Exchanging ideas: Mohamad and Maris (left) posing together during the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Retreat at the Langkawi International Convention Centre. — Bernama
LANGKAWI: Beijing’s proposal to put an end to online scam syndicates in Asean that have ensnared thousands in what the authorities have labelled cyber-slavery, will be discussed at the Asean Foreign Minister’s Retreat (AMM) today, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan.
“We will discuss it tomorrow (Jan 19). Today (Jan 18) is just a courtesy call and we touched base on how to strengthen the Asean family,” said the Foreign Minister when asked about China’s call to tackle the scourge together with Asean.
“Looking at the geopolitical and geo-economics around the world now, I think it is a waste that Asean does not work it out together,” said Mohamad when met at the sidelines of the senior officials meeting yesterday.
“That is why we chose the theme of inclusivity and sustainability. We should be inclusive and work together,” added Mohamad.
Present together with Mohamad was Thailand Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa. They had a bilateral meeting earlier.
Maris said they have yet to look into the specifics of tackling online scams in the region but stressed that they hoped to hash out concrete steps this year.
“We haven’t gone into detail yet. Let our people work together. What we discussed together with my good brother (Mohamad) is our vision and we want to come up with something tangible,” Maris told reporters.
“If we can make things happen soon, we don’t have to wait until the end of the year. At least during Malaysia’s chairmanship of Asean, there should be something tangible,” said Maris.
Thailand foreign ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura, said online scams and human trafficking are transnational issues that requires the collective efforts of all neighbouring countries.
According to Nikorndej, Thailand is working very closely with Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia to develop a collective mechanism to deal with the problem, which has seen Chinese and Malaysian citizens kidnapped and trafficked to Myanmar through Thailand to work in scam compounds.
“Thailand intends to raise these issues in a continuous manner until we see substantial progress.
“These issues require border authorities to work with us. So, the mechanism we talked about is the cooperation of border agencies to coordinate and exchange information, as well as intelligence.
“As of now, there have been some concerns on this issue. As we approach the Chinese lunar new year, I want to assure everyone that Thailand is doing its utmost to address these issues,” said Nikorndej at a joint interview.
The Myanmar civil war, which was sparked by the coup d’état by its military junta in February 2021, has created lawless border regions that have allowed crime syndicates to set up “scam-parks”, where foreign nationals are trafficked into the country and forced to commit online scams.
Earlier this month, a Chinese actor was rescued from one such scam park along the Myanmar side of the Thai-Myanmar border after he was believed to have been abducted and trafficked there.
Over the years, Malaysia has also rescued scores of its young men and women who were enslaved in these scam parks after being tricked by the promise of high-paying jobs and accommodation benefits.
Some 707 Malaysians have so far been rescued from these scam syndicates according to Deputy Foreign Minster Datuk Mohamad Alamin.
In 2023, the United Nations have said at least 120,000 people could be trapped in scam compounds in Myanmar.
On Jan 16, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Asean countries to crack down on online gambling and telecommunications fraud, saying that scam syndicates in the region have harmed the citizens of China and other countries.
Wang had said China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Asean countries in law enforcement and security to address the issue.
The AMM, which will set the tone of Malaysia’s chairmanship of Asean this year, will conclude tomorrow.
