KUALA LUMPUR – Alleged ties between a former Malaysian deputy minister and a convicted Chinese triad leader for a project linked with Burmese militia are under scrutiny by a human rights group in an attempt to connect the dots over organised crime activities in Myanmar.
According to a report by Burmese activist group Justice for Myanmar, the JW Marriott Hotel here hosted a launch event and investor appreciation night for the Saixigang Industrial Park in the south of Myawaddy, Myanmar, on March 15, 2020 – just three days before the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown.
Touted publicly as a business and tourism centre spearheaded by Hong Kong company Dongmei Investment Group Ltd (Dongmei Group), the park spanning roughly 20sqkm allegedly sourced billions of ringgit in investments from prominent individuals – including Malaysians.
The inner workings of the park – now known as Dongmei Zone – were previously exposed by the New York Times in 2023. The US daily cited a testimony from a Chinese trafficking victim who claimed the heavily guarded site was rife with criminal activities, illicit drugs and brothels.
Dongmei Zone has also been reported in a negative light by local Chinese newspaper China Press in February this year. It detailed how 11 Malaysian trafficking victims attempted to escape from the zone, with success for only six of them.
The United States Institute of Peace, meanwhile, had reported on Chinese criminal syndicates operating scam centres and casinos at the Thailand-China border – leading to a crackdown by Chinese authorities and pushing such operations into areas controlled by Burmese militia group the Karen National Army (KNA).
Who are the Malaysians allegedly linked with Dongmei Zone?
Based on the US Institute of Peace report in July 2020, a Malaysian with a “datuk” title had signed a US$8.5 million agreement with Dongmei Group during the Marriott event to develop a nightclub on 3.3ha of land in the zone.
Checks by Scoop found that the datuk was a Royal Malaysia Air Force colonel when he was conferred the “Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang” honorific in 2003.
Although Dongmei Zone appears to have the backing of an intricate international corporate web, it is understood that Malaysia’s involvement in the project could be through Grand Commerce Network Sdn Bhd.
A Facebook post by a company understood to have coordinated the Marriot event displayed a digital backdrop with the logo of Grand Commerce Network – a decade-old company jointly owned by former deputy religious minister Datuk Mashitah Ibrahim and her husband Datuk Abdul Shakor Abu Bakar, a former diplomatic officer.
Companies Commission of Malaysia documents sighted by Scoop revealed that Grand Commerce Network, an entity with a RM1 million share capital, has Mashitah and Abdul Shakor as its sole directors and shareholders – with the couple owning an 85% and 15% stake, respectively.
Besides being a one-term Baling MP and ex-Umno Wanita division chief, Mashitah – who remains active in politics – served as deputy to religious affairs minister Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom from 2009 to 2013 in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration.
Mashitah and Abdul Shakor’s supposed involvement with the event and its affiliates also appears to transcend beyond their company’s presence, with Mashitah labelling herself as an “iron lady” for the Dongmei Group project in a caption for her Facebook post of the event.
Convicted crime boss Broken Tooth, Dongmei’s key investor
The photos in Mashitah’s Facebook post of the Dongmei Zone launch event show her and her husband standing alongside convicted Macau mob boss Wan Kuok-Koi, also known as Broken Tooth.
Wan, now 69, was sentenced in 1999 to 14 years behind bars after he was convicted of loan-sharking, money laundering and heading a criminal group.
He was released from a reportedly purpose-built top-security detention facility on Coloane in 2012.
Less than a year after the Marriott event here, in December 2020, the US Department of Treasury announced its sanctioning of Wan as a leader or an official of an entity that engaged in corruption – including state assets misappropriation, government contract-related graft, and bribery, among others.
The department labelled Wan as the leader of the 14K Triad – said to be one of the world’s largest Chinese organised criminal groups engaged in drug trafficking, illegal gambling, racketeering, human trafficking, and a range of other criminal activities.
The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also designated several entities “owned or controlled” by Wan, including the Dongmei Group and the Cambodian chapter of the World Hongmen History and Culture Association (WHHCA).
