04:50Today, the world confronts a shadow empire built on fear and deception. An empire without borders, yet powerful enough to corrupt economies, infiltrate politics and enslave life.
05:07It feasts on equality and indifference, and in doing so, it rose the very foundation of democracy.
05:18From drug cartels that poison our youth to assassination that silent defenders of truth, this empire leaves no nation untouched.
05:30The tragic killing of Senator Miguel Ulibe Dupai of Colombia reminds us that organised crime is not a distant mereness, it is a threat that strikes at the heart of democracy.
05:48What we face is a hybrid threat, a convergence of crime, corruption and digital warfare.
05:55It manipulates information, weaponises technologies, wanders billions through cryptocurrency and undermines public trust.
06:06Nowhere is this shadow empire more visible than in the rise of the scam compounds across Southeast Asia.
06:17Behind the screen and false promise are hundreds of thousands of people from multiple countries.
06:25Many deceive, coerce, and trapped in conditions that defy humanity, human dignity.
06:34A recent joint international operation froze assets worth over US$15 billion,
06:42revealing only the surface of this vast criminal economy.
06:48Madam Chair, if we remain silent, this empire will keep expanding, feeding on our inaction.
06:58We call upon all Parliament to unite, to cross legal loopholes, strengthen anti-trafficking frameworks,
07:07and ensure responses that are human rights-based and grounded in dignity and justice.
07:13Let us build cooperation, and that is as borderless and as the crime we face.
07:22Let us act not only with resolve, but with humanity.
07:27Because the true measure of democracy is not how loudly we condemn injustice,
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