Minister Believes "Beautiful" Human Trafficking Camp Should Be Turned Into Tourist Spot
"With this as a new tourism spot, it will also deter human trafficking activities from taking place."
By Darian Goh — 01 Jun 2015, 01:09 PM
On 11 May, Malaysian authorities discovered 139 mass graves across various campsites in Perlis. It was believed that these sites were used as human trafficking camps for the Rohingyas before they were smuggled across the border.
The camps were built deep in the hilly jungle and are difficult to access. Some camps were huge and could have held hundreds of migrants, who were mainly believed to be Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and Bangladeshis brought across the border to Malaysia from Thailand.
themalaysianinsider.com
Following the discovery of the camp sites, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, a minister in the Prime Minister's Department surveyed the site and noted that it could be turned into a tourist attraction
A human trafficking camp found near the Malaysia-Thailand border here may have potential to be a tourist attraction, said Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim. The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, who visited the campsite Sunday, described it as "very nice" and had complete facilities.
thestar.com.myHe described the camp as "beautiful" and had various facilities such as a surau and a vegetable farm
Shahidan, who took around an hour to trek up the campsite with General Operations Force (PGA) police personnel and forest rangers, said he also found Thai beer cans and playing cards, indicating a large community lived there.
thestar.com.my"This camp is beautiful, three times bigger than the camp that was previously highlighted," he said.
"The camp is almost the size of a football field, it even includes a surau, an imam’s house, vegetable farm and other facilities."
therakyatpost.com
The minister deduced that the camps were not built by Malaysians because the structures at the campsites showed expertise
"I don't think the camps were built by Malaysians unless they were communists. The structures at the campsite show expertise," he explained.
"I call on the police to process this camp fast and tell the people that it was not built by Malaysians. I'm sure the former communists in our country are too old for this."
By turning it into a tourist spot, Shahidan claims that human trafficking activities will cease as there will be visitors coming in and out
Shahidan said by turning the spot into a tourist attraction site, human trafficking activities would also cease as people will flock the place on daily basis.
“Let tourists see where it all happened. With this as a new tourism spot, it will also deter human trafficking activities from taking place as there will be more people coming in and out.”
themalaymailonline.com
"On plans to make it a tourism attraction, I will discuss with the police and the state government about preserving the structures," said the former Perlis Mentri Besar.
thestar.com.my