One of the lawyers representing migrant workers allegedly exploited in the new palace construction project today refused to reveal the identities of the workers when summoned by the Malaysian Anti- Corruption Commission (MACC).

This is despite being pressed for over an hour at their Kuala Lumpur office.

"We will not be able to do so as long as the government cannot give us a written guarantee of their safety," Fadiah Nadwa Fikri told Malaysiakini when contacted today.

new istana palace Fadiah was called up by the commission to provide her statement in relation to the body’s investigation into alleged extortion from the migrant workers by police personnel.

The anti-graft body opened their probe following a police report jointly lodged by Fadiah and other members of the NGO, Lawyers for Liberty.

According to the lawyers, the workers faced police raids with about 100 workers detained each time. They also claimed that the workers, who were then hauled up to the Travers police station, were only released once they had paid bribes to the police officers.

Besides that, police personnel had also allegedly been confiscating the workers’ personal items such as canned food, cigarettes and shampoo.

Fadiah said that her refusal to reveal the identities of the workers she is representing led to a heated quarrel with MACC officer when she was accused of trying to obstruct investigations.

Not allowed lawyer

"They know roughly when it (the extortion) happened and that it involved personnel of the Travers police station. So if they want to investigate they could.

"We will push the Home Ministry to give a written guarantee of safety. If they decline, it means they have something to hide," she said.

She added at present, the lawyers are not allowed access to the new palace construction site and only have the telephone numbers of the workers.

azlan Fadiah said she was not allowed to have her lawyer present during the MACC questioning and was told that this ‘was standard practice’.

She said the MACC officer had invoked the Peraturan Perintah Tetap Ketua Pengarah SPRM (MACC Director’s Standing Orders), claiming that witnesses were not allowed to have lawyers present when giving their statements.

"This is a violation of constitutional rights. What if the line of questioning incriminates the witness?" asked Fadiah.

The new palace construction project scandal came to public attention after an expose by The Star on June 27, which highlighted the deplorable living and working conditions of the workers.

The report prompted the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) to inspect the site, but it returned empty-handed last Thursday.

Children running around

The commission does not discount the possibility that abuse had occurred as its inspection had been blocked the first time around. Suhakam was barred from entering by site contractors earlier this month and could only conduct a planned inspection about a week after their initial 'spot check'.

NONE While the workers have confirmed receipt of their backdated wages, the lawyers claimed that they are still living in terrible conditions which were suspected to have been concealed during the Suhakam inspection.

The human rights watchdog also said they failed to find evidence that there were children on site. However, this was refuted by Segambut parliamentarian Lim Lip Eng ( above ) this morning.

According to Lim, he had seen at least two infants and a toddler during his visit last month and furnished photographs as evidence.