SEPANG: There must be a concerted effort to cripple human-trafficking syndicates that have been duping Malaysians and forcing them to work overseas, says MCA Youth chief Datuk Nicole Wong.

       While it was important to rescue the Malaysians trapped by these syndicates, more needs to be done to stop the recruitment process, she said.

       “We need to cripple the recruitment process conducted by the agents of these syndicates here in Malaysia.

       “If we want to raise awareness, we cannot do it single-handedly.

       “The police, the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the Foreign Ministry and others must work together to create awareness campaigns,” she said when met at klia2 yesterday after meeting 12 Malaysian men who arrived here from Cambodia.

       The men were held captive after being lured there by a lucrative job offer as customer service officers.

       Four other Malaysians, including a woman, still in Cambodia are expected to be repatriated home once they are cleared of Covid-19.

       Wong said MCA Youth would continue to liaise with MCMC and other agencies on creating awareness campaigns against the syndicates that dupe people and force them to work overseas.

       “We should also involve social media influencers in this as they have huge followings,” she added.

       Wong said these syndicates lured victims with the promise of big salaries.

       “Some of these victims may have also suffered loss of income due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which made the offer to work overseas too good to refuse,” she said.

       MCA Youth central committee member Heng Zhi Li said some victims were threatened, tasered, beaten and tortured by human-trafficking syndicates.

       He initially got wind of the human-trafficking activities from a friend whose sister was duped by the syndicate.

       “These victims were promised salaries of at least US$1,700 (RM7,000) when they were initially recruited.

       “But when they got there, they only received small payments via cash vouchers and cards which they could only spend in the building where they were being held.

       “The agents fabricated work permits for them and applied for visas for these victims to go abroad as construction workers or waiters,” he said.

       Heng hopes the public would be cautious with advertisements claiming to offer jobs overseas with promises of high pay.

       “We were told that there were at least 300 people held in the building and it was controlled by men who had firearms.

       “We believe besides these 16 Malaysians identified, there may be other Malaysians still being held there,” he said, adding that the victims were sent to Cambodia in phases beginning September last year.

       “According to the victims, there are still more victims being sent there.”