of them told us that victims were being tortured if they fail to make payment. About 62 people died during the time I was there, either from being beaten, or food poisoning. And the captives themselves were asked to bury the dead,” he added.

    Husyairi said those who acted suspiciously would also be roughed up by the watch guards and placed in separate, much smaller cages as warning to the others.

    According to the inspector, the six detained illegal immigrants had escaped the trafficking camp after Thailand military conducted a raid at the location, forcing syndicate members to make a run.

    “They (immigrants) took that opportunity to break free from their enclosures and ran into the jungle without a clear direction for about three days. They then met a Thai who told them they had entered Malaysia,” he said, adding that the Thai man had led them to a taxi near the border in Malaysia.

    Husyairi said the taxi driver, a Malaysian, was also arrested with the six immigrants, and was charged under Section 26J of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti- Smuggling of Migrants Act for transporting illegal immigrants and fined RM20,000.

    The RCI public hearing will continue on May 7.

    - theSundaily
    https://www.thesundaily.my/local/wang-kelian-victims-were-held-up-for-months-forced-to-pay-rm6-500-AI820882

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wang Kelian: VAT 69 commandos found 14 tents during operation
    Bernama | Published: Today 4:58 pm | Modified: Today 4:58 pm

    WANG KELIAN RCI | The search operation by the VAT 69 commando team in the forest area in Genting Perah, Perlis, in March 2015, led to the discovery of a transit camp with 14 tents being used by undocumented migrants.

    The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the discovery of the temporary transit camps and mass graves at Wang Kelian, Perlis, was told as such by Mohamad Afiq Sarmid, from the VAT 69 team based in Ulu Kinta, Perak.

    Mohamad Afiq, who is the 17th witness giving testimony, said that the team also arrested five undocumented migrants about 200m away from the camp.

    He said the operation, involving 24 personnel, was carried out following the discovery of a transit camp and graves at Bukit Wang Burma in January 2015.

    His team was tasked to confirm if there was a settlement of undocumented migrants in Genting Perah.

    “It took time for us to reach the place and we only found it on the third day, which was March 13,” he said, adding that he was instructed by the Intelligence Staff Officer to lead the operation.

    Mohamad Afiq, who is now VAT 69 Delta Squadron assistant commander, said all the tents discovered by the team were old ones as only their frames remained.

    Following the discovery of the camp, he said the team combed nearby areas and found five foreigners walking in the area.

    A search was conducted on them, following which a pistol and a knife were found on two Thai nationals.

    No weapon was found on the other three, who are Rohingya, but they did not have valid travel documents, he added.

    Mohamad Afiq said he then contacted the commanding officer at the Tactical Headquarters and was instructed to hand over the evidence, as well as the five foreigners, to the Special Branch, Perlis police contingent headquarters.

    Questioned by RCI deputy chairperson Norian Mai over why no grave was found during the operation, Mohamad Afiq said he was just following instructions and that the objective of the operation was to detect the presence of illegal immigrants.

    Meanwhile, the 18th witness, Inspector Mohd Husyairi Musa, who was ordered to bring the illegal immigrants to the Padang Besar district police headquarters, said the foreigners were handed over to him at a rubbish dumping ground at the Perlis National Park at about 5 pm on March 13, 2015.

    Mohd Husyairi, who was then Operation Intelligence Inspector at the Padang Besar district police headquarters, said the foreigners were handed over to him with their hands bound.

    He added that after another search, a brown bag containing RM410 and Thai currency amounting to 100 baht, was found.

    - Bernama

    https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/473718

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wang Kelian RCI: Video shows senior police officer taking money from syndicate
    By Teoh Pei Ying and Nor Ain Mohamed Radhi - May 9, 2019 @ 6:29pm

    PUTRAJAYA: The Wang Kelian Royal Commission Inquiry was told that the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) had video evidence showing a senior police officer taking money from a human trafficking syndicate.

    Farrah Naz Karim, the 23rd witness of the public inquiry, however said she did not personally view the video.

