Malaysian International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) secretary-general Hishamuddin Hashim said these victims had to pay compounds for “overstaying” despite having nothing but the clothes on their backs.

He said this was why MHO and Malaysia Community Crime Care (MCCC) president Musa Hassan had agreed to set up the “Selamatkan Rakyat Malaysia” humanitarian fund to help bring back these stranded scam victims.

Hishamuddin said the families of some victims could afford the compounds but there were those who could not.

He said most of the victims who had been rescued had no money and could not afford a place to stay or food.

“When the victims are rescued, they are placed in a police station but they are not allowed to stay there for long, just a day or two. Then they need to be moved to a hotel for their safety, but they don’t have money.

“Once they are safe, they are taken to the immigration authorities who will then calculate how long they have overstayed in that country. If they entered the country illegally, they would also be slapped with a fine,” he said.

He said MHO had asked Putrajaya to provide funds for logistical matters to bring the Malaysians home but there had been little progress.

“The government (should) provide funds. This is a different situation compared to those who overstay (in another country on purpose). These are trafficking victims.”

Meanwhile, Musa, who is also a former inspector-general of police, said MHO and MCCC had to launch the “Selamatkan Rakyat Malaysia” fund to help the victims.

“As a person who runs an NGO, I’ve never asked for money from anyone, not even the government. But we want to help people who have been victimised, so we had to set up the fund,” he told FMT.

“The money can also help those working in Malaysian embassies in certain countries as they also lack the funds (to help save the victims).”

Those interested in contributing to the fund may call MHO’s hotline at 011-29050000.