Mass graves: A journalist's journey Into Malaysia's darkest chapter

New Straits Times

5 hours ago

WHEN journalists dig deep, ask hard questions, and refuse to let go, they become more than storytellers — they become catalysts for truth. Their relentless pursuit can shine a light on hidden crimes, expose wrongdoing and give voice to those silenced by fear or power.
In a world where so much is buried beneath spin, silence or indifference, journalism remains one of the last lines of defence against injustice.
Veteran journalist Datuk S. Arulldas was on the trail of a Penang-based human trafficking syndicate in 2015 when information from his police contacts led him to Perlis. It was a lead that would take him deep into a chilling web of crime and silence.
For journalists like Arulldas, the pursuit of truth isn't just a job; it's a calling. Their dogged determination to follow the facts, no matter how remote or risky, has the power to uncover buried truths, expose hidden atrocities and push authorities into action. In this case, that pursuit would bring him face to face with one of Malaysia's darkest chapters.
Combing through dense jungle, steep terrain and a wall of bureaucracy — from uncooperative security personnel to high-ranking officials — Arulldas and his steadfast photographer, Sayuti Zainudin, pushed forward.
What they uncovered were Malaysia's own killing fields: 139 remains buried in shallow graves, scattered across remote forested slopes.
Their discovery led to the exposure of hidden human trafficking camps along the border — grim evidence of a cross-border trade in human misery that had flourished in silence for too long.
He has chronicled his journey in a book titled Mass Graves: Uncovering the Killing Fields of Wang Kelian. The book is a compelling account of the investigation, pieced together with a collection of newspaper clippings, photographs, and personal notes that offer a behind-the-scenes look at how investigative journalism operates in Malaysia.
It not only documents the horrors uncovered in the Perlis jungle, but also sheds light on the perseverance, risks and resistance journalists often face when pursuing stories that challenge power and expose uncomfortable truths.
Prompted by a spate of grisly murders involving Myanmar nationals in Penang, Arulldas began digging deeper. His investigation revealed troubling links between the killings and human trafficking networks, which soon led him to the country's northern border and a tip that would change everything.
While seated at a coffee shop in Jitra, Kedah, just before heading to the border, Arulldas and Sayuti met a contact who dropped a bombshell. "He told us there were mass graves of migrants at Bukit Wang Burma, near Wang Kelian," Arulldas later wrote. Wang Kelian, located at the northernmost part of Perlis, shares a border with Wang Prachan in the Khuan Don District of Satun Province, southern Thailand.
The contact revealed that a retired senior Thai army officer and his wife had recently been arrested by Thai authorities in connection with a human trafficking network and the discovery of mass graves. But when pressed for further details, he remained tight-lipped, insisting that if the journalist wanted answers, he'd have to find the graves himself.
Sensing a story, Arulldas turned to his photographer and asked, "Shall we go?" Sayuti agreed without hesitation, and just like that, their journey veered off course.
"It was a different kind of feeling when we arrived in Wang Kelian," Arulldas recalls. "It felt strange… like we weren't in Malaysia anymore. It was dusk. The houses were dark, the roads empty. Everything looked deserted."
That evening, their first attempt to locate the mass graves was quickly called off. They had no maps, no landmarks and weren't equipped to navigate the forest reserve. "We didn't want to get lost in the jungle at night," he says wryly.
Undeterred by the initial setback, Arulldas pressed on. He followed every lead, tracked down contacts and spoke to anyone who might help him find the mass graves believed to be hidden deep within the forest. Each encounter brought new challenges, from vague directions to hesitant sources.
What stands out in his account isn't just the information he uncovered, but the relentless way he pursued it. Despite the uncertainty, the risks and the many obstacles, he never gave up. His tenacity, grounded in a journalist's instinct, carried him forward in search of a story that many would have walked away from.
The then 60-year-old Arulldas went on to risk life and limb, trekking through dense forest terrain with guides he barely knew. "My legs were swollen and at that time, I nearly gave up so many times along the way," he recalls. "But my guides kept urging me on. They said, 'You've come this far. Just a little more.'"
Eventually, he reached a small clearing where the ground had been crudely disturbed. Open graves lay before him, the surfaces loosely covered with palm fronds. He'd found the mass graves.
"It was a human tragedy," he says soberly. "I feel it shouldn't have happened. These people were looking for greener pastures. They shouldn't have had to die or be killed. I felt such deep sadness and pity."
Ten years on, the now 70-year-old reflects on that day and quietly admits it was the defining moment of his career. Yet a decade later, he concedes that more questions remain than answers. Still, the story demands to be told.
"All we can do as journalists is expose the truth," he writes. "To put faces to a marginalised group that might otherwise remain nothing more than inconvenient statistics, too easily brushed aside."
Arulldas' book is a courageous and unflinching account of a tragedy Malaysia has yet to fully confront. It stands as a testament to lives lost, justice denied, and the silence that continues to hang over Wang Kelian.
Somewhere in Kedah, the victims lie buried under nameless headstones, marked only by DNA codes. Their stories remain untold, their identities unknown and the truth behind their deaths still cloaked in silence.
Publisher: Gerakbudaya Enterprise
133 pages