The government has instructed the police to get to the bottom of the disappearances of pastor Raymond Koh, Amri Che Mat as well as Joshua and Ruth Hilmy, said de facto Law Minister Liew Vui Keong today.

“Instructions have been given to the police authorities to look into it.

“I personally find it unacceptable to see the disappearance of our own people, (and how they) can’t be traced. The investigation must be done and we must know what happened to them, (whether they are) dead or alive.

“I think we have a responsibility to all these people, the members of the family, to tell them what happened to them,” Liew said when asked during a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex today.

When pressed if the police had opened new investigation papers into the cases, he said he would leave it to the police to probe as it saw fit.

“But if they have not (opened new investigation papers), I want to know what is happening,” he added.

Malaysiakini is contacting the police for comment.

The change of government after May 9 has prompted calls for these cases to be re-probed.

Koh was abducted on Feb 13 last year while Amri and the Hilmys were taken in November 2016.

Police previously charged a former Uber driver Lam Chang Nam for kidnapping the pastor but this raised questions if the latter was a scapegoat to block scrutiny into the case.

Groups have questioned if these disappearances were "enforced disappearances" and if the then-government was involved.  

The Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) is presently probing Amri’s case, including a claim by his wife that the police had been involved in his disappearance.