KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia, as this year’s Asean chair, will continue to highlight the issue of job scam syndicates operating across Southeast Asia to combat the problem, said Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin.
He said the matter was recently discussed at the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Langkawi.
He added that cooperation among Asean countries to tackle the issue will also be strengthened through the Asean police organisation (Aseanapol).
"This issue will remain a key focus throughout Malaysia’s Asean chairmanship. It will be discussed, and we will seek the best possible solutions to effectively combat job scams and fraud syndicates in the region.
"We know this issue has been raised previously in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, and later in Vientiane, Laos. We will continue to bring it forward this year,” he said during a question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Feb 17).
Mohamad was replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Mohd Isam Mohd Isa (BN-Tampin) on whether Malaysia, as Asean Chair, would address the issue of job scam syndicates.
He said that among the examples of Asean countries cooperating to combat job scam syndicates was Myanmar's authorities handing over 320 foreign nationals, including Malaysians, who were involved in such syndicates in that country.
"All these victims have been placed in Thailand through the National Referral Mechanism to verify their identities, assess their level of involvement and determine if any are our citizens.
"Once the process is complete, all victims will be repatriated to their respective countries," he said. - Bernama
