Still missing after 50 days as more vigils held for Pastor Koh
COMMENT | Fifty days after his mysterious disappearance, Pastor Raymond Koh’s abduction continues to be a major concern to the Christian community both in Malaysia and worldwide.
His disappearance remains a mystery to some, but a cause of speculation for many. If not for a closed-circuit television (CCTV) video clip that went viral, most of us would have wondered what happened to Pastor Koh. Others, including one Joshua Hilmy and his wife, have also gone missing at around the same time as a social activist, Amri Che Mat.
Within just 42 seconds, 15 men behaving like one of the elite squads as seen on TV ‘snatched’ Pastor Koh and took him away to an unknown place.
Despite the evidence from the CCTV cameras installed at a nearby house, and not forgetting that roads in the Klang Valley are installed with CCTV cameras, we are still clueless about who did it. This has raised a lot of concerns and the need for the Christian community to come together in prayer.
In solidarity
As it appears, prayer services and candlelight vigils will continue to be held for the 62-year-old pastor - or at least until his release by the captors. At every vigil, the Christians are praying for the special task force which has been set up to investigate the abduction.
The latest vigil held in Kota Kinabalu had attracted some 3,500 people, while both Sibu and Kuching recorded attendances of another 3,000 and 2,000 respectively.
Christians in both East and West Malaysia felt a strong sense of unity to stand in solidarity with the abducted pastor and his family. The observation was made by Bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia, Rev Dr Ong Hwai Teik.
Dr Ong was amongst those who spoke during the special prayer service held on the 50th day since Pastor Koh’s disappearance, where some 500 people representing at least 80 churches turned up at SS Methodist Church in Petaling Jaya.
Earlier in his speech, Dr Ong listed out the cities and churches that had held candlelight and prayer vigils for Pastor Koh.
Come this Saturday at 8.30pm, Suaram and other civil societies are also holding a vigil for Koh and others who have also disappeared.
Among others who were also present included the general-secretary of the Council of Churches Malaysia, Dr Hermen Shastri, Catholic Archbishop Julian Leow Beng Kim and Anglican Bishop of West Malaysia Ng Moon Hing.
Dr Shastri said that World Council of Churches (WCC) office based in Geneva has expressed their deepest concerns over the disappearance of Pastor Koh.
Dr Ong said that Koh is a gentleman and a faithful servant of God. “Raymond just wanted to serve the marginalised community in our midst,” he said.
Koh’s wife, Susanna Liew, said that her husband left his religious career and set up Harapan Komuniti to serve the marginalised community. “Having come from a poor family background himself, Pastor Raymond had a deep sense of obligation to help those who are in need, without turning away anyone,” she said.
To date, no ransom demand has been made to the family. After all, how much could a poor pastor fetch to warrant the abduction by 15 men and a convoy of vehicles?
Liew said for many weeks she has been urging the media and the public to be supportive of the police investigation.
“The questions and suspicion of who did it and why they did it persist,” she said.
“Malaysians are asking how could such an outrageous thing can happen right here in Malaysia to a man of faith and a charity worker?”...
COMMENT | Fifty days after his mysterious disappearance, Pastor Raymond Koh’s abduction continues to be a major concern to the Christian community both in Malaysia and worldwide.
His disappearance remains a mystery to some, but a cause of speculation for many. If not for a closed-circuit television (CCTV) video clip that went viral, most of us would have wondered what happened to Pastor Koh. Others, including one Joshua Hilmy and his wife, have also gone missing at around the same time as a social activist, Amri Che Mat.
Within just 42 seconds, 15 men behaving like one of the elite squads as seen on TV ‘snatched’ Pastor Koh and took him away to an unknown place.
Despite the evidence from the CCTV cameras installed at a nearby house, and not forgetting that roads in the Klang Valley are installed with CCTV cameras, we are still clueless about who did it. This has raised a lot of concerns and the need for the Christian community to come together in prayer.
In solidarity
As it appears, prayer services and candlelight vigils will continue to be held for the 62-year-old pastor - or at least until his release by the captors. At every vigil, the Christians are praying for the special task force which has been set up to investigate the abduction.
