Suhakam wants independent taskforce on Koh, Amri disappearance
SUHAKAM INQUIRY | After concluding the police Special Branch was responsible for the disappearance of Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat, the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has recommended that an independent taskforce be established to re-investigate both cases.
Suhakam commissioner Mah Weng Kwai said this was due to lapses in police investigations into both cases...
SUHAKAM INQUIRY | After concluding the police Special Branch was responsible for the disappearance of Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat, a Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) public inquiry has recommended that an independent taskforce be established to once again investigate both cases.
Suhakam commissioner and inquiry panel member Mah Weng Kwai said this was due to lapses in police investigations into both cases.
“The family needs some closure and answers can only be provided by the state.
“It is believed that those who have been put in charge so far are withholding the answers to these questions, or are refusing to undertake a diligent exercise to discover them.
“Hence a new and separate taskforce needs to be set up to re-investigate the disappearance of Amri,” he said, later saying the same for Koh’s case.
Earlier, the panel remarked that the police had shown a lack of urgency in their investigations and further attempted to obscure a key police witness in Amri’s case from testifying before Suhakam.
Mah further mooted that independent investigators appointed by Attorney-General Tommy Thomas are included in the taskforce.
A list of proposed criteria for the investigators includes persons who have connections with the criminal investigations into their disappearances; no connections with any current or past member of the Special Branch; and no connections with current or past members of the Perlis religious authorities.
The taskforce should also regularly update the family and Suhakam on the progress of their investigations, and eventually, make their findings public.
Define Special Branch’s role
To prevent such cases of enforced disappearances from happening again, the panel recommended that the Special Branch’s jurisdiction be better defined.
“The panel recommends that the Special Branch be made accountable and its powers and responsibilities to be spelled out in law [...]
“And to clearly define the term ‘security’ to avoid the abuse of power [...],” Mah said.
It also urged for a clear designation of duties between the police and religious authorities, and for the police to not be involved in religious matters.
Amri (photo), an alleged syiah follower and proselytiser and Koh, a Christian pastor who allegedly proselytised to Muslims, were monitored by police and religious authorities before they disappeared.
Amri’s home was once visited by a group comprising both police and Perlis religious authority officers who acted on complaints on his alleged syiah activities.
Suhakam further called for the police’s standard operating procedure (SOP) on missing persons and abductions be reformed, and for the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Committee (IPCMC) be set up as an oversight body for the police.
It added that all authorities ought to respect every Malaysian's right to freedom of religion as enshrined in Article 11(1) of the Federal Constitution.
Today’s decision capped Suhakam’s inquiries into both cases.
Mah, along with fellow Suhakam commissioners Aishah Bidin and Nik Salida Suhaila Salleh, had presided over the inquiries.
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