The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia also said that signing the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) and the Rome Statute would show the government’s commitment in ensuring that there were remedies for victims of enforced disappearances.

It said it was also concerned over harassment on relatives of those affected, witnesses, relatives of victims and lawyers representing them.

“The International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances is observed on Aug 30 yearly, as a reminder of the horrific violation of human rights caused by enforced disappearances upon victims, families and friends of the victims, and its chilling effects on society.

“Our 2019 report on the public inquiry into the disappearances of Pastor Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat concluded that enforced disappearance had, indeed, taken place.

“We express our deepest concern and sympathies to the families of the victims and their loved ones for the grief, anxiety, and sadness arising from the enforced disappearances of Koh and Amri,” Suhakam said in a statement today.

Suhakam’s inquiry in 2019 concluded that Koh and Amri were victims of enforced disappearance carried out by the state, namely the police Special Branch.

It said a government task force report over the matter had yet to be made public, providing no closure for those seeking answers over what took place against those who vanished without any reason.

Suhakam is currently holding the inquiry into the disappearance of Joshua Hilmy, a Malay who had converted to Christianity, and his wife Ruth Sitepu. Both have been missing since November 2016.