Pamela Ling Kidnapping Devolves Into A Pastor Koh Tragedy

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"In the case of Ling, the cabinet was not briefed on the latest developments.”
- Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
Why didn’t the MACC lodge a police report that a high-profile person of interest or potential witness (we do not know which) was kidnapped on her way to the MACC?
It has been a month since Pamela Ling disappeared on her way to the MACC. Whoever took Ling obviously did not care if they could be identified by the Grab driver, whose car she was in.
ADSWhoever took Ling felt secure enough to confiscate the Grab driver’s identity card and driving license. Whoever took her was also confident that they could talk their “victim” into going with them and calmly departed from the scene of a crime.
We know that two men and a woman kidnapped Ling if we are to believe the Grab driver. We know that the woman was wearing a police uniform or at least, what appeared to be a police uniform.
The men were garbed in police vests. We know that there may have been other individuals in a third car from the witness report.
So, in other words, we are dealing with an organised group of people who were confident that the symbols of authority they wore would ensure compliance and were using trade craft that the state security apparatus uses, and they abducted her not in some secluded place but on her way to the MACC.
How did they know she was going to the MACC? Obviously, Ling was under some sort of surveillance but by whom? Here is a woman missing for a month on her way to the MACC and let us face facts: a member of the plutocrat class and the cabinet has not been briefed on the latest developments?
Remember Pastor Koh?
We know that a similar kind of tradecraft was used in the disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh. We know that Suhakam has classified the kidnapping as an enforced disappearance and has laid the blame squarely on the state security apparatus.
But most importantly, we know that the political class has done absolutely nothing about this.
Pastor Raymond Koh and Amri Che MatFormer MACC chief Dzulkifli Ahmad claimed publicly that - "The sequence of events in Ling's case, if accurate, calls into question the procedural integrity and legality of the investigation process.”
Now, forget about what we know of the former MACC chief but focus on what he said about the procedure and legality of the MACC on what it did in this case.
Only in the Madani era would the cabinet not be briefed on the disappearance of a woman being investigated by the MACC, who was taken on her way to the MACC.
Indeed, as former deputy law minister Hanipa Maidin wrote – “The fact also demonstrates that just two days before the disappearance, Ling had filed a judicial review application in the High Court of Malaya challenging the actions of the graft busters.”
Former deputy law minister Hanipa MaidinADSIn any functional democracy, when the lawyers of a kidnapped person accuse the state security apparatus of malfeasance, political operatives would be exploiting the issues and demanding that the relevant agencies be investigated.
The victims’ families would be surrounded by a gaggle of political operatives hoping the spotlight not only shines on them, but also that any investigation into government institutions not only demonstrates the integrity of the institutions but the political process as well.
What is happening here? Absolutely nothing. PSM had to wonder why this kidnapping only saw the light of day after a month and the family’s lawyers rightly pointed out that they were hoping that the state security apparatus would inform them of any developments or that they did not want to impede the investigation in any way.
Tragically, because of the way she was kidnapped, this may have given more time to the abductors.
Already, the narrative of “rogue cops” is being tested. Remember in the cases of Koh and Amri Che Mat, Zamri Yahya, a member of the Home Ministry's Special Task Force (STF) claimed (in his personal opinion, of course) - “(The STF) Found that the incident behind Amri and Koh may have been caused by the actions directly or indirectly of irresponsible rogue police officers who acted on their own individually or in a group
“They acted on their own accord, together with outside religious groups. However, this is only my view.”
Spinning narratives
Kuala Lumpur police chief Rusdi Isa said that new leads were discovered by the police but here is the thing, this press conference was only being held because this news is public.
What were the police doing for a whole month? Again, all these narratives are being spun. That there were eight kidnappers, that only two wore police vests and that there were five cars etc.
Mind you, the police have not shown the public any evidence to support these statements because they claim they do not want to jeopardise their investigations.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Rusdi IsaIf you look at press conferences in other functional democracies, they want the public to know as much as possible without jeopardising the investigations.
In a case where the state security apparatus' credibility is in question, the police forces in functional democracies are even more transparent.
Keep in mind Rusdi even entertained the idea that the victim could have staged the kidnapping. Remember in Koh’s case, how the state security apparatus attempted to imply that Koh had links to underworld crime elements?
We can easily dismiss that these were rogue cops working on their own in Ling’s disappearance because what would have been their purpose for kidnapping her?
Operatives from the state security apparatus do not simply go around kidnapping citizens, and there are always reasons, either legal or extrajudicial, for their actions.
No ransom demand
Indeed, the family has received no ransom demands. No proof of life. And this is how it starts. It started like this with the Koh’s case. It started like this with the Amri’s case.
It started like this with Ruth Sipue’s case. In all these cases, the state security apparatus has come under scrutiny and decried that they are being demonised.
Imagine if the family had gone public immediately instead of trusting institutions meant to protect and serve them?
You have to ask yourself if criminals are going around masquerading as cops, and this is not the first time this has happened, why is the state so blasé about it?
Why is the state not hunting down these perpetrators? They would view these people as a threat to national security. Why doesn’t the state view them as a threat to national security?
A threat to national security is something that cannot be controlled, right? - Mkini
S THAYAPARAN is commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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