Malaysia denies nationals involved in human trafficking

By P Prem Kumar 

KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysia has denied that any of its citizens are involved in a syndicate believed to be trafficking Muslim Rohingya and Bangladeshis along its northern border with Thailand.

Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar told The Anadolu Agency on Tuesday that "as yet" there is no evidence to indicate the involvement of any of the country's nationals.

"We are still waiting for details of the raid. Until the details reach us, we cannot make any conclusions," he said, referring to a May 1 raid by Thai authorities at a camp containing the graves of 26 bodies in a remote jungle in southern Thailand.

"Although it happened at the Malaysia-Thailand border we cannot freely enter the area. There are some border guidelines that needs to be adhered," he added.

Three Thai officials and a Myanmar national were arrested Monday as Thailand began to reign in those suspected of involvement in the trafficking of Muslim Rohingya in its south.

Thai Media have reported that Malaysians were involved in the abuse and wrongful-confinement of at least 800 foreigners at the camp, while a former chairman of the Rohingya association of Thailand, Abdul Kamal, told the Bangkok Post on Monday that there were "at least 60 detention camps along the Thai-Malaysian border, most of them located on the Malaysian side." 

"In each camp, there are between 150 and 800 people detained," he claimed.

Malaysia has a long history of granting temporary asylum to refugees and asylum seekers, in particular Muslim Rohingya who are shipped to Thai shores and then work their way across the border in their thousands in an effort to escape poverty and persecution in Myanmar.

Currently, Malaysia hosts one of the largest urban refugee populations in the world.

As of mid-2014, some 146,020 refugees and asylum seekers had been registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia, of which the vast majority - some 135,000 - are from Myanmar.

The three largest ethnic groups seeking asylum in the region are Chin - a largely Christian minority from Myanmar, Rohingya and other Myanmar Muslims.