Report ready by September.
The final report and recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the discovery of transit camps and mass graves in Wang Kelian, Perlis, will be presented to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah in early September.
RCI chairman Tun Arifin Zakaria said the report and recommendations would be prepared based on the findings during the 17-day inquiry involving 48 witnesses since April 17.
He said after 17 days of inquiry, the public hearing concluded today which would allow commission members to hold a meeting to prepare the report.
“We have two months for that and Insyaallah (God willing) we can present the report to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in early September,” he said.
He also admitted that the police had done their best in handling the case.
“There are just a few things, like when we wanted to have witnesses from Thailand but did not receive the best cooperation…so it’s hard to get the whole picture.
“However, I think the RCI’s target has been achieved, which makes it easy for us to make recommendations such as improvement to be made in terms of border control security as well as cooperation with international agencies,” he said.
Asked whether the recommendation would be made public, Arifin, who is also former Chief Justice, said the commission would leave it to the government to decide on the matter.
Meanwhile, RCI deputy chairman and former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai said the decision whether the case should be reopened would depend on the findings and discussions of the commission members later.
The RCI, which was set up with the consent of Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Jan 29, was held at the Home Ministry’s Dewan Gemilang, which was converted into a courtroom.
It was held following the discovery of 139 graves and 28 human trafficking camps found at the peak of Bukit Wang Burma in Wang Kelian, located at the Malaysia-Thailand border.
The RCI, among other things, aimed at examining all documents and evidence relating to the case of temporary camp plots and graves in Wang Kelian.
Earlier, an investigating officer testified that inadequate information was among the reasons why investigations into the discovery of human trafficking transit camps and graves in Wang Kelian, Perlis came to a standstill.
Supt Woon Tan Seng said victims or witnesses were also reluctant to come forward to assist in investigations as they did not know that their identity would be concealed under the Witness Protection Act.
The 48th witness in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) also did not deny that lack of coordination in certain matters such as exchange of information among the relevant security agencies, could have contributed to the weaknesses in the probe.
“In this case, we could not expand the investigations because of sufficient information,” he said during the proceedings.
He said that the witnesses could also have shied away because they had acquired the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card or were now working and may be concerned that their interests would be affected.
Supt Woon, who is based at the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department as crime analysis/statistics assistant director, was the sole witness on the 17th day and last session of the RCI.
When asked whether the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 was comprehensive enough to prevent a recurrence of such incident, he said it was.
Nevertheless, he said the department would periodically conduct courses for its personnel including the General Operations Force.
“The Act is good and adequate except that we need to increase the strength of our personnel at the border, step up patrolling, besides using state-of-the-art monitoring equipment such as drones for dense forested areas where access is hindered,” he said.
To a question from Arifin on the outcome of the investigations into the death of 106 undocumented foreigners at the site, he said the incidents were not due to abuse.
He said that the deaths were due to illness, a usual phenomenon in the forest, coupled with the scarcity of food in the camps.
“Some witnesses admitted that they were whipped; there were bruises and bandages but the injuries in my view were not the cause of the deaths,” he said.
He also said the actual cause could not be ascertained from the post-mortem conducted by government pathologists.
Earlier reports:
Jun 17, Wang Kelian RCI: Day 16
Jun 13, Wang Kelian RCI: Day 15
Jun 12, Wang Kelian RCI: Day 14
May 27, Wang Kelian RCI: Day 12
May 16, Wang Kelian RCI: Day 11
May 15, Wang Kelian RCI: Day 10
May 14, Wang Kelian RCI: Day Nine
May 10, Wang Kelian RCI: Day Eight
May 8, Wang Kelian RCI: Day Seven
Apr 26, Wang Kelian RCI: Day Six
Apr 24, Wang Kelian RCI: Day Five
Apr 23, Wang Kelian RCI: Day Four
Apr 22, Wang Kelian RCI: Day Three
Apr 19, Wang Kelian RCI: Suspected Involvement of Malaysians in Human Trafficking
Apr 17, Wang Kelian RCI: Day One