    “I was informed of the video, but I could not verify because I do not have access to it.”

    Farrah then suggested to the panel to get the video from the EAIC.

    She said EAIC had called her and reporter Aliza Shah Muhammad Shah to have their statement recorded after a series of reports on the Wang Kelian issue.

    “I received an email from the EAIC. They asked us to be present to facilitate the investigation.

    “I went there with the then NST executive editor, Muzli Mohd Zin.

    “We sat in front of the four-member panel for two hours.

    “At the end of it, they told me that they had enough grounds to start the investigation (on Wang Kelian).

    “Later, I was informed that the EAIC chairman paid a courtesy call to the (then) inspector-general of police (Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun) and senior management of the police.

    “The EAIC chairman had briefed Fuzi and senior management of the police on what we had discussed earlier.

    “I felt betrayed when I found out the EAIC chairman had ordered to drop the case.

    “I was puzzled as EAIC was supposed to look into the case. I also heard that EAIC had videos that show the head of a particular OCPD taking money from the human trafficking syndicate.”

    Arifin (RCI chairman): Who received the money?

    Farrah Naz: We were told that EAIC had been looking into issues at the (Malaysia-Thai) border for quite sometime, and they had secured some evidence and CCTV clippings of a particular senior police officer receiving money.

    Cont. Below

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some members of the EAIC were unhappy (with the decision to drop the case) and they eventually quit the commission.

      Earlier, Farrah told the panel she had “stopped” her investigation after receiving a written answer from the IGP office days after the Dec 20, 2017 report.

      “I tried to get the IGP and deputy IGP to respond for my follow-up, but they were non-committal. “On Dec 21, I called (Tan Sri) Fuzi at noon, and we had a 30 minute chat, but he also did not answer my question.

      “He told me that he couldn’t comment much because (Tan Sri) Khalid was his former boss.

      “He then asked me to call him back in the evening.

      “In the evening, when I was about to make the call, I was informed that the IGP would not entertain me and my colleague, and asked to wait for further response,” she added.

      Farrah said she then received a call from her superior on Dec 24 telling her the IGP’s office had sent in the answer.

      “I received the instruction not to present the story in any other way, but in verbatim and required not to do a follow-up after that.

      “Hence, the story was not highlighted and it ended there.”

      Farrah said she had instructed Aliza to “ambush” Khalid at a bowling event, after messages sent to him went unanswered.

      “He read those messages, but did not reply to any.

      “Aliza went to meet Khalid, and later briefed me on what had transpired.

      “Following that, we continued to dig for more information and made calls.”

      Farrah said she then received another document, with a note, telling her why the IGP had lied to them.

      “The document suggested another cover-up and withholding of information.”

      Farrah said together with Aliza, she then went to meet the then home minister, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, in Parliament.

      “We sat down with him because of the seriousness of the allegations, along with the dummy of the report.

      “We wanted to get his verification. He then told us to go ahead (with the report) and hoped that the truth would prevail.”

      She added that, in total, she had received one call from an unknown caller and two envelops from unknown sources that disclosed information on the case.

      - NST

      https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2019/05/487102/wang-kelian-rci-video-shows-senior-police-officer-taking-money-syndicate

      Delete
  13. Wang Kelian RCI: Easy access to Malaysia from Thailand, says witness
    NATION Wednesday, 8 May 2019; 6:11 PM MYT

    By Joseph Kaos Jr

    PUTRAJAYA: The journalist who discovered mass graves in Perlis in 2015 says it was easy to cross between the Malaysian-Thai border.

    S. Arulldas, who was then a reporter with the Malay Mail, told the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) here that he and colleague Mohd Sayuti Zainudin climbed a hill from Thailand side near Padang Besar and easily walked into Malaysia territory.

    Together with two Thai guides, they discovered a secret camp believed used by human traffickers.

    "On May 13 2015, we met up with two Thai men who promised to guide us to the migrant camps.

    "We entered Thailand via Padang Besar and used a 4x4 vehicle to get to a foothill near Ban Talo.

