MP SPEAKS
This is one of the most shameless ways in which the government and police have tried to 'protect' the image of the country over discovery of mass graves in Perlis.
But let me assure them that no one would believe the ludicrous conclusion by the police, that said the post-mortem report on 26 bodies exhumed at trafficking camps in Wang Kelian showed no foul play.
Firstly, why would that many people choose to die a sudden death in a deserted jungle in a border area?
How could the police classify this as sudden death, when they have acknowledged that these are trafficking camps?
How would the authorities explain the existence of the mass graves?
Malaysia has become notorious for the slave trade and the police handling of the investigation further entrenches the belief that it has no interest in addressing issues of trafficking and people smuggling.
First the police denied any knowledge of the mass graves and forests camps although locals insisted they informed the authorities when they found foreigners roaming the streets, diseased and weak.
Then top cop Khalid Abu Bakar said the police did not receive any report from Tenaganita, a NGO that detailed the existence of these camps run by traffickers.
And recently, a damning newspaper report exposed a 10-year research by the Special Branch claiming enforcement authorities at border towns were in cahoots with traffickers.
The police are also nonchalant about this.
Scores of people have fallen victim and suffered physical violence and rape at the hands of traffickers, who made huge profits selling refugees who were fleeing persecution and migrant workers.
The Malaysian government and the police therefore owe it to the victims, their families, international community and to us to tell the truth as opposed to hiding facts to redeem the country's image internationally.
And since they have failed to do so, it's only fair that an independent team of international forensic experts examine the exhumed remains.
CHARLES SANTIAGO is Member of Parliament, Klang.
