Dr Tan Seng Giaw, who was commenting on the RCI’s report released yesterday, said more effective control and coordination between Malaysia and Thailand were needed to better combat trafficking cases along their common border.
“What we need is stricter, more effective control of our borders. (There has to be) constant control with well-trained and disciplined personnel.
“We have to improve coordination between the two countries, not just on issues of human trafficking, but also on drugs and other goods,” the former Public Accounts Committee (PAC) deputy chairman told FMT.
The Wang Kelian RCI ran from March 5 to Sept 4, 2019 following the discovery of 139 mass graves in 28 abandoned migrant “prison camps” close to the Malaysia-Thailand border in 2015.
Similar graves were found near the border in Thailand, with the victims said to have come from Myanmar and Bangladesh in search of jobs.
The report said a large part of the border was undeveloped, which made it easier for smugglers to operate.
“This was the main factor which contributed to the Wang Kelian incident,” it said.
It said the smuggling and deaths of the undocumented migrants could have been avoided if the authorities had been more proactive in patrolling the border areas.
According to Berita Harian, the 184-page report details the chronology of the discovery of the camps at Wang Kelian, the investigations that took place, and the border control and response of the various agencies involved.
It said the border was guarded by the police’s General Operations Force and the Malaysian Armed Forces, according to areas determined by the National Operation Planning Committee.
The RCI’s findings revealed that the number of personnel deployed to patrol the area, as well as equipment such as patrol vehicles, were not sufficient.
The report said the border walls and gates were not built to sufficiently cover open areas, with assets not properly maintained.
“It does not take much effort to detect what happened in Bukit Wang Burma as shown by S1 (first RCI witness, a GOF personnel who found the camp),” said the report.
“What is needed among the enforcement officers is dedication, commitment and imagination to carry out their duties.”
It also said the stretch between Wang Kelian and Bukit Kayu Hitam could be easily penetrated even with the presence of the fence, wall, guard posts and secure roads there.
It was found that the stretch, which was fenced and had control posts, was easily penetrated because of the lack of patrols and CCTV cameras.
In addition, many of the CCTV cameras at the Bukit Kayu Hitam immigration, customs, quarantine and security complex were found to be out of order.
There was also no one living in areas surrounding the Wang Kelian border who could provide Malaysian enforcement with information on smugglers, the report said.
It said there were weaknesses in the coordination among the border control enforcement agencies such as the GOF, the Malaysian Border Control Agency, the army, the immigration and customs departments and other agencies.
“The roles of these various border control agencies involve several layers that can weaken security at the border, especially with the lack of effective coordination,” it said.