Susanna Liew questioned “why I was treated differently” from Norhayati Ariffin, wife of missing activist Amri Che Mat, who was given access to the report of a home ministry special task force on her husband’s disappearance.
In a letter to home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail today, Liew pointed out that Saifuddin had told the Dewan Rakyat on Nov 13 that Amri’s wife deserved to receive the 2020 report.
“Yet, when the High Court ordered the same for me, the AGC chose to appeal. With utmost respect, I struggle to understand why I was treated differently,” said Liew. “Don’t I deserve the same rights and access to information? After all, our cases are the same.”
She also questioned Saifuddin’s announcement of a reinvestigation into the two disappearances had been launched by a team led by a police officer with the rank of assistant commissioner.
She said the fresh investigation could become “another box-ticking exercise with a predetermined outcome” unless it is led by Deputy Inspector-General of Police Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay.
Koh was abducted in broad daylight by a group of men in a convoy of vehicles in February 2017, while he was driving along Jalan SS4B/10 in Petaling Jaya. Amri, the founder of the NGO Perlis Hope, was last seen leaving his home in Perlis at about 11.30pm on Nov 24, 2016.
Separate inquiries by Suhakam concluded that Koh and Amri were victims of enforced disappearances by the state, and a special task force later confirmed that police officers were involved in both abductions.
In her letter to Saifuddin, Liew reiterated her request for deputy IGP Ayob to lead the fresh investigation, arguing that his seniority and public reputation for integrity made him better suited to handle a case involving fellow senior police officers.
She said the current investigating officer holds a rank lower than former CID deputy chief Awaludin Jadid, who was identified as a person of interest in the special task force report on Koh’s disappearance.
“A thorough investigation conducted with credibility can reveal the truth about what happened to my husband and Amri. Please give us closure,” she said. “We do not seek conflict. We seek answers. We seek fairness and the basic human right to know the truth, so that no other family will have to go through what we are experiencing.”
Liew expressed frustration that she has not received any acknowledgement or response to her Nov 12 request for a meeting. The silence was particularly troubling given the minister had met with AGC officials and lawyers representing the defendants.
Liew said her family had hoped to brief Saifuddin on their perspective regarding the High Court’s recent decision and to ensure that the minister was able to hear “from both sides in the spirit of transparency and fairness”.
“For these reasons, I sincerely request a few minutes of your time to meet with you,” she said.