The Malaysian Insight

PASTOR Raymond Koh’s wife, Susanna Liew, has reminded Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin of his promise to get to the bottom of the case of her missing husband and other activists.

Liew, whose husband has been missing for four years now, said Muhyiddin had delivered that promise when he met her and the family of another activist when he was the home minister under the previous Pakatan Harapan government.

“If I have the opportunity to meet with the prime minister again, I would remind him of what he has promised to us as a family, together with Norhayati and her children,” Liew said in a public webinar yesterday evening in remembrance of Koh.

Norhayati Mohd Ariffin is the wife of Amri Che Mat, who was also abducted a few months after Koh.

“He (Muhyiddin) needs to resolve these cases of enforced disappearance because it is a black mark on the country, on our human rights record, and it will also affect the perception of investors.

“If they are going to invest in our country, it needs to be a place that is safe, not where a kidnap can happen in broad daylight.

“It is crucial for the current government to do something about it. The longer the wait, the effect on the country will be greater,” Liew said.

Koh was abducted by masked men on Jalan SS4B/10, Petaling Jaya, Selangor on February 13, 2017. The family has started a campaign titled “4 years on” from February 1 to 28 to pressure the authorities to act.

The webinar was also participated by writer Mariam Moktar, who said the disappearance of the activists affected everyone, and urged the public to discuss these issues and “make your politicians involved”.

“When I tried to get people to join the webinar, the reaction was ‘who is he (Koh) and what he’s got to do with us?’” said Mariam.

“You may think his disappearance has got nothing to do with you, but it has got everything to do with you because it reflects the state of the country today.

“It is a tangled web of incompetence, lies, controversy and that is determined to repress its own citizens.”

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) in 2019 found that the Special Branch from the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman had abducted both Koh and Amri respectively in commando-style operations.

Liew filed a suit last year against police officials and the government over Koh’s alleged abduction by state actors.

Her lawyer, Jerald Gomez, said that they had no choice after the police force had failed to satisfactorily explain Koh’s abduction.

“In account of the time for the processes of documents exchanges, preparation of witness statements, getting the counsel on board, and with the current movement-control order implementation, the case management might only start by next year,” he said.

However, Jerald was optimistic that the team will “keep banging on the door of justice”. – February 8, 2021.