KUCHING: The job scam that left eight Sarawakians stranded in Monrovia, Liberia is a straightforward case.
Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said the Liberia case was not the same as the one in Cambodia.
“The 47 Malaysians in Cambodia were detained while the eight Sarawakians were stranded in Liberia, which is two different cases,” she told reporters after attending the Women and Family Development’s Self-Genius Programme at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here today.
The similarity of the cases was that the victims were all offered lucrative pay for non-existent jobs.
“When they (the eight Sarawakians) reached there, they found out there were no such jobs, got stranded there, and had no money to return home,” she said.
Fatimah commended the Foreign Affairs Ministry for bringing them home.
“There is no problem working outside of your country to look for better opportunities, provided you have the information on the genuineness of the company and the job,” she stressed.
Fatimah said most scammers had been specially trained to scam vulnerable people.
“Just like the youths who were victims of a job scam in Cambodia, they were vulnerable. So these scammers know their weaknesses and cheated them.”
People who are well-educated too were not spared, she said, falling prey to Macau scams.
“This issue is happening now. If we find something that is too good to be true, is it better to talk to someone about it and get it verified.
“And most importantly, we need to be very alert and careful,” she advised.
Eight Sarawakians aged between 30 and 66 were stranded in Liberia on Feb 4 and only returned home on Monday following diplomatic efforts between Wisma Putra and its Liberian counterparts.
This is the second successful effort by the Malaysian government, following the release of 47 Malaysians from detention in Cambodia on Feb 15.
