KUALA LUMPUR: About 90 per cent of Malaysians who claimed to be victims of human trafficking were found not to be actual victims but rather involved in international fraud syndicates.

Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin said this was revealed by police in their human trafficking report presented at the Council for Anti-Trafficking In Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Mapo) meeting on Feb 26.

He said those purported to be victims often held high-ranking positions within their companies and some were even working voluntarily in the involved countries.

"So, it's not generally a job scam; they are criminals involved in fraud syndicates. When they face issues such as abuse by employers or are not allowed to return home, they then come forward and claim to have been deceived.

"But they are part of these job scam operations. This is the report we received from police," he said during the Special Chamber session in the Dewan Rakyat on July 1.

He said this in response to a supplementary question from Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka) who asked about the government's efforts to address the issue of Malaysians being trafficked.

Khoo earlier suggested monitoring Malaysians who receive job offers abroad, increasing awareness campaigns on human trafficking issues and enhancing Asean cooperation to combat the problem.

Mohamad said observations indicate a decline in the number of reports received, but acknowledged that some Malaysians are still working with these syndicates.

He said these syndicates recruit Malaysians through social media advertisements on platforms such as Facebook, WeChat and WhatsApp, offering attractive incentives like high salaries, free flights, accommodation and the freedom to gamble on credit.

"When they reach their destination, they work as scammers, conducting various online fraud operations including love scams, Macau scams or running online casinos," he said.

Mohamad said that as of June 10, the Foreign Ministry, in collaboration with the police and foreign authorities, had successfully rescued 659 Malaysians involved in job offer scam syndicates abroad.

"There are still 187 individuals being traced, bringing the total number of involved Malaysians to 846. This number is based on reports from relatives, family members, friends, police and the individuals themselves," he said.

As such, he said, local media reports claiming that around 2,000 Malaysians are still trapped abroad as victims of human trafficking are inconsistent with the number of reports received by the Foreign Ministry and therefore cannot be confirmed.

Regarding Asean cooperation, Mohamad said this could be further explored, especially in terms of intelligence sharing and the implementation of measures to eradicate job offer scam syndicates, considering that Malaysia will chair Asean next year.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/07/1071590/majority-alleged-trafficking-cases-tied-fraud-operations-says-foreign