While the department noted that Wan “headed” Dongmei Group and was a “key investor” in the then-Saixigang Zone, documents sourced from Hong Kong companies registry show that Abdul Shakor and fellow Malaysian Yong Mun Hong were founding members and shareholders of the company.
Meanwhile, the WHHCA, which published multiple blog posts on the event here and other programmes involving Dongmei Group, is believed to be Wan’s brainchild for promoting solidarity and cultural exchange among the Chinese diaspora.
However, the US department asserted that the 14K Triad had used the association to “legitimise” itself, with the association succeeding in “co-opting elite figures in Malaysia and Cambodia.”
“The WHHCA is spreading across Southeast Asia, establishing a powerful business network involved in the development and launching of cryptocurrencies, real estate and most recently, a security company specialising in protecting China’s Belt and Road Initiative investments,” it added.
Former Malaysian fugitive Nicky Liow
Mashitah’s social media post of the Marriott event here suggests her links to another controversial attendee – Malaysian businessman Nicky Liow, a former fugitive who was reportedly a WHHCA vice-chairman when he was accused of involvement with scam syndicates in Macau.
Liow first went on the run from authorities about a year after the event, following large-scale operations and raids by police to determine his role in an organised crime syndicate involved in money laundering, illegal money lending, investment scams and drug trafficking.
Liow, whose “datuk seri” title was revoked by the Pahang palace in 2021, surrendered himself on April 11, 2022. The following day, he was charged at the Shah Alam sessions court with 26 counts of money laundering involving RM36 million in funds.
Burmese militia
A month before the Marriott event where Mashitah and Abdul Shukor were photographed with Wan and Liow, the duo flew to Myanmar to meet a “group of 20 ‘taikos’ (bosses)” as part of their “first hotel project” launch.
Wan is believed to be one of the “taikos” referenced by Mashitah as she then uploaded pictures of him alongside her and Abdul Shakor dining at a seemingly high-end restaurant in Mae Sot, Thailand the following night.
“Seek knowledge even if it’s from the Chinese (as) much knowledge has been gained from them. When it comes to business, the Chinese believe in honesty, hard work, solidarity and blessings from God,” Mashitah said in the February 24, 2020 post.
Another post on the same date included a picture and video of Abdul Shukor delivering a speech at an event understood to be the foundation laying ceremony for Dongmei Zone, where armed militia in the background provided security.
Mashitah’s post on the occasion, which she was also pictured partaking in, reads: “Proud to be Muslim. Let there be a Muslim exploring the overseas economy. Done with the groundbreaking ceremony”.
When contacted by Scoop, Mashitah denied involvement with Dongmei Zone, asserting that there is no need for her to speak to the press as she has already provided her statement to police on the matter.
Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain has yet to respond to Scoop’s request for confirmation of police proceedings involving Mashitah.
Justice for Myanmar considers the event’s inclusion of armed militia members, whom it identified as KNA soldiers, as evidence of the militia’s involvement in the zone.
KNA leader Colonel San Myint, whose real name is Saw Chit Thu, along with several other associates, were listed as targets of financial sanctions by the United Kingdom in December 2023.
He is cited as bearing responsibility for providing support or obtaining benefits from the trafficking of people to the Shew Kokko Special Economic Zone, where victims were forced to work as scammers.
The Shwe Kokko Special Economic Zone, also in Myawaddy, was developed by Yatai International Holding Group Ltd – a Hong Kong-registered entity with its headquarters in Bangkok.
Besides China Press’ report on Malaysian trafficking victims who escaped Dongmei Zone, in April this year, a foreign Chinese-language news magazine also reported that another Malaysian victim was brutalised by guards after he attempted to flee the zone in February 2023.
Justice for Myanmar, meanwhile, has been reporting on how these scam centres run their operations using trafficked victims by luring them with promises of well-paying jobs overseas before being handed over to gangsters upon their arrival in the country. – August 24, 2024
