KUALA LUMPUR: No Malaysian enforcement officials, public servants or locals were involved in human trafficking and migrant smugglings syndicates, according to the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report into the 2015 discovery of a mass grave in Wang Kelian, Perlis.
However, there was gross negligence on the part of border patrols, said the report by the RCI, which was conducted from March 5 to Sept 4, 2019.
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It added that illegal syndicates operated freely as the demand for workers was ever-present due to the fluid nature of government policies concerning migrant workers.
Requests made to the Thailand and Bangladesh governments for the extradition of several suspects to help with the investigations also did not receive a positive response, the RCI report stated.
In 2015, 139 graves were discovered in 28 abandoned migrant “prison camps” close to the Malaysia-Thailand border. Similar graves were also found in Thailand around the same time.
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Human rights group Fortify Rights said Malaysian authorities should prosecute any officials involved in trafficking Rohingya refugees to what it termed “death camps” in Wang Kelian, including those who were criminally negligent in the police investigation.
The government did not publicly release the final report of the 2019 Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into mass graves and trafficking camps discovered in 2025, with the chair of the RCI claiming that the report is a state secret.
However, the report recently appeared on the Home Ministry website and was now on file with Fortify Rights, the group said.
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Fortify Rights is an independent non-profit organisation based in South-East Asia and founded in 2013, funded by donations from Europe, Asia and the United States.
Its chief executive officer Matthew Smith said the unceremonious appearance of the report online, unknown to key stakeholders in the country, raised questions about the ongoing lack of justice and accountability for Rohingya victims of trafficking.
“In response to the RCI’s findings, and to give Rohingya victims and their families a measure of justice, the Malaysian government must provide reparations and prosecute officials implicated in the horrendous crimes in Wang Kelian.
“The only secrets surrounding this report relate to official complicity in the trafficking camps, and the next steps should involve prosecutions,” he said, adding that significant numbers of Rohingya were murdered as well as bought and sold for profit on Malaysian soil.
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Smith added that the RCI was meant to advance justice and accountability, not end the conversation or sweep these crimes under the rug.
In its 211-page report, the RCI found that the torture and deaths of Rohingya refugees and others in Wang Kelian “should have been prevented by the authorities” and that Malaysian enforcement agencies failed to follow their own standard operating procedures, significantly impacting the quality of their investigation into the situation in Wang Kelian.
The report notes that after the discovery of the trafficking camps by Malaysian authorities on Jan 19, 2015, the authorities only took action on March 6 to verify whether or not there were human remains in what appeared to be shallow graves.
A full forensic exhumation of the graves and autopsy of the victims was only initiated on May 24 that year.
The RCI report also notes severe deficiencies in intelligence-gathering, cross-border coordination, and the handling of human remains and other pieces of evidence.
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"Despite the failings and serious negligence identified by the RCI, the report fails to recommend legal action against implicated officials nor a fuller investigation of potential official complicity in the human trafficking syndicate responsible for the atrocities in Wang Kelian.
"A full investigation and legal action must now be taken against Malaysian officials identified as potentially having obstructed justice in their negligent handling of the investigation into the abuse and murder of trafficking victims in Wang Kelian," said Smith.
He added that the fact that Malaysia has yet to hold any officials accountable was a stain on the nation's record that must be rectified.
“The trafficking of Rohingya to Malaysia was widespread and systematic and demands justice, accountability, and reparations for victims and their families.” he said.
