The Malaysian government today withdrew its appeal against the High Court's decision to allow Pastor Raymond Koh's family access to the confidential report on his disappearance.
The decision was made by a three-judge bench led by Datuk Supang Lian with Datuk Ismail Brahim and K. Muniandy, after the government withdrew the appeal.
During the proceedings, Nurul Farhana Khalid, representing the government, informed the Court of Appeal that the notice of discontinuance of the appeal had been filed, leading the panel to strike out the appeal.
While Nurul Farhana reportedly asked the court not to order the government to pay for legal costs, Koh's family's lawyer Michelle Wong had objected to this.
Wong sought RM15,000, noting that an application to adduce fresh evidence had also been filed last month.
The Court of Appeal panel then struck out the appeal and awarded RM15,000 in costs to Koh’s family despite the government’s request to waive it.
On Nov 5 last year, the High Court ordered RM37 million in damages to be paid to Koh and his wife, Susanna Liew.
Koh, the founder of NGO Harapan Komuniti, has been missing for nine years since his abduction on February 13, 2017.
He was abducted by a group of armed men while driving along Jalan SS4B/10 in Petaling Jaya.
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia's (Suhakam) inquiry in April 2019 concluded that Koh and the still-missing activist Amri Che Mat were victims of enforced disappearance carried out by the police’s Special Branch.
On August 15, 2024, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur had ordered the police and government to give Koh's wife a special task force report on Amri's and Koh's disappearance.
But the government had, on September 9, 2024, appealed against the High Court order to give the report to Koh's wife, and this is the appeal which it withdrew today. – April 1, 2026
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