“This is a serious allegation against my organisation,” Khalid told FMT, adding police should be given more to work with.
He was responding to a report by UK-based The Guardian, which detailed the suffering of workers due a long list of abuses, basic human rights restrictions, discrimination and, worse, abuse of power by members of the police force.
The report said migrants, especially those who were undocumented, were afraid of the police, whom one worker described as “robbers in a uniform”.
It quoted one Cambodian worker, Vani, who said that he had been picked up four times by the police, and each time had to pay them a hefty “fine”.
He also recounted how, the first time, he tried to talk his way out but was beaten by the policemen. He ended up having to part with over RM700, almost a month’s wages.
“Unfortunately, we will not be able to check its (the report) authenticity unless the complainant is made available to us for verification,” said Khalid.
He said while he did not “totally deny” the possibility of the alleged abuses, the report would be unfair “if we are not able to investigate the incident”.