Wives of missing activists write to PM

PETALING JAYA: The wives of missing activists Pastor Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat are keeping alive the search for their husbands who have been missing for more than one year.

They have turned to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for help.

“Please help us find out what happened to our husbands, who took them and where they are now.

“We want them back with us. We beg for justice. We plead for the truth,” said Susanna Liew and Norhayati Mohd Ariffin in a joint letter yesterday.

Liew is the wife of Pastor Koh while Norhayati is the wife of Amri.

In the open letter to Dr Mahathir, they said any delay in the matter could be seen as a denial of their husbands’ rights to be protected under the rule of law.

The cases of their disappearances, along with that of Pastor Joshua Hilmi and his wife, Ruth Sitepu, are currently the subject of an inquiry by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).

Koh was reportedly abducted from his car in Petaling Jaya in “professional” style while on his way to a friend’s house on Feb 13, 2017.

CCTV footage, believed to be of the incident, showed at least 15 men and three black SUVs involved in the abduction.

In Amri’s case, a witness has also testified at Suhakam that he saw Amri being abducted by men in four vehicles that looked like pickup trucks, in Kangar, Perlis, on Nov 24, 2016.

Amri’s case received more interest recently, when Norhayati claimed that a police officer told her that Special Branch officers from Bukit Aman were responsible for the kidnapping of her husband, as well as of Pastor Koh.

“As such, respectfully, we plead to the government to immediately and independently investigate these serious allegations with urgency, transparency and impartiality,” the women urged in their letter.

“Especially because those allegedly implicated include high-ranking and powerful police officers.”

They also pleaded to the Attorney General’s Chambers to provide a safe space for whistleblowers to come forward with knowledge of their husbands’ abductions, who took them, where they are now and those who are involved.