SUHAKAM Reports on the Enforced Disappearances of Pastor Koh and Amri Che Mat

Pastor Raymond Koh was "disappeared" in broad daylight in SS4, Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan on 13 February 2017.

On 24 November 2016, Amri Che Mat was last seen by his wife.

Two others that are briefly mentioned in the reports are Joshua Hilmi (better known as Hilmi Bin Hanim) and his wife Ruth Hilmi, nobody has seen them or heard from them since November 2016. The actual reported date of disappearance was said to be 6 March 2017.

These four disappearances are not mere coincidences. This web report is not supposed to concoct up more conspiracy theories or other mere facts. Those of you that are interested can go to the SUHAKAM website appended below this paragraph and read the reports that have been recently concluded by the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat. 

Reports of the public inquiries on Pastor Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat

These reports of enforced disappearances do establish that these enforced disappearances are nothing to do with religion and race. These religious and pious people, who are Godly Christians and Muslims, have stumbled into something more sinister.

These four disappeared people could have provided refuge to those who ran away from trafficking camps in Wang Kelian, Perlis. Despite the reported trafficking camps were discovered months earlier by the Malaysian Police, it seemed that most of the those found in the mass graves may not be accounted for. Some of the illegally held refugees have managed to slip away.

If one follows the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Wang Kelian incident one can actually string the perception that those that were detained by the traffickers at the Wang Kelian makeshift illegal camps, and some of these refugees could have escaped earlier. These escaped refugees could have sought assistance from any of those four people. Amri, Joshua and Ruth are based in the Northern state of Perlis that run some sort of a private 'Yayasan' or Foundation for the less fortunate.

Christian and Muslim Foundations have always the determination to help the poor and the less fortunate. Christian Missionaries and Foundations have for decades assisted the Burmese minorities in the Northwest and Western Thailand after the United Nations have abandoned their will to help the ethnic Burmese refugees.

Likewise, when these escaped-refugees were perhaps found begging or sleeping in the streets in the Northern states of Malaysia, some kindhearted religious people could have pointed or brought these people to the attention of the Yayasan or individuals that have a good heart for offering refuge despite the troubles.

For Muslims, whether Sunni or 'Syiah' (Shia), the Koran construes this as a form of 'Jihad' to help another fellow Muslim. In Sūrah 4-Al Nisa verses 74-76, "Let those fight in the cause of God. Who sell the life of this world for the hereafter. To him who fighteth in the cause of God,-whether he is slain or gets victory-Soon shall We give him a reward of great (value). And why should ye not fight in the cause of God and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated (and oppressed)?-Men, women, and children, whose cry is: "Our Lord! Rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from Thee one who will help!" Those who believe fight in the cause of God, and those who reject Faith fight in the cause of Evil: So fight ye against the friends of Satan: feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan."

For Christians, the Bible's Chapter on Deuteronomy, Ch.15:7, specifically calls all Christians to assist any poor, needy, or disadvantaged person, "if there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother." And in Exodus Ch.23:6, it declares that Christians, "should not pervert justice or show impartiality to the poor (and the less fortunate) or favouritism to the great, but judge (all) your neighbour(s) fairly."

Hence, Amri Che Mat, Joshua and Ruth Helmi and Pastor Raymond Koh extended their aid and religious virtues to these helpless refugee victims. As God's disciples, they graciously extend their altruistic service.

The second thing that relishes a theoretical objective is the connection between the issue of trafficking of persons and the enforced disappearances is the fact that most of the disappearances happened in the Northern state of Perlis.

If the formula A+B = (B+A) C, then, most of the disappearances happened in and around the Northern state. The only disproportionate (wild) variable is Pastor Raymond Koh. He was abruptly taken in broad daylight in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. However, and bear in mind that Pastor Raymond Koh was previously somehow linked to a drug and arms smuggling syndicate. In that report, three suspects were arrested at Kota Bharu, Kuala Kangsar, and Kuantan and another suspect was shot dead in Baling, Kedah, a stone's throw away from the city of Betong in Thailand.

In that incident, the police chanced upon a house that was allegedly used for arms and drug smuggling. But what the police missed out is that the house could be the dwelling to house refugees on the run. Pastor Raymond Koh could have used the dwelling to house some runaways, as a place for protection from unwanting detections. Trafficking at the borders are not limited to just arms and drugs smuggling; trafficking of persons for labour and poached wildlife are common in these parts of Malaysia and Thailand. Recently, two Vietnamese poachers were arrested by authorities on 16 April 2019.

In February 2016, Bangladesh and Malaysia inked a formidable memorandum to bring in 1.5 million foreign workers. That's a big number. As a way to thwart suspicion on the number of Bangladeshis entering Malaysia, this memorandum could very well serve as a justifiable 'wool over the Rakyat's eyes' to cater to illegal workers entering Malaysia illegally. So if the lens is not sharp enough to catch what's happening on the ground, then that whole area is muddled.

Thirdly, many believers in social media and media wanted to believe that the actions of the disappearances have to do with religion and race. Well, it's easy for everyone to be caught up in the politics of religion and race. With that, the past Government ingratiated this opportunity to cloud everyone's judgement in the eyes of religion and race. Thereafter, the voices (of these enforced disappearances) dissipated amongst the views of the majority. Those in the realm of power whether in law enforcement or in the throes of heads of government felt threatened if the justification is directly perceived as a threat. For example, the Altantunya case was decidedly coerced in such a manner that investigations from enforcement agencies will lead to diluted justifications and those concerned are not affected. A law enforcement official evaded authorities and eloped to a country where death penalty laws are viewed as a concern. People in power have always a cause for concern if certain individuals felt their roles and profitability are awash with criminal propensities.

The view is that Amri Che Mat, Joshua and Ruth Hilmi and Pastor Raymond Koh knew the dilemma of trafficking of persons, hence, they were about to report on the issues faced by their 'new' faithful.

Fourthly, the authorities have yet to shed light on who are the Malaysians involved in the Wang Kelian incident. Thailand convicted a very senior military person that's linked to the incumbent Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's cabinet. That said, Thailand is trying to do its best to shed light on the trafficking of persons' issues.

With SUHAKAM report wanting a new investigation into the enforced disappearances of these four individuals, and with the new RCI on the Wang Kelian mass graves incident, its time we try to build a new investigative equation that can finally seek to solve these wanting problems for so many of us.