AN
OPEN LETTER TO THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF POLICE MALAYSIA
FROM
SUSANNA LIEW, WIFE OF PASTOR RAYMOND KOH
30
AUGUST 2017
To:
Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar
Ketua Polis Negara
[Inspector-General of Police]
Malaysia
Dear Tan Sri Khalid,
Tomorrow,
on 31st August, my three children and I will mark not just our nation’s 60th
year as an independent nation, but sadly, we will commemorate 200 days since
our husband and father Pastor Raymond Koh was abducted in Petaling Jaya,
Selangor.
Since
that day, 13th February 2017, my children and I have struggled daily to cope
with Raymond’s absence in our lives and the horrific way he was snatched from
us.[1] We still do not know who took him or why, where they have taken him or
even if he is still alive.
We
are devastated. What makes it worse is the way you and the police under your
command have treated us, Raymond’s family, his friends and the Malaysian public
while conducting investigations into his abduction.
The
police have not handled Raymond’s abduction as you usually handle other
kidnapping cases, especially in the way you have withheld the coordination and
communications support normally given to families of kidnap victims.
Harapkan
pagar, pagar makan padi
When
my children and I met you five months ago on 23rd March, I told you how I felt
about the way the police was investigating Raymond’s abduction. I had written
down my concerns in a letter, which I handed to you at our meeting. I gave you
and the police task force the courtesy of privacy in airing my concerns then.
Regrettably, this second police ‘update’ meeting turned out to be the last
meeting afforded to us, the victim’s family.
Since that meeting,
neither you nor the police task force have reached out to contact me, whether
to keep me informed on the progress of the police investigation or to address
our concerns and questions about the case.
Instead, you have made a
series of public claims to the media about leads and developments in my
husband’s abduction case. You have not followed up any of these bare claims
with clarification to my children and me, nor have you offered verifiable
evidence or facts to the Malaysian public for each claim made.
At our meeting, you asked
my children and me to not speak about Raymond’s case to the media as the
publicity would hamper investigations. As such, I am bewildered as to why you
have chosen to ignore your own advice.
However, what I find even
more disturbing is that these public announcements have been vague, bordering
on sensationalist, with inconsistencies that raise more questions than answers
and doubts about the authorities’ commitment to properly investigate this case.
Allow me to go over a few
of these public claims you have made since our meeting in March 2017.
Investigating the Victim
On
5th and 6th April, in various media reports, you said that the police were now
investigating Raymond and unnamed others for allegedly attempting to convert
unnamed Muslim youths in Perlis. [2] According to media reports, this attempt allegedly happened on 19th and
20th January 2017. Despite this claim that a police report was lodged against
Raymond, the police have not communicated any of this to my children or me. The
claims made are vague, with no names mentioned except Raymond’s, and no dates
given for when this police report against Raymond was lodged. Instead, these
claims aired serious accusations against my husband who is missing and so,
cannot defend himself.
On 24th May, following up
on this, you said that the police had arrested a suspect “in the north last
week” in connection with Raymond’s abduction.[3] The name of
this suspect, the circumstances of the arrest and the date he or she was
arrested and remanded were not disclosed. Again, as with the previous public
claims made by you in April, there was no attempt by the police to update us on
this arrest or any developments related to it.
We remain in the dark as
to the connection between this Perlis ‘narrative’ and my husband’s abduction,
if such a connection exists. As such, it would not be
unreasonable to speculate if this is an attempt to turn negative scrutiny onto
Raymond, who is the victim, rather than the parties involved in his abduction.
Trafficking Inconsistencies
On 25th June, at a Hari Raya Open House function in Bukit
Aman, you told the press that there were “new leads” related to Raymond’s
abduction. You referred to an incident that happened on 17th June near Baling,
Kedah. You said that a shootout involving the police and a suspect that day led
to the killing of this unnamed suspect and that a subsequent search of the
suspect’s home unearthed evidence linked to Raymond: “various photos,
including…the house of the pastor, and [car]
license plates bearing the number ST5515D” [which is the number plate of the Honda Accord Raymond was driving when
he was abducted]. [4]
You said that “investigations
revealed the suspect, in his 40s, was the main player in an arms, drugs and
human trafficking syndicate operating at the Malaysian-Thailand border.” You also said
that the police had arrested this dead suspect’s wife, as well as three other
suspects allegedly associated with him in “follow up operations”.
On 25th July, at another
press event in Bukit Aman, you told reporters that the police now believe that
a “human trafficking syndicate” with “links to groups in southern Thailand” may
be involved in Raymond’s abduction. According to you, this syndicate is linked
to the suspected “arms and drug smuggler” killed in the 17th June police shootout.
You said that this new lead came from investigations into the three unnamed
alleged associates of the dead suspect who were in police custody. [5]
On 16th August, following
up on the ‘human trafficking syndicate’ story, you said that the police were waiting
for information from Thai police related to Raymond’s abduction. Even more sensationally,
you revealed “…that the police report lodged
by…Peter Chong…in Pattaya in April could have links to the abduction as well.” [6]
(This seems inconsistent
with your earlier impatience with Peter Chong on 18th April, when he returned
from Thailand to Malaysia with claims that he was “abducted” in South Thailand
by parties linked to Raymond’s abduction.) [7]
This latest series of
claims has not been substantiated with an investigation status update to us,
the family of the victim. No evidence has been presented to back up any of
these claims nor have any of these suspects been named, charged or even
confirmed if they are still in police custody.
But more worrying are the
discrepancies between different public statements about the 17th June shootout
incident made by you and other senior police spokespersons.
