Civil society groups have claimed that the recent abductions of four people were in fact "enforced disappearances", on which they questioned the government’s involvement in the cases and demanded answers from the police.

Pastor Raymond Koh was abducted in February while Amri Che Mat, along with Joshua and Ruth Hilmy, disappeared last November.

“From the CCTV footage (of Koh’s abduction) as well as eyewitness accounts (of Amri’s abduction), we believe a professionally-trained group carried out the abductions.

“Is this group sanctioned by the state? Is the state aware of this professional group?

“We assume they were victims of ‘enforced disappearances’, state-sanctioned disappearances,” NGO Engage chairperson Thomas Fann said at a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) today.

Enforced disappearance is defined by the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance as "the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the state or by persons or groups or persons acting with the authorisation, support or acquiescence of the state..."

Rama Ramanathan of Bersih further explained their position.

“If you look at the CCTV video of Koh’s abduction, you will see that seven vehicles and 14 professionally-trained people used just 40 seconds to abduct him.

“Analysts have said that their modus operandi is very similar to that of the special forces. But the police statements so far have not addressed this... and we have no information from the government about this group.

“The government needs to respond,” Rama said.

Susanna Liew, wife of Pastor Koh, was also present.

“It has already been 82 days since my husband’s disappearance, but we have not heard of any substantial leads on where to find the abductors.

“We have no information on where my husband is or where the perpetrators are,” she said.

Mahmod Alkaf of Perlis Hope represented Amri’s family.

“We want concrete answers about his (Amri's) abduction. Those responsible need to take responsibility,” Mahmod said.

Aims to monitor and highlight cases

The group also criticised inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar's comments in March that groups should “shut up” to enable the police to carry out their investigation.

“We will not shut our mouths, we will keep this issue alive,” said Fann.

Fann’s Engage, along with 48 groups including Bersih, Suaram, Amnesty Malaysia and KLSCAH, came together to launch the Citizen Action Group on Enforced Disappearances (Caged) at the press conference today.

Caged aims to monitor and highlight cases of "enforced disappearances" in Malaysia.

It plans to coordinate solidarity vigils for the victims so that at least two vigils will take place every week across the nation.

Vigils have been organised in more than 10 cities and towns nationwide but Caged will be the main organiser for vigils in Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur, scheduled to be held at 8.30pm on the last Saturday of every month.

“Vigils are a space for the public to express their concern. We want to ensure this issue remains alive in the public sphere and that those missing are not forgotten,” Fann said.

Caged has set up a hotline (+601124244877) and an email address, caged.helpline@gmail.com, for the families of missing persons who were “working on political, religious or social issues and where no ransom monies were demanded”.

“These cases are unprecedented and unimaginable in Malaysia. As the family, we want truth and justice to prevail and we want closure,” Liew said.