KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 — The discovery of a migrant “prison camp” near the Malaysia-Thailand border should have sounded the alarm in the Forestry Department on illegal land clearing.
National Security Council chairman Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said pictures taken by Malay Mail showed the activities had continued for a while and should have been noticed early on.
“I am shocked as this is clearly a serious security matter. Though I leave it to the police to investigate, how had the forest rangers not detected these activities?” he asked.
“They should have known of it and reported it to the police.”
Handed a copy of Malay Mail’s special report, Shahidan took his time to analyse photos of the prison camp.
“This is a forest reserve area and this is not recent. It has been there for a long time,” he said as he scrutinised the pictures.
Told it was located not far from Padang Besar, he said: “It can’t be. This is most likely in the forest reserve area.”
Shahidan said he would follow up with the Forestry Department and visit his “home” to inspect the area.
The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department also said the issue had to be addressed as it may result in the country losing its forests.
Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar denied any knowledge of a prison camp or allegations of a mass grave of immigrants on Malaysian soil.
“Those are only in Thailand and I have no authority to speak of their country. If it is in Malaysia, then I will wait for police to inform me on it,” he said.
Wan Junaidi declined to read the Malay Mail special report. “What is this? You write this and give it to me? I can’t read it (now). I don’t even have time to read the papers (nowadays),” he said.
On Saturday, Malay Mail reported the journey of journalist S. Arulldas and photographer Sayuti Zainudin, as they braved the jungle at the Malaysia-Thailand border to find an abandoned campsite, believed to have been the traffickers’ transit camp.
It was claimed a mass grave, which contained remains of human trafficking victims who died from starvation or illness, or who were killed, was located in the area.
