Abandoned illegal migrant camp can be made a tourist spot - Shahidan

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim has mooted the idea to turn an abandoned migrant camp that was found near the Thailand-Malaysia border as a tourist destination.

According to media reports, Shahidan told reporters that the largest out of the 16 illegal camps found in Perlis had complete facilities.

"Everything is still intact. There was a surau, a wooden mosque, a house for imam, vegetable farm and many more.

"There were also some Thai writings inside the mosque,” he said adding several Thai beer cans and playing cards were also found indicating a large community had lived there.

Shahidan said by turning the spot into a tourist attraction site, human trafficking activities would also cease as people will flock the place on daily basis.

Shahidan also said he did not think that the camps were built by Malaysians unless they were communists as the structures are well-built.

"I call on the police to process this camp fast and tell the people that it was not built by Malaysians.

"On plans to make it a tourism attraction, I will discuss with the police and the state government about preserving the structures," he said.