SUHAKAM INQUIRY | Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin was present during a raid on missing activist Amri Che Mat's home and his NGO Perlis Hope's office, according to Amri’s wife Norhayati Ariffin.

She told a Suhakam inquiry in Kuala Lumpur today that about 20 police officers and men and religious enforcement officers surrounded her home and the Perlis Hope office, located next door, sometime in 2015.

At the time, her husband was away from home while she was inside, and the couple’s 10-year old daughter was outside. She realised the authorities were present when they started shouting at her daughters.

“The police started shouting ‘Where is your old man? Where is your old man?’ It was quite crude...

“When I came out, the police introduced me to Dr Maza (the name by which Mohd Asri is also widely known).

“He asked for permission to enter, but I refused because my husband was not at home,” Norhayati said while testifying as the inquiry’s first witness in the hearing on her husband’s disappearance.

She added that the religious officers broke into the Perlis Hope office at the time, while the police demanded to know about Amri and his activities in the NGO, which he co-founded just six days earlier. 

Norhayati said Amri went to see the mufti at his office the following day.

After initially testifying that the Perlis Islamic Religious Council (MAIP) was present during the raid, Norhayati became unsure when the Suhakam panel members asked her to clarify whether it could be another authority, such as the mufti’s office, or the state religious department.

The panel’s chairperson, Mah Weng Kwai, then adjourned the inquiry for lunch break and asked Norhayati to try and recall the details of the raid. 

When the inquiry resumed, Norhayati clarified the religious officials were actually from the Perlis Mufti’s Department, and the incident took place on Oct 21, 2015 at 5.30pm.

'Police’s behaviour intimidating'

To a question, she insisted that the event was a raid rather than a visit because of the police’s behaviour, although she was not specifically told that it was a raid.

“It is because there were too many police, and they were quite rough to my young children,” she said, adding that she found the police’s behaviour intimidating.

Asked about Amri’s meeting with Asri, Norhayati told the inquiry that Amri said the meeting was about allegations that Amri was involved with Syiah teachings. She said her brother and Perlis Hope treasurer Norhafizal Ariffin was also present.

“Amri told that Dr Maza said authorities suspect that Amri was involved with Shia teachings. However, Dr Maza said the mufti’s office had no objections if this is done quietly,” she said.

Syiah teachings are considered “deviant” and illegal in Malaysia, and departs from the Sunni Islam practiced by most of the country’s Muslims.

About a month before Amri when missing, however, she said Amri became nervous when Asri became more outspoken in public about Perlis Hope’s activities and its alleged Syiah links.

On Oct 7, 2016, she said Amri showed her a screenshot of Asri’s Facebook page showing a meeting between him and police officers from Bukit Aman about Perlis Hope. She said the Facebook post had since been removed, but an identical post is still available from the Perlis mufti’s Department’s Facebook page.

One of the photos even showed a part of a presentation slide (photo), in which a part of a picture of her home is visible, Norhayati said.

She said Asri also gave an interview that was published in Sinar Harian on Oct 13, in which the mufti expressed concern that Syiah teachers are spreading through “certain groups” in Perlis.

She said Arau MP Shahiddan Kassim had also voiced displeasure about the group.

Asked why Perlis Hope was being targeted, Norhayati said she believes that it was because Perlis Hope’s charity work had made the Perlis Baitumal and Shahidan appear impotent in ensuring the people’s welfare.

She said Perlis Hope is a non-religious and non-political charity, and its efforts include distributing 10kg of rice to each of 150 improvised households, building houses for the poor and victims of fire, and assisting single mothers and children with chronic illnesses.

In addition, its contributors and beneficiaries hail from all religious and ethnic backgrounds.

The 45-year old primary school teacher and Perlis Hope member said Amri and his friends were inspired to set up Perlis Hope after participating in flood relief efforts in Kelantan around December 2014.

She said Perlis Hope was then founded on Oct 15, 2015.

Suhakam is currently investigating whether the disappearances of Amri and two others are “enforced or involuntary,” as defined by the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED).

The two other disappearances being investigated are that of pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife Ruth Sitepu.

The commission had previously been investigating pastor Raymond Koh’s disappearance but was forced to suspend proceedings when former Uber driver Lam Chang Nam was charged in court for allegedly abducting Koh.

The hearing will resume on Wednesday morning.

Mah said Asri is among the witnesses summoned to testify, but did not mention when the mufti will be called to the witness stand.