MEMBERS of a special task force to investigate the disappearances of Pastor Raymond Koh and Perlis Hope founder Amri Che Mat will be announced next week, said Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said the task force would be given six months to conduct their investigations, after which they have to submit their findings to the cabinet.

“I will announce in a week and if they (the team) agree (to start) from that date, then the investigation will be completed in six months,” he told reporters at a Hari Raya gathering in Serdang today.

Muhyiddin said it took the government time to make this announcement as the appointments had to be carefully vetted to eliminate accusations of the task force being biased.

“We have a list of proposed names but we also want an impartial team. Picking the officers with no vested interests, who do not have the tendency to protect fellow officers or draw up a biased report takes time,” he said.

Muhyiddin said the first priority of the special task force would be to investigate the disappearance of Amri.

He said the investigation into Koh’s disappearance would have to be put on hold because of a court case linked to his disappearance.

“We cannot proceed with Koh’s disappearance; otherwise we could be charged with subjudice. Let that (court case) get settled first, then we will proceed with him.

“This is something that Koh’s family should understand.”

The 62-year-old Koh was abducted by masked men at Jalan SS4B/10 in Petaling Jaya on February 13, 2017, while Amri disappeared on November 24, 2016 after leaving his home in Kangar, Perlis.

A public inquiry conducted by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia into the missing activists revealed that they were victims of “enforced disappearance”.

Inquiry panel chairman Mah Weng Kwai had said that based on the lengthy discussions and deliberations in both cases, the panel disclosed that individuals or groups operating with the support of state agents had been involved in the abductions.

He said the panel was of the view that the enforced disappearances of Koh and Amri were carried out by agents of the state, namely the Special Branch at the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman. – June 20, 2019.