The Home Ministry’s ability to guarantee peace in Perlis has been called into question after the discovery of mass graves of bodies of refugees and trafficked people as the site is a stone’s throw from the Thai  border.

PKR Indera Kayangan assemblyperson Chan Ming Kai said a new complex for an anti-smuggling unit was erected at the Thai-Malaysian border last year, with supposedly better organised facilities.

“How is it possible that 28 migrant camps could exist just a stone’s throw from the border, without being detected for two years?

“The area where the graves were discovered (Sector A) is close to the Thai-Malaysian border,” Chan ( photo ) told Malaysiakini today.

He said reports revealed that the police search for Sector A showed no paths for smuggling activities but suggested that the refugees were smuggled via Bukit Kayu Hitam or Wang Kelian, or by “laluan tikus” or small gaps in the border fence.

He urged the Home Ministry to explain its standard operating procedure at the anti-smuggling unit.

“Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should look into the more serious question of how the refugees were smuggled into the country via the legal entry routes, or else the government cannot restore public trust and its integrity in carrying out its duties to secure peace at the border,” Chan said.

Doubts arise on security of the people

“Perlis was a peaceful state but it is now tarnished by the image that it is a killing field and it raises public doubts of the ability of the government to ensure security of the people,” he added.

“The government should be aware that failure to punish those involved in such smuggling activities contributed to this human tragedy.”

Chan was referring to the Monday’s police discovery of 139 graves and 28 camps scattered along a 50km stretch in Wang Kelian, Perlis, along the border with Thailand.

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According to a Reuters report, some of the graves contain more than one body, believed to be Rohingyas or Bangladeshis, who became victims of human trafficking after fleeing oppression in Myanmar and poor living conditions in Bangladesh.

The report said the “grisly” discoveries in Malaysia followed the uncovering of shallow graves on the Thai side of the border at the beginning of May, which helped trigger a regional crisis.

“The find led to a crackdown on the camps by Thai authorities, after which traffickers abandoned thousands of migrants in overloaded boats in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea,” the report said.

Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar also said yesterday that the human trafficking camps were most probably occupied since 2013, and two of these were “only abandoned two and three weeks ago”.