‘THAI CAMPS LED TO TRAFFICKING’
Cop says Thai authorities built detention camps for illegal immigrants near border
THE seventh witness at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Wang Kelian human trafficking incident caused a stir when he pointed the finger at Thai authorities for indirectly being the cause of the incident.
Assistant Superintendent Jamaluddin Shah Mohd Jawan, who was acting Padang Besar Special Branch chief at the time of the discovery of the human trafficking camps in Wang Kelian in 2015, blamed Thai authorities for setting up temporary detention camps for illegal immigrants at the border with Malaysia.
This, he said, had indirectly encouraged
illegal immigrants to enter Malaysia from Thailand.
He added that the temporary camps in Thailand were similar to the ones found in Wang Kelian, which had been used by human traffickers to house the immigrants.
Jamaluddin was testifying before a seven-member panel led by former chief justice Tun Arifin Zakaria as chairman and former inspector-general of police Tan Sri Norian Mai as his deputy.
Also in the panel are former chief prosecutor Datuk Noorbahri Baharuddin, former Suhakam chief commissioner Tan Sri Razali Ismail, former head of research at the Attorney-General’s Chambers Datuk Junaidah Abdul Rahman, former Malaysian ambassador to Thailand Datuk Nazirah Hussin and former Public Accounts Committee deputy chairman Dr Tan Seng Giaw.
Jamaluddin said: “When the Thai authorities detain illegal immigrants, they will keep them at the Nakhon Si Thammarat detention centre in southern Thailand.
“However, when the centre in Nakhon Si Thammarat is full, they will send the illegal immigrants to detention centres in Sadao and Padang Besar, which are towns on the border with us.
“The Sadao and Padang detention centres can accommodate between 60 and 80 detainees.”
He said the Thai authorities would then set up temporary detention camps, similar to the human trafficking camps found in Malaysia, close to the border.
“The temporary camps were set up in Kampung Teluk, next to our border in Genting Perah and Tangga 100, and Sadao.
“I believe the Thai authorities were using the excuse that their detention centres were full so that they could build temporary detention centres there (close to the Malaysian border).”
Norian asked Jamaluddin if he was suggesting that the Thai authorities had indirectly encouraged illegal immigrants to come to Malaysia by placing the camps at the border, to which he replied in the affirmative.
“I have been following the case from the early stages and the camp structures in Thailand are similar to those found here.”
Arifin: You said the camps are the same. Have you been to Thailand to see the camps?
Jamaluddin: I went there on May 1 (after the camps in Wang Kelian were discovered) when the Thai authorities conducted a major operation in Padang Besar. At that time, I had received documents and photographs of the camp (in Thailand) and grave structures and they appeared to be similar to those found in Malaysia.
Nazirah: What was the information that Malaysian and Thai intelligence received?
Jamaluddin: During the press conference, they (Thai authorities) confirmed that illegal immigrants caught in Padang Besar were the same ones caught in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Dr Tan: You are giving a picture as if the Thai authorities were in cahoots with the Malaysian authorities in this case?
Jamaluddin: No. According to the information that we received, the main involvement was from the Thai authorities.
On our side were smuggling activities.
Those involved were mainly from Thailand, hence, in my opinion, Thailand should take responsibility for the issue since the mayor and other civil servants were arrested (for alleged involvement in smuggling).
Arifin: You know they had been entering our border. Why didn’t we beef up security there?
Jamaluddin: For your information, Op Wawasan Khas (the operation against human trafficking at the Malaysian-Thai border) is 75km long and of the total, 11km from Tangga 100 to Wang Kelian is exposed since there were no walls or posts in the area due to geographical factors.
Arifin: Why were there no walls if it was known earlier (that this area was a hotbed for human trafficking)? Jamaluddin: We made the recommendation to the National Security Council to strengthen the security by building walls at the border.