    "When we started walking, we arrived at a clearing where we saw a lot of rubbish such as a plastic packets for food as well as clothes.

    "We bumped into some Thai army personnel. After our guides spoke to them, we were allowed to proceed.

    "After over an hour, we came across some barbed wire which served as the border between Malaysia and Thailand.

    "It was only thigh-high and easy to step over and enter the other side.

    "Not long after that, we found the camp site," said Arulldas at the seventh day of the RCI hearing here.

    Arulldas told the inquiry that the path to get to the camp site from Thailand was "easy", although as a 60-year-old then, he had difficulty climbing the hill.

    "The climb for me was killing and painful. We had to stop a few times so I could take a rest," he said.

    At the camp site, Arulldas and Mohd Sayuti discovered what appeared to be graves where bodies of migrants were buried.

    "I felt sad and had my hands on my head when I saw the graves. How could migrants be subjected to such treatment like this?" said Arulldas.

    Mohd Sayuti, the 22nd witness at the RCI, said as part of their investigative reporting, he and Arulldas observed how lax the security at the Malaysian-Thai border was.

    "In Danok, for example, we saw immigration cards were being handed out without going through proper procedures," said the photographer.

    The RCI was set up with the consent of Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Jan 29. 2019 to review the findings in the discovery of 139 graves and 28 human trafficking camps in Wang Kelian back on 2015.

    The inquiry is chaired by former Chief Justice Tun Ariffin Zakaria.

    - the Star Online


    Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/05/08/wang-kelian-rci-easy-access-to-malaysia-from-thailand-says-witness/#zH71oD1y7FojBgB0.99

    ReplyDelete
  14. Tontos placing GPS devices on Aksem vehicles
    Bernama | Published: 12 May 2019, 9:17 pm

    Tonto syndicates are getting more brazen now and are fixing Global Positioning System (GPS) devices on vehicles belonging to the Malaysian Border Security Agency (Aksem), to track the movements of enforcement personnel stationed at the nation’s borders.

    (Tonto syndicates comprise individuals or tontos who trail enforcement officers to tip off wrongdoers)

    Aksem director-general Shaharuddin Abu Sohot said that three vehicles were detected with GPS devices placed on their rear bumpers earlier this year.

    "When our personnel carried out a vehicle inspection, we found a suspicious gadget which turned out to be a functioning GPS device.

    "The tontos now use technology like GPS aid which we believe are placed on our vehicles to track the movement of Aksem personnel patrolling the country's borders," he told Bernama.

    As such, Shaharuddin said all Aksem vehicles had been ordered to undergo a thorough inspection to ensure that no devices such as GPS, were found.

    "Indeed, the tonto syndicates will monitor enforcement personnel and we are investigating as to how the devices could be placed on the vehicles.

    "There is a possibility that the devices were installed when MBSA sent its vehicles for servicing and maintenance at the (work)shop... however, investigations are still in progress," Shaharuddin said.

    He reminded the agency’s personnel to be alert to the threats of the tonto groups as they could act aggressively.

    "Aksem personnel have also been supplied with firearms should they face certain threats," he said.

    The tontos’ threat to border enforcement personnel was apparent when a female customs officer Anisah Ali, died in an alleged mishap in 2016.

    Anisah, 54, and her two colleagues were trailing a vehicle which was suspected to be carrying smuggled cigarettes when the incident took place.

    Their vehicle was hit by a four-wheel-drive vehicle, believed to belong to tontos, at Banggol Chicha, Pasir Mas, Kelantan.

    - Bernama

    https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/475889

    ReplyDelete
  15. More than half of M'sia-Thai border still unfenced, RCI told
    Bernama | Published: 14 May 2019, 6:04 pm | Modified: 14 May 2019, 6:04 pm

    WANG KELIAN RCI | The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the discovery of temporary transit camps and graves in Wang Kelian was told today that more than half of the 106km border shared by Perlis and Thailand is unfenced.

