Multi-agency special committee to be set up to bring job scam victims back to Malaysia: Minister

PUTRAJAYA: A multi-agency special committee led by Malaysia's foreign ministry will be formed to ensure Malaysians who have fallen victim to job scam syndicates and are stranded in other countries are brought home safely.

Mr Abdul Latiff Ahmad, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department for Special Functions, said the decision to establish the special committee was agreed upon at Wednesday's (Sep 21) Cabinet meeting.

“The issue was seriously discussed and the government is very concerned about the plight of Malaysians stranded in these countries and their worried families.

"The establishment of the special committee is evidence of the government's commitment to ensuring that the Malaysian victims are brought home safely”, he said in a statement on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the government would ensure that Malaysians who have fallen victim to job scams in several countries are brought home safely and efforts were being made through certain channels for this purpose.

He said the government was very concerned and seriously viewed the plight of Malaysians stranded in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia as these individuals had become victims of syndicates offering fake jobs overseas.

On Monday, a group of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) sent a memorandum to the prime minister seeking assistance as well as governmental interference to solve this issue.

As of last Monday, Wisma Putra said the number of victims of fake job syndicates who had been rescued from Cambodia totalled 143 from the 158 cases reported, apart from 16 Malaysians rescued from Thailand, 27 from Laos and five from Myanmar.

Mr Abdul Latiff advised Malaysians to contact the foreign ministry if they receive any job offers from overseas to ensure the offers are legit so as not to get caught up in fraud scams.