Govt to propose establishment of special committee to combat cross-border crime - Latiff

PUTRAJAYA - The government will propose the idea of establishing a special committee to take action against cross-border crime at the Asean level in the Cabinet meeting tomorrow.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Special Functions) Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad said the government was serious about specific matters such as the involvement of Malaysians in what was said to be slavery in several Asian countries.

“We feel called to highlight the matter in tomorrow's cabinet meeting, the issue involves individuals from various ethnic of Malaysians and need to be taken seriously,” he said during the during press conference at his ministry.

The press conference was also attended by families of the individuals who fell victims for the job fraud syndicate and several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) here on Tuesday.

He said this was upon the instruction of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Commenting further on the issue, he said the relevant authorities, including his department, the police and NGOs, had received reports from the family members of the victims since the reopening of the national border on April 1.

“I strongly believe that the matter can be combatted holistically tomorrow after we present the matter to the cabinet.

He said that based on the press release issued by Wisma Putra, the reported case in Cambodia had reached 153 cases, but only 20 of them were successfully brought home.

“However, there are also victims that do not lodge any reports so it is very hard for the rescue team to bring them back home,” he said.

Recently, it was reported that five more Malaysians were successfully rescued and returned to their homeland after being tricked into becoming victims of a fraudulent job offer syndicate in Cambodia.

Latiff said that a total of 143 victims were rescued from Cambodia.

He said they were in contact with the respective countries such as Cambodia and Laos but had a little problem with Myanmar's government regarding the issue.

“In Myanmar, there are 58 people that have made the report but I believe it is only the tip of the iceberg and most of them are gathering at Myawaddy.

“They have yet to be rescued but they are still in contact with their family members,” he said.

Among the NGOs present were the Malaysian International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) represented by MHO Secretary Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim and Malaysia Community Crime Care (MCCC) represented by its president Tan Sri Musa Hassan.

Musa, who was also the former Inspector-General of Police said he had been in contact with the police at the D3 Anti-Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Division (Atipsom) to obtain more information about the syndicate and hoped that the division would also be able to assist in the investigation and rescue the victims.