KUANTAN: The government is in the midst of helping to solve the dilemma faced by 47 Malaysians detained in Cambodia since December.
Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said the Malaysian embassy in Cambodia handed over a diplomatic note to the country's Foreign Ministry in a bid to obtain an explanation on the detention.
"A statement on this matter has been issued yesterday (by Wisma Putra), we are working to help them and I was told Julau MP Larry Sng (Wei Shien) has also been helping the victims' family members.
"We hope this matter can be resolved properly, our consulate over there is also in constant contact with the authorities (in Cambodia) to help ease the affairs of those detained. They have also visited our people there who were arrested to ensure their welfare is taken cared of," he said at a press conference after chairing the Pahang Action Council meeting in Wisma Persekutuan, here, today.
In its statement yesterday, Wisma Putra said the embassy in Phnom Penh was only informed by Banteay Mancheay police of the arrests on Dec 28, more than two weeks after their arrests, on Dec 11.
It confirmed a diplomatic note has been sent, requesting for the release of the 47 Malaysians currently detained in Banteay Mancheay, some 400km from Phnom Penh.
Meanwhile, Larry Sng said 44 of these Malaysians are from Sarawak.
“Most of the Sarawakians are Iban who, like the others, were enticed by the promise of high-paying jobs. They were cheated by this recruitment agency which we believe is run by a human trafficking syndicate who target mostly those from rural areas.
“We have received information that they were brought to Cambodia in stages and were charged between US$100 and US$200 (between RM407.50 and RM815) each by the syndicate. We don’t know what kind of work they were promised but they were guaranteed high-paying jobs,” he had said in a press conference.