    The inquiry's 25th witness, former Perlis National Security Council director Safrul Faiz Abdul Satar said that 50km of the border was fenced up from 2010 to September 2018.

    “The border that is not (fenced) is classified as difficult to penetrate, far from settlements, and along permanent forest reserves,” he said.

    Safrul Faiz said the first time he was informed about the Wang Kelian migrant transit camps was during a State Security Committee meeting in 2015.

    “I was shocked as it seemed the areas (involved) were difficult terrain and paths barely used by migrants to cross over (into Malaysia).

    "They normally use the slope routes into Perlis or Kedah from the neighbouring country,” he said.

    When asked on Malaysia-Thai border cooperation, Safrul Faiz said both countries signed an agreement in 1977 to fight communist threats, and that a new improvised agreement was signed in May 2000.

    The proceedings of the RCI were later held behind closed doors when Safrul was asked whether both countries had discussed specific border issues, as the testimony would contain classified and sensitive information.

    The closed-door proceedings took about an hour, and once the media was allowed in again, 26th witness, Zamri Hamzah from the National Security Council, was in the midst of his testimony.


    Zamri said the border walls and fencing along Perlis-Thailand are capable of being breached via sabotage or environmental factors, such as uprooted trees, and these (walls and fencing) have to be fixed from time to time.

    The RCI continues tomorrow.

    - Bernama

    - M'kini

    https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/476126

    ReplyDelete
  16. RCI: Money for release from camps in Perlis, Thailand, paid to Malaysians - Witness
    Bernama | Published: 16 May 2019, 4:59 pm | Modified: 16 May 2019, 4:59 pm

    The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the discovery of temporary transit camps and mass graves in Wang Kelian, Perlis, was told today that foreigners deposited money into the bank accounts of Malaysian citizens as a condition to release their family members from the Wang Kelian camp, as well as camps in Thailand.

    The 33rd witness, Inspector Mohd Suffian Abdul Rashid, who was previously an investigating officer at the Anti-Money Laundering Unit of the Crime Investigation Division, Bukit Aman, said the two Malaysians who accepted money from the foreigners into their accounts were Ku Hamid Ku Musa and Arifin Abdullah Ali.

    He said investigations found that a Myanmar national deposited RM4,000 into Ku Hamid’s account on Oct 2, 2014, to release his nephew from the Wang Kelian camp, while another Rohingya deposited RM5,800 into Arifin’s account to secure the release of his uncle who was held in a detention camp in Thailand.

    Mohd Suffian said investigations conducted on Ku Hamid, who was a Malaysian citizen born in Myanmar and worked as a labourer, found that he had more than RM19,000 in his bank account, as well as cashier’s cheques amounting to RM21,000.

    He said Ku Hamid told him he had given his ATM card to a Thai national named Kaw to be used, but efforts by the police to track down Kaw were futile.

    Mohd Suffian said money and property belong to Ku Hamid and Arifin, including their vehicles, were forfeited under Section 4(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA).

    Hearing held behind closed doors

    Members of the media and the public could only observe the RCI proceedings for about 40 minutes today when Mohd Suffian was giving his statement.

    After he finished, the RCI was conducted behind closed-doors from 10.40am until it finished at 1.15pm, as the evidence given by witnesses was confidential and sensitive.

    It is understood that three witnesses gave their statements behind closed doors - two members of the public and the first witness who was recalled by RCI, Corporal Mat Ten of the Third Battalion, General Operations Force in Bedong, Kedah.

    To date, 35 witnesses have given their statements to the RCI during 11 days of proceedings.

    According to a statement from the Home Ministry today, the RCI will resume on May 27.

    - Bernama

    - Mkini

    https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/476377

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wang Kelian RCI: Ex-IGP grilled over 2-month delay in probe

    By Rahmat Khairulrijal - June 17, 2019 @ 4:52pm

    PUTRAJAYA: The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) probing the Wang Kelian human trafficking incident today expressed bafflement over the two-month postponement by police to take action after the discovery of graves near the Wang Burma campsite.

