KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 — The defeaning silence from the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the 2015 discovery of a mass grave site in Perlis was due to political games, an officer involved in the inquiry reportedly revealed.
Dr Tan Seng Giaw told Utusan Malaysia that the RCI into the 139 bodies found in Bukit Wang Burma, Wang Kelian has been completed.
"Will (the findings of the investigation by) RCI bring votes? Maybe not because this issue happened too long ago (which is why it is only now being revealed),” he was quoted as saying, reportedly expressing his opinion that the matter was not attractive to politicians who are out to garner votes, with the general election on the horizon.
However, he added that: "It is only our conjecture. We can only hope that the government is able to explain how the government handles such a matter."
Dr Tan, a DAP member since 1979, explained that among the reasons for the occurrence of the Wang Kelian case was Malaysia’s welcome of the Rohingyas, which allowed criminals to trick the less informed refugees.
"There are syndicates going to villages in Myanmar to spread news of (countries welcoming Rohingyas), telling those who are suffering, finding work and so on that there is a ‘haven’ in Malaysia.
"These villagers were not informed and agreed to come here by following the syndicate, but instead they were brought to the hills on the Malaysia-Thailand border and held hostage to threaten their families for money if they did not wish the victim to be tortured and killed,” he was quoted saying.
He expressed his hopes that Malaysia would be able to take steps to improve its border security, as the country shares many borders with Thailand, Indonesia and Kalimantan.
Local traders based in Wang Kelian were also reportedly affected by the mass grave site discovery as it led to the closure of a free zone at the Wang Kelian-Wang Prachan border.
"Ever since the free zone was closed, we have experienced heavy consequences and many locals have lost their source of income after this area became a dead town,” a 43-year-old local trader identified only as Ida told the Malay-language daily..
In 2015, police discovered 139 mass graves in 28 abandoned migrant "prison camps” close to the Malaysia-Thailand border following the discovery of similar graves in Thailand.
