KUALA LUMPUR – With National Day just around the corner, civil liberty voices have slammed the “Keluarga Malaysia” concept as a “sham”, since the government has failed to bring perpetrators of enforced disappearances to justice.
Calling on the government to enforce better practices to combat and investigate such crimes, human rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) lamented how police have yet to issue a response to findings on several notable cases.
In a joint statement with Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (CAGED), both groups noted that International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances falls on the eve of National Day, and is a reminder of the government’s lackadaisical attitude with such cases.
“August 31 is meant to serve as an annual day of rejoicing over the gaining of autonomy and freedom from British rule,” the statement signed by Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamay said.
“However, the eve of the 31st is now an annual day to weep over the implicit acceptance by the Malaysian government that enforced disappearance is not a crime.”
Noting the mental anguish of victims’ family and friends over not knowing whether their loved ones are alive or otherwise, the groups urged the government to make public the findings of a task report established in June 2019.
The task force had been formed then to reinvestigate the disappearances of pastor Raymond Koh and activist Amri Che Mat, who went missing in 2017 and 2016, respectively.
“The victim’s families are being denied knowledge of the truth about what happened to their loved ones. They have no closure. They are suspended in a state of unknowing,” Suaram and CAGE said.
They also noted that exhaustive investigations by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) concluded that Koh, Amri, as well as a couple who were kidnapped in 2017 – pastor Joshua Hilmy and wife Ruth Sitepu – were victims of enforced disappearances.
The commission’s results were announced in April 2019 for Koh and Amri’s cases while findings on Joshua and Ruth’s cases were released in April this year.
As such, the organisations pushed for the government to develop and publish an action plan with scheduled dates to inform the public about progress in implementing the recommendations made by Suhakam.
They said that such plans should include steps to establish institutional and standard operating measures for investigating missing persons, abductions, and disappearances.
Adding that action must be implemented to ensure authorities respect the right to freedom of religion under Article 11(1) of the federal constitution, it also called on the government to begin ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. – The Vibes, August 30, 2022
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