    The panel, chaired by former chief justice Tun Arifin Zakaria, grilled the former inspector-general of police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar who claimed that the police needed time to gather intelligence.

    “I received a call from the then Perlis police chief Datuk Zul Aznam Haron on the discovery (of the graves) but he failed to answer me when I asked him further questions.

    “He said he was unsure whether the campsite was inside our territory as it was very close to the Malaysia-Thailand border.

    “This had led me to say ‘hold on’ to allow him and his team to gather evidence and thorough intelligence,” he said when testifying as the 47th witness today.

    Khalid said police needed to be careful when conducting their investigations as the issue involved diplomatic relations as it was close to the border.

    “We could not simply go to the ground and conduct investigations without knowing whether the place is in our jurisdiction or not.

    “That is why I said ‘hold on’ to him,” he said, adding that he had informed his Thai counterpart during a meeting in Phuket later.

    However, Khalid’s explanation failed to satisfy the panel which later questioned the need to take more than two months to verify whether the site in question was located inside the country.

    Tun Arifin said the process to identify the area could take merely an hour or a day.

    Tun Arifin: When we find something, we must cordon off the area and go to the crime scene to gather evidence. However, when you told them to hold on, they never went into the site.

    Khalid: Yes, I agree. That is what I expected them to do (gather evidence).

    Tun Ariffin: When did you know the area was our area?

    Khalid: I can’t remember, but it was during a briefing by the state police chief (Datuk Zul Aznam).

    Khalid said he was unimpressed with the state police’s performance as they had failed to give him detailed information about the incident.

    He said the government, through its National Security Council (NSC), was more concerned about identifying top brass who were believed to be in cahoots with the smugglers.

    “The then prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was more concerned on the involvement of our senior officers in this issue.

    “However, we could not found any,” he said.

    The RCI was set up to look into the March 2015 discovery of illegal immigrants, transit camps and 147 mass graves in Wang Kelian.

    The skeletal remains of 130 people, believed to be victims of a human trafficking syndicate, were found buried in the hills of Wang Kelian.

    The tragedy which involved victims from the ethnic Rohingya community of Myanmar and Bangladesh attracted the attention of the international community.

    - NST
    https://www.nst.com.my/news/crime-courts/2019/06/497015/wang-kelian-rci-ex-igp-grilled-over-2-month-delay-probe

    ReplyDelete
  18. The article below is just to further confirm suspicions that ammunitions, firearms, and weapons of violence are readily available via smuggling from Thailand.


    Suspected people smuggler caught with ‘live’ bullets at Malaysia-Thai border

    Published on 11 June 2019

    ALOR SETAR, June 11 — The General Operations Force (GOF) apprehended a Myanmar man at a rubber smallholding near the Thai border, near Bukit Kayu Hitam, last Sunday for possessing 13 ‘live’ bullets.

    GOF 18th Battalion Commanding Officer, Supt Khalid Saion, said the 35-year-old man was stopped by a GOF team at 8.40pm who were on patrol after they noticed him behaving suspiciously.

    “He had no valid travel papers on him, and checking further, they found a total of 13 brandless 12 Bore shotgun bullets in his sling bag, which led to his arrest,” he told Bernama, here today.

    Khalid said the suspect, who could not converse in Malay, is believed to have been waiting to smuggle a group of foreigners into the country.

    “We are investigating the case from all angles, including what the bullets were meant to be used for,” he said, adding that the suspect was brought to the Kubang Pasu district police headquarters for further action.

    He said the arrest was part of the GOF’s successful monitoring of the Malaysian-Thai border under Ops Wawasan Kedah/Perlis since June 1.

    “We are also responsible in monitoring security at the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complex in Padang Besar and in Wang Kelian as well as Kota Putra in Padang Terap,” he said.

    — Bernama
    https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/06/11/suspected-people-smuggler-caught-with-live-bullets-at-malaysia-thai-border/1761128

    ReplyDelete