In a letter to home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Susanna Liew said appointing Ayob would reflect the government’s commitment to a fair, transparent and independent investigation.

“He is known among members of the public as a person of integrity and honesty.

“We have confidence that he won’t be intimidated or frightened to do what is just and right, despite high-ranking police officers being involved,” she said.

Liew’s request follows the High Court’s ruling on Nov 5 ordering the police to reopen the investigations into the abductions of Koh and Perlis activist Amri Che Mat, and to determine Koh’s whereabouts.

The court also ordered the government and the police to pay a sum of more than RM37 million to Koh’s family over the state’s involvement in his abduction, and a sum of more than RM3 million to Amri’s family for their failure to conduct proper investigations into his disappearance.

Liew thanked Saifuddin for affirming that police would comply with the court’s directives, saying his comments gave her family a “long-awaited sense of hope after years of pain and unanswered questions”.

However, she noted that Saifuddin has so far met only with lawyers from the Attorney-General’s Chambers for a briefing on the ruling, and urged him to also meet her legal team to “hear from both sides”.

Koh was abducted in Petaling Jaya in February 2017 by a group of men in a convoy of vehicles. The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) later concluded that the abduction was carried out by police personnel.

Amri, a Perlis-based social activist, went missing in November 2016.