Abduction highlights religious vigilantism
MALAYSIA: The well-planned abduction by at least 15 masked men of a Protestant pastor and the disappearances of three other church-linked people in Malaysia have prompted fears of religious vigilantism in the Muslimmajority nation.
Security camera footage showed the daylight abduction of pastor Raymond Koh, 62, i near the capital Kuala Lumpur on February 13. A convoy of three black SUV’s, two cars and two motorcycles blocked Koh’s car. Several men ran to Koh’s car while one filmed the incident and another stopped traffic, witnesses said. The abduction took less than a minute.
Initially police and Koh’s family believed he had been kidnapped for ransom. But two months later the family have not heard from his abductors and now believe that ‘‘religious elements’’ grabbed him in an act of ‘‘vigilantism or terrorism.’’
Koh runs a non-government organisation called Harapan Komuniti (Hope Community) which helps the poor, single mothers and drug addicts. The organisation was investigated in 2011 by Malaysia’s Islamic authorities after being accused of attempting to convert Muslims when its members hosted a party with Muslim attendees at a church. The allegations were dropped.
Later, several Muslims lodged police reports against Koh alleging he had tried to convert Muslim youths to Christianity.
Apostasy is an offence in the country. - Fairfax