Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Wang Kelian - Muhyiddin - DPM when it happened, then Home Minister after RCI done, now PM? What is the government HIDING?

WANG KELIAN - What exactly is the government hiding? It may be first Royal Commission of Inquiry report that Malaysians have kept away from. 


The discovery of the Wang Kelian camp/s, where allegedly about 130 died, came to light in 2015, when current Prime Minister Muhyiddin was Deputy Prime Minister and Najib was Prime Minister...

When the PH government came into power, the Royal Commission of Inquiry was set up, and their final report came out allegedly in September 2019 - when Muhyiddin Yasin was the Home Minister, being the Minister in charge of the police and Immigration Department...

Now, Muhyiddin is the Prime Minister in the new Perikatan Nasional government - and still the Wang Kelian RCI Report is yet to be disclosed?

In January 2020, a news report said that the RCI Report will be tabled in Cabinet - WHY? It should have been tabled in Parliament, and made available to the Malaysian public. 

What was Cabinet going to do - 'censorship', declare it an official secret?, edit it to the benefit of the government?....It is a ROYAL Commission of Inquiry Report > it must be made available as it is to the Malaysian public 

Did the investigation reveal involvement or criminal liability of politicians(or people in power), the police, the  Immigration Authorities? 

Why did the PH government not make it public - was that to protect some former BN government politicians/personalities that then had switched camps and were part of the then PH government? 

In any event, there is so many unanswered questions - which also the New Straits Times investigation revealed - yes the revelation of a lot of information was done by the Media - not the government?

Remember again some of the disturbing questions that came up

One of the biggest revelations was that the human trafficking death camps had been discovered months earlier, but police only announced the discovery on May 25.
 
Another huge question mark was why did police order the destruction of these camps, which were potential crime scenes, before they could be processed by forensics personnel?

...a number of burning, unanswered questions that dogged the team, among them, why had the initial discovery of these death camps been kept hush-hush; and who gave the order to sanitise and destroy the crime scene; and, why.

Another burning question is how so many of the caged victims, and the 'criminals' guarding them managed to escape when the authorities 'cracked down'? Surely our police and/or armed forces are much better than that.

It was an open and shut case, for the trial and conviction of the armed perpetrators guarding the captives - there was adequate evidence from the rescued victims, the evidence of the 'raiding party' that saw all...It may have taken a bit of time to identify the 'kingpins' - but with 'PLEA BARGAINING' for a lesser sentence, many of 'criminals' caught on the spot may have been willing to come forth with the needed evidence that led to the arrest and prosecution of these 'kingpins' and persons in authority that may have facilitated their crimes by 'turning a blind eye' or even profiting from these wrongdoings.

The raiding team saw six cages, where scores of men and women were packed inside under the watchful eyes of foreign men armed with M-16 rifles. The gunmen also conducted roving patrols around the campsite. The team moved in about 4.30pm that day and detained 38 human trafficking victims (22 Bangladeshis and 16 Myanmar). According to the official after-action report, an estimated 150 individuals, who were caged up earlier, had “escaped into the jungle” during the raid. How the men and women managed to “escape” the assault team remains unknown. The armed syndicate members also miraculously joined their captives “and escaped into the jungle”.

Malaysia, sadly also has a relatively bad track record when it comes to charging and trying police officers and/or public officers for crimes. How many policemen have even been charged, tried and successfully convicted for death of persons in police custody - how can it be so difficult to find witnesses amongst police officers in a police station? 2 families of death in police custody cases, however, have recently managed to win their civil action for compensations...

The High Court here today awarded Marry Mariay Susay, whose husband N Dharmendran died in police custody in 2013, close to half a million ringgit in damages.The housewife had sued the police and the government in 2016 for damages over assault, battery, breach of duty, negligence, false imprisonment and conspiracy.- FMT, 10/12/2019
The High Court today awarded the family of Syed Mohd Azlan Syed Mohamed Nur who died in police custody with 61 wounds on his body five years ago RM448,000 in compensation and damages.- Malay Mail, 19/12/2019
BAD Apples in the police or enforcement agencies must be removed and prosecuted, and not 'protected' - That is only way to restore public confidence.

