KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — Penang lawmakers were shocked over the discovery of 24 deaths of foreigners linked to human trafficking syndicates and demanded the government take the matter seriously.
Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin said he was disappointed because it put Malaysia in bad light on the World Watch List.
“Malaysia is already on the list for human trafficking, child labour and forced labour.”
Sim said foreign workers were usually lured by good pay but then were cheated, had their passports confiscated and lived in poor conditions.
Many industries used forced labour, which Sim said was against human rights.
“We cannot accept such acts and I warn electrical and electronics industries in Penang to not take the easy way out.
“The authorities are in the know, and it is time for police to take action,” he said.
Sim said the state government could not do much as border control was under federal government jurisdiction.
“We can only apply pressure to speed things up in strengthening security at the borders and make repairs to the fencing,” said Sim, who urged northern states in particular to pressure the Federal government.
“Our borders are porous because there is no enforcement and authorities seem to be doing a bad job at securing them.
“The government cannot escape the responsibility of safeguarding our borders.”
Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh Deo said it was an open secret the Malaysia-Thailand border was easy to access.
“The ease of crossing the border has now spilled into the peninsula and problems are arising in Penang,” he said.
“The state should push the federal government to do what needs to be done.”
Universiti Sains Malaysia associate professor of criminology Dr P. Sundramoorthy described the situation as “shocking”.
He said the issue must be addressed immediately, otherwise Penang would be labelled as “killing fields” for foreigners.
He said law enforcement agencies should conduct a massive and aggressive exercise nationwide to flush out illegal immigrants and to prevent them from entering the country.
“It should not be one-off but must be continued until we feel safe,” he said.
Tenaganita director Aegile Fernandez said there seemed to be no political will in combating human trafficking.
In research on human trafficking through the Malaysia-Thailand border she conducted five years ago, she said it was discovered traffickers openly mingled with border patrol officers.
However, she said officers at the border were fearful of traffickers, who threatened them and their families.
“How come these officers do not have protection from their own agencies?” she asked yesterday.
She said the authorities should look deeper into human trafficking issues.
“It has been brought up for many years but without the political will to strengthen borders and enforce the law against traffickers, nothing will change,” she said.
