After losing faith in cops, pastor Koh’s family seeks PM's help
The family of Raymond Koh, the pastor who was abducted in broad daylight two years ago, has appealed to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to order a fresh police probe into the disappearance.
Koh’s wife Susanna and his son Jonathan also called for similar action for the disappearances of Amri Che Mat, Joshua Hilmy and Ruth Hilmy...
The family of Raymond Koh, the pastor who was abducted in broad daylight two years ago, has appealed to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to order a fresh police probe into the disappearance.
Koh’s wife Susanna and his son Jonathan also called for similar action for the disappearances of Amri Che Mat, Joshua Hilmy and Ruth Hilmy.
Accompanied by representatives from Suaram, Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (Caged) and the Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM), they handed over a memorandum comprising their demands to the PM’s Department in Putrajaya this morning.
The memorandum, sighted by Malaysiakini, stated their dissatisfaction with the police as no one had been held responsible for any of the disappearances thus far.
“We are glad that Suhakam has conducted an inquiry into this matter with many witnesses called, including those from the police. However, the police response to the inquiry has been far from satisfactory.
“Two years after a video of pastor Koh’s abduction went viral, our police force insists they are clueless about who abducted him in what many viewers of the video have concluded must be, at the very least, a well-trained paramilitary force.
“We are, therefore, requesting the PM to personally order a new police investigation into these disappearances by a completely new team of independent police investigators,” it read.
They also urged Mahathir to meet with family members of those who had disappeared to hear their side of the story.
“We call on the PM to meet the family members of pastor Koh and Amri, together with their key advisors, to hear for yourself their side of the story and verify what we have said here,” it read.
The memorandum was received by Mahathir's special assistant Said Khamis, who assured that the document would reach the prime minister.
Suhakam ended its inquiry last December, where it attempted to determine if the four disappearances were tantamount to “enforced disappearances”.
The International Convention for Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearances (ICPPED) defines 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 of persons, acting with the authorisation, support or acquiescence of the state.
The commission is expected to present its findings to Parliament this year.
'Home minister making excuses for cops'
Speaking to Malaysiakini after the memorandum handover, Caged spokesperson Rama Ramanathan said the unresolved disappearances had caused a crisis of confidence in not only the police force but also in Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
“We want him (Mahathir) to recognise there is a crisis of confidence in the police. And what we see is that the home minister is basically making excuses for the police [...].
“The home minister is just listening to the police side of the story and completely missing the fact that most Malaysians now think they are in a state where people can just abduct in broad daylight using commando tactics, and no action will be taken,” he said.
Koh was last seen on Feb 13, 2017 while Amri, a social activist based in Perlis, was last seen on Nov 24, 2016. Joshua and Ruth were last seen on Nov 30, 2016.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.