Ex-IGP told us to 'hold on' when graves discovered, witness tells RCI

WANG KELIAN RCI | The delay in the police's handling of the mass graves in Wang Kelian was due to orders from then inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar, the Wang Kelian Royal Commission of Inquiry heard today.

The inquiry's 16th witness, former Perlis police chief Zul Aznam Haron, said he immediately called Khalid upon hearing of the discovery of the graves, but the latter asked him to "hold."

"When I contacted (Khalid), he issued specific orders to 'hold on' before taking further action.

"He (Khalid) told us to hold on, as the matter required close scrutiny, as it had a big impact on the country and involved foreigners."

Some 139 graves containing 106 skeletal remains – believed to be of Rohingya migrants – along with 28 abandoned human trafficking camps on Bukit Wang Burma, were discovered in Wang Kelian in January 2015.

However, the bodies and remains were only brought down in stages, between May and August that year.

An RCI into the matter was formed earlier this year, headed by former chief justice Ariffin Zakaria.

He is being assisted by former inspector-general of police Norian Mai, along with five commissioners – former ambassador to Thailand Nazirah Hussin, former Public Accounts Committee deputy chairperson Tan Seng Giaw, former chief prosecutor Noorbahri Baharuddin, former Human Rights Commission chairperson Razali Ismail, and former head of research at the Attorney-General’s Chambers Junaidah Abdul Rahman.

'You do not understand the police's job'

Earlier, the hearing session became heated when Zul Aznam took aim at Razali for questioning the police's professionalism in handling the case.

He alleged that the former Suhakam chief did not understand the job scope of the police.

"As a retired police officer, I know how the police work, and how they act. 

"Perhaps Tan Sri (Razali) does not understand. The police should be left to investigate, we know what to do," he said.

Earlier, Razali had called into question Zul Aznam's (above) professionalism for not knowing about the mass graves in Wang Kelian despite being the state police chief.

Razali had also asked about the delay in bringing down the bodies discovered at the site.

According to Zul Aznam, the police had sent an elite unit to the site in March 2015 to conduct surveillance and intelligence.

"Tan Sri does not understand my explanation. The elite team does not make arrests, they conduct surveillance, they do the mapping.

"These are the earlier courses of action before action is conducted. They (the elite unit) are not many (in number), they infiltrate the site," he said. - Mkini