KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 ― Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim lacks empathy and compassion as a human being with his suggestion to turn one of Malaysia’s largest human trafficking camps where the remains of hundreds of refugees were recently unearthed, into a tourist attraction, DAP’s Syerleena Abdul Rashid said today.

The political education director for her party’s Bukit Bendera women’s wing said that while the niche “dark tourism” was a viable sector, the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department had “shocked the nation” with his “upsetting” comment.

Dark tourism is defined as tourism that involves travel to sites historically associated with death and tragedy.

“The callous statements made regarding the refugee crisis, from day one, have shown his utter lack of compassion and empathy. His recent proposal to turn tragedy into profit is unsettling and is especially hurtful to those who have lost their loved ones simply because our system failed to protect the well-being of other human beings,” she said in a statement.

Shahidan made the suggestion following a visit to the camp near Lubuk Sireh, Perlis yesterday, reportedly saying it was “very nice” because it had facilities such as a surau, a mosque, a house for an imam and a vegetable farm.

The former Perlis mentri besar said that turning the site into a tourist attraction would also deter human trafficking activities from taking place as there will be more people in the area, adding that he would bring the idea to the state government and police.

Syerleena said exploring the niche tourism would require comprehensive research, detailed planning and thorough understanding of the human psychology.

“It is best to let the field experts decide and conclude if such sites are conducive to be turned into a tourist attractions. How can we avoid exploiting the grievances of both victims and survivors of trafficking? Can we guarantee an industry that will not produce something immoral from these gruesome discoveries? How can we raise the level of awareness without being disrespectful?

“These questions can only be answered by those qualified and competent in the field; those who have dedicated a considerable amount of time trained in this subject ― unfortunately, Shahidan Kassim does not make that cut and it would be in his best interest to refrain from commenting on this matter any further,” the Penang city councillor said.

Syerleena said that “dark tourism” sector is relatively new in mainstream society and only in 2012, was the Dark Tourism Institute founded to record all types of macabre locations and to provide much needed industry guidelines.

“Very sites succeed in presenting a level of education and awareness in a tasteful manner. For example, the Sri Lankan army came under fire for their plans to ‘open holiday homes on a site where tens of thousands of civilians were killed in the civil war. Many saw this as the army’s way of glorifying the senseless deaths that took place,” she said.

Several examples of dark tourism sites would be the Choeng Ek killing field and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Prypiat in Ukraine near the site of Chernobyl nuclear power station, the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland and Hiroshima’s Memorial Park.