‘Human trafficking camp located in far-flung area’

PUTRAJAYA: The areas in Wang Kelian, Perlis, where a transit camp believed to be used by a human trafficking syndicate was discovered in 2015, were described as hardly penetrable and located deep in the dense forest reserve, which is far from any human settlement.

The 25th witness in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) probing the Wang Kelian human trafficking incident, National Security Council (NSC) border management division director Safrul Faiz Ab Satar, said due to these factors, only 50km out of the 106km Malaysian-Thai border was covered with perimeter fencing.

“I was shocked to learn about the camp as it had never happened before. Generally, foreigners would use land transport on level ground (to enter Malaysia). I was informed of the discovery by Major (now lieutenant colonel) Zamri Hamzah, who attended an NSC meeting on Jan 20, 2015.

“Assistant Superintendent M. Joeking from the General Operations Force (GOF) presented a briefing on the discovery of the transit camp and food stock found at the site. I told Zamri to continue with his communications with Joeking.

“NSC is responsible for the maintenance of the fencing, while the GOF guards the border,” he told the seven-member panel yesterday.

Safrul Faiz, who was at that time the Kedah NSC director, said he was also simultaneously the Perlis NSC director.

He said he submitted a report to the NSC headquarters on Feb 4, 2015, and was instructed to communicate with the police and monitor the matter.

The conducting officers then proceeded with questions on bilateral meetings held between Malaysia and Thailand, with the rest of Safrul Faiz’s testimony recorded behind closed-doors.