In the Wang Kelian case, the worry is that so many material witnesses, many of them foreigners may be lost or simply difficult to be called as witnesses - Charges against the alleged criminals should have commenced within weeks/months of the discovery of this most serious crime.

Was the Detention Without Trial again used to simply prevent the TRUTH from coming out, and for protecting some powerful persons in government, police and/or enforcement agencies?

Have the VICTIMS and/or their families(in the case of the dead) been COMPENSATED by the Malaysian government - if the government is at fault?

PM MUHYIDDIN must explain...WHY IS THE TRUTH ABOUT WANG KELIAN BEING DELAYED?   

WE DEMAND JUSTICE FOR THE ABOUT 130 DEAD, AND THE AT LEAST 150 OR MORE WHO WERE CAGED UP WHEN THE AUTHORITIES RAIDED...AND THE OTHER VICTIMS...

JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED!

See earlier posts:-

Wang Kelian - 130 Who Died Requires Prompt Prosecutions to Ensure Justice be Done -RCI Report’s Delay in Disclosure Unacceptable and Raises Questions-(MADPET)(Malaysiakini)

Wang Kelian - Recalling the NST Special Probes Teams 'shocking' disclosures? Prosecution?Trials? 130 dead?

 

Release findings on Wang Kelian mass graves, urge rights groups


Zaim Ibrahim

An abandoned camp at which graves were found in the hills of Wang Kelian, Perlis, near the Malaysian-Thai border, on May 26, 2015. – EPA pic, June 23, 2020.

THE government must release the findings of the royal commission of inquiry into the 2015 discovery of mass graves in Wang Kelian, Perlis, said Suhakam and human rights activists.

They said the full disclosure of the report, which was submitted to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong almost a year ago, will help to prevent human trafficking in the future.

Release of the report should not be delayed to stop syndicates smuggling immigrants or committing worse crimes in Malaysia, said Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) commissioner Jerald Joseph.

“When the government agreed to set up an RCI, (which findings were to be) presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the cabinet, we were very encouraged,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“(But) The report needs to be made public because we at Suhakam also need to know what needs to be done.

“This should not be delayed. This issue is very serious and we need to know who is behind the act.”

He added that the Covid-19 pandemic highlights the importance of border control.

“The government has become aware of how porous the borders are.”

Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations president Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid said there is no reason for the report to remain confidential.

He pointed out that the then home minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is now prime minister, said the report was presented to the cabinet in January.
Police retrieving remains found in the hills of  Wang Kelian, Perlis, on June 7, 2015. – EPA pic, June 23, 2020.
Police retrieving remains found in the hills of Wang Kelian, Perlis, on June 7, 2015. – EPA pic, June 23, 2020.

Azmi said full disclosure is important to determine whether foreigners or Malaysians were involved in the human-trafficking activities that led to the deaths of hundreds in Wang Kelian.

The numerous camp sites and mass graves in the area indicate that the syndicate had been operating for quite some time, he said.

“The report should be made public as soon as it is presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. It should be given serious attention by the public.”

Azmi said the government will give the impression that it has something to hide if it refuses to release the report.

“The discovery of the mass graves in 2015 was a shock. More than a hundred lives were lost.

“The public is wondering if there is a possibility that someone has something to hide.”

Muhyiddin said the RCI findings would be made available to the public if the cabinet approves them.
The hearing lasted 17 days during which 48 witnesses testified.

Twenty-eight campsites and 139 bodies, believed to be of Rohingya, were discovered in the hills of Wang Kelian on the Malaysian-Thai border in May 2015.

Meanwhile, RCI panellist Tan Seng Giaw said it’s possible that the report was not released because of the recent political crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I hope the government can enforce what we recommended. Only a stable government can make a decision.

“Currently, the government is fighting for its survival… the Wang Kelian issue has been ignored.

“This happened five years ago. The people involved could have run away by now.

“The RCI was created so that we can know what was really going on and make recommendations to the government to prevent such cases from happening again.” – June 23, 2020.- Malaysian Insight

Wang Kelian: Where is the royal commission’s report?