The latest vigil held in Kota Kinabalu had attracted some 3,500 people, while both Sibu and Kuching recorded attendances of another 3,000 and 2,000 respectively.
Christians in both East and West Malaysia felt a strong sense of unity to stand in solidarity with the abducted pastor and his family. The observation was made by Bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia, Rev Dr Ong Hwai Teik.
Dr Ong was amongst those who spoke during the special prayer service held on the 50th day since Pastor Koh’s disappearance, where some 500 people representing at least 80 churches turned up at SS Methodist Church in Petaling Jaya.
Earlier in his speech, Dr Ong listed out the cities and churches that had held candlelight and prayer vigils for Pastor Koh.
Come this Saturday at 8.30pm, Suaram and other civil societies are also holding a vigil for Koh and others who have also disappeared.
Among others who were also present included the general-secretary of the Council of Churches Malaysia, Dr Hermen Shastri, Catholic Archbishop Julian Leow Beng Kim and Anglican Bishop of West Malaysia Ng Moon Hing.
Dr Shastri said that World Council of Churches (WCC) office based in Geneva has expressed their deepest concerns over the disappearance of Pastor Koh.
Dr Ong said that Koh is a gentleman and a faithful servant of God. “Raymond just wanted to serve the marginalised community in our midst,” he said.
Koh’s wife, Susanna Liew, said that her husband left his religious career and set up Harapan Komuniti to serve the marginalised community. “Having come from a poor family background himself, Pastor Raymond had a deep sense of obligation to help those who are in need, without turning away anyone,” she said.
To date, no ransom demand has been made to the family. After all, how much could a poor pastor fetch to warrant the abduction by 15 men and a convoy of vehicles?
Liew said for many weeks she has been urging the media and the public to be supportive of the police investigation.
“The questions and suspicion of who did it and why they did it persist,” she said.
“Malaysians are asking how could such an outrageous thing can happen right here in Malaysia to a man of faith and a charity worker?”
Sympathy votes?
As the mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock in 2009 had gained the DAP a lot of sympathy votes during a previous general election, Koh’s vigil is also drawing ecumenical solidarity from the Christian community in sizeable numbers, especially in Sabah and Sarawak.
The CCTV video clip that went viral nearly a month ago has set many tongues wagging as to who could have carried out the abduction. It is obvious that this was not done by terrorists or else it would have raised an alarm.
This is why I ruled out the terrorists, right from the beginning. All it takes for the terrorists was to have two or three men with weapons to take a frail 62-year-old man by force.
Given that Koh might have some personal enemies, as suggested by the inspector-general of police, Khalid Abu Bakar, I beg to differ. Surely, Koh’s personal “enemies” would not hire 15 men to do a simple job. After all, Koh was just an ordinary pastor and not a VVIP of any sort.
A closer look at the CCTV video clip shows that these men did not come in all sizes and shapes. They appeared to be professionally trained to carry out such an abduction.
For this reason, Gerakan Youth deputy chief Andy Yong pointed out from his observations that “most people have the mindset that the abduction is influenced by someone of higher authority in the government”.
Fair enough that people would try not to speculate, but it is difficult to stop anyone from coming out with various hypotheses and angles when they learn about the abduction. It is common for scientists to come up with a hypothesis; even the police have to work on various speculations based on whatever evidence they have collected.
In a country where everything is ultimately linked to the people’s votes, especially at a time when the population is gearing for the next general election, the lack of leads despite the family offering cash rewards and a special police task force being set up to investigate Pastor Koh’s disappearance, people cannot help but ask whether we are witnessing yet another case of mysterious murder.
The late Teoh Beng Hock who died on July 16, 2009 in what appeared to be a suicide would surely rise from the grave, crying for fresh justice for himself and for others who need not have died.
Whatever it is, we continue to pray for the safety of Pastor Koh Keng Joo, a man well-respected by fellow Malaysians for his work amongst the marginalised community.
Most Malaysians would be exhilarated should Pastor Koh be set free by his captors unconditionally in the same manner that some fishermen were released by the Indonesian authorities in the lead-up to the Sungai Besar state by-election.
STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
