Ex-deputy minister denies human trafficking link, lodges police report

Former deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mashitah Ibrahim has lodged a police report in response to allegations connecting her to a human trafficking ring in Myanmar.

In a Facebook post, Mashitah (above, second from right) vehemently denied involvement in such criminal activities and criticised the accusations as sensationalised.

“I have filed a report and provided a statement at Bukit Aman regarding the baseless accusations made by certain parties, such as the Malaysia International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO), linking me to the activities in Myanmar highlighted by Harian Metro yesterday.

“I deny any involvement in such activities. The information was merely collected from sensationalist media outlets,” she explained in the post.

Harian Metro had previously reported that MHO urged the MACC to investigate a politician who was allegedly involved in a human trafficking ring in Myanmar.

While the article did not name Mashitah, it mentioned that the politician and her husband, a retired civil servant, were said to have been involved with the syndicate since March 2020.

MHO secretary-general Hishamuddin Hashim also claimed that the politician and her husband chaired a security board involved in criminal activities in Myanmar.

‘Purely coincidental’

The MHO’s call for an investigation followed the airing of a clip from an Indonesian YouTube documentary titled “Neraka Perbatasan: Jejak Mafia Judi Online dan Perbudakan Digital di Asia”, which included a picture of Mashitah with a group of individuals allegedly connected to the scheme.

The documentary was aired a month ago, garnering nearly 90,000 views.

Mashitah clarified that her appearance in the photo was purely coincidental, explaining that a friend had invited her to a project he was working on.

Mashitah served as Baling MP from 2004 to 2008.

Subsequently, she was appointed as a senator from 2008 to 2014 and held the position of deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department overseeing Islamic affairs from 2008 to 2013.

Following the police report, Mashitah stated that she would pursue legal action against those attempting to tarnish her reputation.

“Thank you to friends who have shown concern. Alhamdulillah, I remain steadfast in my Islamic faith and am not involved in any activities that contradict religious teachings or Malaysian law,” she added.

Earlier today, Berita Harian reported that Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain confirmed that the police have initiated an investigation and have collected statements from the alleged couple without naming them.

The police are also seeking witnesses to assist in the probe.

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