THE Malaysian Bar passed a resolution today calling for a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate any cover-up or corruption of law enforcement agencies relating to the mass graves and death camps discovered in Perlis.

The Bar is “outraged by the unprecedented discovery” of more than 150 graves at death camps spread across remote sites in Wang Kelian, Perlis, near the border of Thailand, two years ago, the resolution read. 

The graves were widely believed to have contained human remains of victims of trafficking or smuggled migrants who died while in the custody of traffickers or smugglers.  

“The Bar is deeply troubled by an article published by The New Straits Times on December 20 that there had been a ‘massive, co-ordinated cover-up’ of the mass graves and death camps and the investigations surrounding it,” the resolution read. 

The resolution was one of six carried at the Bar’s closed-door annual general meeting participated by 836 lawyers today. 

It expressed alarm at reports of “local middlemen, who had been taken into custody who had admitted to greasing the palms of personnel in border security agencies to ensure their operation could continue unmolested.”

The Bar urged the police to “fully disclose” the extent of the alleged crimes and “various personalities” involved and to apprehend those responsible.

It also called on the Home Ministry to bolster its investigation teams to become specialists dedicated to the prosecution of human traffickers, as provided under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) was also urged to carry out an inquiry to look into alleged human rights infringement. 

Questions were also raised by the Bar regarding conflicting accounts of the dates the graves were found and the reasons for the orders to destroy the sites before forensic evidence was extracted. 

The Bar said while Thai nationals, including politicians and an army general, were found guilty, yet there were no reports of Malaysians being charged with the crimes. 

“Malaysia is obliged to uphold underlying values of international human rights laws and norms set out by the UN and Asean,” the resolution read.  

“Our international reputation is at stake and this incident remains a stain on the fabric of Malaysia.”

The New Straits Times report claimed to have unearthed new evidence after a two-year-investigation that suggested a big, coordinated cover-up in the case of the discovery of human trafficking camps and mass graves in Wang Kelian in 2015.

The report alleged the camps had been discovered in January 2015 but the police had announced the discovery on May 25.

The report also claimed orders were given to destroy the camps before they could be processed by forensics personnel. 

Thai courts had acted against Thai nationals linked to the Wang Kelian death camps and convicted 62 people, including an army general, two provincial politicians and several police officers, of human trafficking.

In comparison, Malaysia has charged only four foreigners while 12 police officers who were initially detained, have been released.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Norashid Ibrahim denied on December 23, last year, any “cover-up” and said its probe was ongoing and police were in the process of prosecuting several suspects. – March 17, 2018.