A TOTAL of 707 Malaysians were rescued from overseas job scam syndicates, though only five operators were charged with human trafficking offences, says Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin.
He said the authorities are tracking another 199 Malaysians believed to have fallen for these job scams.
“This means that there are 906 victims, based on reports from their next-of-kin, family members, friends, the police and the individuals themselves,” he added.
Mohamad said Malaysian representatives in the countries involved would provide assistance once they receive a report about it.
These Malaysian offices would trace and send them home with the help of local authorities, he told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
“I would like to advise the public to be wary when they see overseas job advertisements offering unrealistic, high salaries.
“Verify the job offer with the Human Resources Ministry and our representatives abroad,” he said in response to a question by Ngeh Koo Ham (PH-Beruas), who had asked the ministry about the number of Malaysians who were scammed by job syndicates abroad.
To a supplementary question from Ngeh, Mohamad said five operators were charged so far under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act.
“We will continue to collaborate with the authorities, comprising 10 different agencies, to curb the problem,” he said.
Ahmad Tarmizi Sulaiman (PN- Sik) later stood to ask whether Putrajaya would discuss the problem among Asean member states, especially with Malaysia assuming the chairmanship next year.
“There have been discussions at the Asean level, including a consensus on the Asean Leaders Declaration on Combating Trafficking in Persons by the Abuse of Technology, under the Indonesian chairmanship (in 2023) and similarly during the summit in Laos recently,” said Mohamad.
“Next year, when we chair Asean under the politics and security pillars, there will be a series of meetings to discuss the matter and hopefully a solution will be reached.”
