Public Must Keep Enforced Disappearances Issue Alive

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YOURSAY | 'No wonder public trust in authorities is at best lukewarm.'
Police to reopen probe into Koh's disappearance - Saifuddin
Dr Suresh Kumar: If society keeps quiet, nothing will happen as all the politicians are only for themselves, their families, and cronies. They will plunder as much as they can, then disappear.
The rakyat are the ones who will have to pay the price in the end. But the initiative should come from our Malay brethren, as they are the majority who possess the political power.
However, no one is willing to trust this hopeless Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail. Judge Su Tiang Joo is smart to order the government to pay RM10,000 a day until the pastor is found. This is the reason why this minister is talking now.
But wait, don’t try to delay the payment; start paying immediately instead of appealing if you mean what you say. Not only that, you must also find both Pastor Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat.
At least their remains should be handed over to their families. Imagine the mental torture the families have been put through all these years. There is no closure for them. This is a crime against humanity and a grave sin.
Sadly, the opposition will not take up this issue in Parliament for obvious reasons. And the eunuch DAP and its sycophants, too, will remain silent.
So, it is incumbent upon members of the public, journalists, NGOs, and all fair-minded Malaysians to keep this issue alive until the perpetrators are brought to justice. We should fight injustice and the rotten system that perpetuates it.
GSVL: In Pastor Koh’s case, the evidence was overwhelming that the abduction was staged by highly trained state operatives. The only issue was who, if any, authorised it from within the police force or the higher echelons of the then government?
This is a very serious matter. Enforced disappearances are something that cannot be condoned in any civilised society. Whatever the pastor’s alleged crimes, he should have been arrested, charged, and tried in a court of law.
If the law enforcers can violate the law, what is there to stop citizens from doing the same? The government should consider forming a Royal Commission of Inquiry to determine if a deep state exists within the establishment with connections to politicians and religious figures.
These figures may be operating with impunity and above the law just because they have the right to bear arms and are imbued with a false sense of racial and religious superiority and invincibility.
Unlawful and illegal conduct like this by public servants never occurred under our first three prime ministers. Why is it that the shift starting in the 1980s onwards has produced such a serious decline in values, ethics, and principles?
JWKK: The problem with the cases involving Koh and Amri has all along been the police not taking up the responsibility to investigate the case and mount a thorough search of both men, whatever the court may rule.
Even if the Attorney-General’s Chambers were to appeal both cases, the police are allowed to carry on their investigation. The two are separate, as the home minister has also indicated.
So, why did the police not do a thorough investigation, to begin with? Surely, they do not need to get the green light from the Home Ministry first, even though the reporting of what Saifuddin said could be concluded that they need to.
Something sounds odd about the police. The judge’s decisions, therefore, scored a bull’s eye on both cases. And it is not encouraging.
It seems to be the same with M Indira Gandhi’s case as well. It is sick to think that state personnel can do this. No wonder Malaysian public trust in the authorities is at best lukewarm.
Anonymous_3f4b: What does it mean - to reopen the probe and reveal Koh’s whereabouts?  This appointed home minister is talking in riddles.
He should say in explicit terms what he meant by that. Is it hauling up all the crooked and recalcitrant state operatives involved in the illegal and unlawful abduction of Koh, interrogating them and forcing them to reveal his current whereabouts, dead or alive?
Saifuddin must speak in clear terms, not leave people, especially the poor victimised family, in the dark.
While at it, reopen the files and investigations and whereabouts of Amri, Pastor Joshua Helmy and his wife Ruth Sitepu, Pamela Ling, Indira and her “missing daughter”, and the vague circumstances leading to the untimely death of Teoh Beng Hock, among many others.
BobbyO: What a joke. The police investigating themselves? Come on, Saifuddin, who are you kidding?
Investigation and even a verdict have been reached that the authorities are guilty. So what new investigations are you going to open?
It more or less looks like a waste of time, and this appears to be damage control after the verdict was announced.
After so many years, the police know the whereabouts of Indira’s daughter. The police may also know exactly what had happened to Amri and Koh.
The people have reached this conclusion. So, please stop this wayang kulit (show) and do not be so dramatic. - Mkini

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