KUALA LUMPUR: The Home Ministry has received 482 reports as of Jan 17 this year involving 628 Malaysians who fell victim to job scam syndicates.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said among them, 15 victims were from Sabah, with 14 having been rescued while one remains stranded abroad.
"The police also shares intelligence and data on migrant smuggling and human trafficking syndicates with Interpol and the Travel Control Office (TCO) for trend analysis and enforcement intervention strategies,” he said during a Special Chamber session in Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 19).
He was replying to a question from Riduan Rubin (Independent-Tenom) regarding human trafficking through job scam syndicates.
Shamsul Anuar said engagement sessions have been held with Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos to share information and coordinate rescue missions.
Additionally, agencies under the Council for Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Mapo) are raising public awareness of these crimes, particularly among the youth.
"In 2024, communication initiatives included podcasts, infographics on social media, talk shows, the ‘Youth Preventing Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling’ short video contest, awareness visuals on buses, the Jiwa Komuniti Madani programme for MPs and leaflet distribution,” he said.
Shamsul Anuar said Mapo has also engaged with Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad to organise awareness campaigns through exhibition booths and digital displays at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and KLIA2. – Bernama