A cage used for illegal immigrants found at a human-trafficking camp in Wang Kelian, near the Malaysia-Thailand border of Wang Kelian - Photograph: Hasnoor Hussain/The Malaysian Insider
Wang Kelian has for far too long been a blot on our Malaysian credibility. Yet the families and friends of the victims of those murdered are still waiting for the report, the Penang Stop Human Trafficking Campaign writes.

Five years ago, the Malaysian public were made aware of the death camps known as Wang Kelian on the Malaysia/Thailand border.

Figures often used state a total of 147 graves with 130 human skeletons were found. It was clear these camps had been used by human traffickers, and the Wang Kelian camps were quickly linked to similar camps on the Thailand side of the border.

It was apparent that the camps were part of the route used by human traffickers in their trade of human beings: the trade involving atrocious and systematic violence perpetrated against women, men and children.
In Thailand, major figures in Thai institutions and agencies were some time ago arrested and charged.
Not a single Malaysian has ever been brought to account in Malaysia, despite widespread scepticism that the camps could exist without official knowledge. Public concern intensified when the New Straits Times published the results of a special investigation which “revealed startling new evidence, which suggests a massive, coordinated cover-up” (New Straits Times, 20 December 2017).

Following the change in government, in January 2019 the Pakatan Harapan government announced the formation of a Royal Commission of Inquiry. By April it was announced the commission would be chaired by former Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria and former inspector general of police Norian Mai would be the deputy chairman. Five other members were appointed.

The commission some time ago completed 17 days of hearings and at one point promised to send its findings by the end of September 2019.

This was delayed, with no explanation, until at last the then-Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin stated in January this year the commission had completed its report, and it had already been presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. It was stated the report would be handed to the cabinet by the end of January.

So where is the report?

Many argued at the time of its formation the commission was nothing but a delaying tactic to avoid anyone ever being made accountable for the atrocities of the camps. Five years later, is this what we should believe? Or has the commission come up with a serious report and will the government publish it?

This is the only way the government will show the world it is committed to ensuring that anyone involved in the systematic murder, violation and exploitation of human beings will be brought to justice, no matter who they are.

Wang Kelian has for far too long been a blot on our Malaysian credibility. Yet we are still waiting. The families and friends of the victims of those murdered are still waiting.

How long more?

25 May 2020 = ALIRAN



What happened to Wang Kelian RCI findings, asks group

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twitter sharing buttonOne of the abandoned camps in Wang Kelian, Perlis, where more than 100 skeletal remains believed to be those of Rohingya refugees were discovered. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: A Penang-based group against human trafficking today questioned the fate of the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) findings on the mass graves discovered in Wang Kelian, Perlis five years ago, asking when the report would be revealed to the public as promised last September.
Penang Stop Human Trafficking also asked if anyone would be prosecuted based on the findings of the RCI, which met for 17 days and recorded statements from 48 witnesses.

“In Thailand, major figures in Thai institutions and agencies were arrested some time ago and charged.

“Today, not a single Malaysian has ever been brought to account in Malaysia despite widespread scepticism that the camps could not have existed without official knowledge.”
More than 100 skeletal remains believed to be those of Rohingya refugees and close to 150 graves were discovered in the hills of the border town in 2015.

In a statement, the group said the Cabinet was supposed to have received the findings in January after they were presented to the king.

It spoke of claims that the RCI was nothing but a “delaying tactic” to prevent anyone from being held accountable for the discovery.

“Five years later, is this what we should believe? Or has the commission come up with a serious report and will the government publish it?”

It added that revealing the commission’s findings was the only way for the government to show its commitment to ensuring that anyone involved in the “systematic murder, violation and exploitation of human brings” would be brought to justice.

“Wang Kelian has for far too long been a blot on our Malaysian credibility. Yet we are still waiting. The families and friends of the victims of those murdered are still waiting. How long more?”

The RCI was led by former chief justice Arifin Zakaria, aided by panel members Noorbahri Baharuddin, Razali Ismail, Junaidah Abd Rahman, Nazirah Hussain and Tan Seng Giaw.

Although four individuals were charged in court over the matter, critics said these were only small-time traffickers. - FMT, 25/5/2020

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