According to media
reports, on 18th June 2017, Kedah state police held a press conference in Alor
Setar, to announce details about this pre-dawn shootout that had happened on
17th June. According to Kedah state police chief Datuk Asri Yusoff, police who
were patrolling Kampung Weng Dalam came across a suspiciously parked car at
4:25am. When the police ordered the driver to exit the car, the 41-year old
suspect started shooting at the police who then returned fire, killing the man.
The Kedah police said
that they found a pistol, some heroin and two sets of vehicle plates with the
numbers WNS5168 and BNW217. After the shootout, the police raided the home of
the dead man in Pengkalan Hulu in the neighbouring state of Perak and found a
homemade pipe bomb, a few bullets and 250g of the amphetamine drug syabu. The police exhibited this seized
evidence to the media during this press conference.[8]
At this 18th June press
conference in Alor Setar, there was no mention or display of any evidence
linked to Raymond’s abduction, i.e., the photos of our home and cars, and the
ST5515D car number plate to which you referred on 25th June in Kuala Lumpur.
While you claimed on 25th
June that this dead man was a “main player in an arms, drugs and human
trafficking syndicate”, a week earlier, Kedah police chief Datuk Asri was
quoted as saying that the police believe that this man was an arms and drug
smuggler working alone: “secara sendirian
dengan dibantu isterinya.”
Building a Narrative?
After 200 days of this
kind of treatment, my children and I are disappointed and exhausted. I do not
know why you and the police have chosen to treat us this way; you have ignored
the basic obligation to update the family of an abduction victim in a
professional and compassionate manner. Instead, we receive our ‘updates’ via
the same media you told us to avoid because according to you, talking to the
media would negatively impact police efforts to find and safely recover
Raymond.
The
manner in which you have made these claims to the media and the discrepancies
that arise from them have shaken my confidence in the police investigation into
my husband’s abduction. As a result, I have deep concerns as to the
sincerity and commitment of the Malaysian authorities to find Raymond and to
identify and apprehend his abductors and those who have aided and abetted with
them.
More
seriously, all this gives rise to public speculation and disquiet about why
this sensational story of a pastor being abducted by an arms/ drug/ human
trafficking syndicate has emerged as the default narrative about Raymond’s
abduction. Everyone – including the police who have investigated Raymond in the
past – knows that my husband has never associated with crime syndicates.
Raymond’s enemies and antagonists are well known to the Malaysian public, and
they do not include human traffickers.
My question to you is
simply this: Why are you doing this? If there is no breakthrough in my
husband’s case, why not just say so? If this sensational story is based on a
logical and credible line of enquiry with verifiable evidence, then why not
update me accordingly? If there is no credible evidence, then why build this
narrative in the full glare of media spotlight? Why is there a need for this?
Going
Forward…
As
I stated in my letter to you on 23rd March, in this investigation, it is not
just my husband’s life at stake. Also at stake are inter-racial and inter-religious
peace and harmony in our beloved country and the image of Malaysia as a nation
committed to the rule of law. I am reminded of this especially on the eve of
our National Day.
However
upset I am about how you have dealt with my husband’s case, I cannot ignore my
solidarity with you as a fellow Malaysian. I have not forgotten your kindness
to my children at our meeting on 23rd March when you told them that you too are
a father and you feel their pain.
As
such, I wish you a happy retirement and a blessed 60th birthday on 5th
September. I pray that God will bless you and grant you a good life with your
loved ones after your long service to the nation. I am reminded that Raymond’s
own birthday is on 2nd November, and I still hope and pray that he will return
to celebrate this day with us.
I
also hope that your successor will turn a new page on this case, in the spirit
of cooperation with me and with other concerned parties like SUHAKAM. It is
imperative that all parties can work together to ensure that investigations are
conducted in a transparent, impartial and accountable manner so that truth and
justice prevail.
God
bless Malaysia.
Yours sincerely,
Susanna Liew
with Jonathan, Esther & Elizabeth Koh
Kuala
Lumpur
30th
August 2017
[1] The Star Online; 6 March 2017; “Taken in 40 seconds
– kidnapping had military precision”: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/03/06/taken-in-40-seconds-kidnapping-had-military-precision/
[2] Berita Harian Online, 6 April 2017; “Kes Siasatan Sebar Agama
Dibuka”[Investigation Paper on Religious Proselytisation Opened]: https://www.bharian.com.my/node/268727
[3] The Star Online: 25 June 2017: “Police shootout yields clue to Pastor Koh's
abduction”; http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/06/25/police-shootout-in-perak-yields-clue-to-pastor-koh-abduction/
[4] The Star Online: 25 June 2017: “Police shootout yields clue to Pastor Koh's
abduction”; http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/06/25/police-shootout-in-perak-yields-clue-to-pastor-koh-abduction/
[5] The Star Online, 25 July 2017; ‘IGP: Human Traffickers May Be Involved in
Pastor Koh’s Abduction’: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/07/25/igp-pastor-koh-human-trafficking/
[6] The Sun Daily, 16 August 2017; “Police Awaiting Info from Thai Cops on Pastor
Koh’s abduction”: http://www.thesundaily.my/news/2017/08/16/police-awaiting-info-thai-cops-pastor-kohs-abduction
[7] The Sun Daily, 18 April 2017; “Action of Peter Chong Caused Unnecessary
Panic throughout the Nation”: http://www.thesundaily.my/news/2017/04/19/action-peter-chong-caused-unnecessary-panic-throughout-nation-igp
[8] Utusan Malaysia Online, 19 June 2017; “Penyeludup Senjata Api, Dadah Tumpas” [Arms and Drug Smuggler Killed]: http://www.utusan.com.my/berita/jenayah/penyeludup-senjata-api-dadah-tumpas-1.494748
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