With the discovery of the mass graves in the northern Perlis, questions are now being raised as to how the authorities had missed the whole incident.

Over 100 bodies were believed to have been buried in the mass graves at the mountain in Wang Kelian, Perlis.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said the government and the authorities should not view the matter lightly as it involved hundreds of lives.

“The question is how come we missed such activities in our soil despite the tight security,” he said to reporters after visiting the site.

He said if forest rangers had visited the mountain and jungles at least once a month, such activities could have been detected.


On Sunday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed the discovery of mass graves near 17 tents believed to have been used to accommodate refugees in Padang Besar.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zahid Hamidi said the General Operations Force (GOF) and the VAT 69 Commando unit had found 14 large tents and three other smaller tents located on the Malaysia-Thailand border.

READ: Police find graves and 17 refugee tents in Padang Besar

Shocked by the discovery, he said the tents were believed to have been operational for at least five years and they were believed to have been abandoned when the authorities came to the location.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who had expressed his deep concern with the discovery of mass graves had also vowed to find those responsible behind them.

READ: Mass graves: We will find those responsible, Najib vows