Following poor testimonies from witnesses so far, Suhakam commissioner Mah Weng Kwai made the request to third witness, Faisol Abdul Rahman, who is non-governmental organisation Perlis Hope’s spokesman and Perlis PKR chief.

Faisol, in his testimony on Day 2 of the inquiry into the disappearance of Amri, said eyewitnesses in the alleged abduction had told their story to him but were afraid to testify at the inquiry.

“They saw what had happened but they were afraid for their safety,” Faisol said.

According to Suhakam, the witnesses were contacted but none had responded.

Faisol said one eyewitness had seen three Toyota Hilux and a motorcycle surrounding Amri’s car, forcing it to stop near the latter’s home before he was subsequently taken away.

He said another witness noticed suspicious vehicles parked near Amri’s house with their engines on and this had been going on for several days prior to his abduction.

“We had told the police about these witnesses but they did not question them at first. They only called up the witnesses close to the date of this Suhakam inquiry,” Faisol testified here today.

Faisol said it was Amri’s brother-in-law, Nor Hafizal Nor Amri, who broke the news about Amri’s alleged abduction to him.

“I then formed a team to find out more about the matter,” Faisol said, without specifying who was in the team.

Earlier, the second witness, Abdul Jamil Ahmad said Amri’s last call to him was at 11.40pm on Nov 24, 2016 (the day of the alleged abduction).

Jamil said Amri had sounded anxious.

“We were supposed to meet for coffee and when I called him to check if he was on the way, he sounded anxious.

“He simply answered: ‘Okay, okay, okay’. I reached the restaurant and waited for him. I went home when he didn’t show up,” Jamil said, adding that he has been friends with Amri since they met in Tehran, Iran, in 2003.

At one point when Mah asked for his opinion on what could have happened to Amri, Jamil said he believed there were many people, including Umno politicians, who did not like the charitable work Perlis Hope was doing.

“Amri did not name them but said there were people from Umno that were not happy because Perlis Hope went to their areas to build homes and it made them look like they were not doing their work.”

Amri, who co-founded Perlis Hope, has been missing since Nov 24, 2016.

Amri’s wife Norhayati Ariffin had said that five vehicles had blocked Amri’s car before he was whisked away, just 550 metres from their home in Bukit Chabang, Perlis.

Suhakam is also looking into the disappearance of Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife Ruth, who were last seen on Nov 30, 2016.

A police report was lodged in Klang but the case was referred to the Petaling Jaya police as the complainant said the missing persons lived in Kampung Tunku.

The inquiry into the disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh was halted after police said someone had been charged with his abduction.

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