SUNGAI PETANI: Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has revealed that there were some Malaysian victims of human trafficking who returned to the country from which they were rescued on their own free will.
Describing the cases as "unique", he stressed that the government would still rescue Malaysians stranded abroad under the right to return principle, regardless of the reasons they ended up there.
"Most of them are truly naive, simply believing (the offers by human trafficking syndicates). The second category are those who clearly knew that it was a scam but they decided to go (abroad) regardless of that.
"The third category are those who had nothing to do with scams... they went to gamble and lost, so they borrowed from loan sharks. They can't return (home), so they claim to be the victims of human trafficking. Even in such cases, we rescued them.
"The fourth category is the unique one. They were indeed victims of human trafficking syndicates, our police have rescued them, but they ended up going back (to the foreign country)," he told reporters after presenting certificates to 185 National Anti-Drugs Agency (Nada) staff here.
Saifuddin reiterated that regardless of the reasons Malaysians getting stranded abroad, the government would rescue them under the right to return principle.
"We will coordinate the rescue effort. The government will give priority under the right to return principle for Malaysians, regardless of the reasons.
"For as long as we know that those abroad are under distress, under the right to return principle, the government will do whatever possible to bring them home.
"We will use diplomatic channels or agency-to-agency channels, or intelligence sharing. As for the Home Ministry, once we establish a complaint, we will try to locate them and carry out a rescue mission, with the help of police-to-police relationships, such as within Aseanapol (Asean Police Organisation)," he said.
On the exact number of Malaysians stranded or being held captive by human trafficking syndicates abroad, Saifuddin said the government was acting based on the official numbers gathered by the authorities.
He also stressed the importance of victims' family members to share all relevant information to the police once they reported that their relative being held abroad.
"It is important that we spread the word so that the people realise that the government will do whatever possible to rescue the victims (if they are Malaysians). We go by the official numbers from our authorities," he said.
Saifuddin was responding to a Berita Harian report today that nearly 2,000 Malaysians are still held captive as forced labour in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and the Philippines, after falling victim to bogus job offers by human trafficking syndicates.
According to the report, Pertubuhan Kemanusiaan Masyarakat Antarabangsa Malaysia secretary-general Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim claimed that the Malaysians have been held captive since last year.