PASTOR Raymond Koh and wife Susanna Liew were frequently stopped by Malaysian Immigration and referred to the Special Branch when they travelled abroad.

Liew said such checks at the departure points occurred after Selangor religious authorities in 2011 raided the church where Koh was hosting a dinner with Malays in attendance.

Liew said this today at the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) inquiry into the disappearance of her husband and three others.

Suhakam officers had asked her if Koh, 62, was harassed before his abduction on February 13 this year.

Liew said Koh received a letter and two bullets in the mail after the raid by the Selangor Religious Islamic Department (Jais) on the dinner at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in August 2011.

“We also got stopped by Malaysian immigration while entering Singapore and other countries. 

“Koh was stopped nine times and I was stopped seven times when entering Singapore. Each time we were referred to the (Special Branch),” she said.

Liew is the first witness today, the second day of the Suhakam inquiry which aims to determine if the four cases were of enforced disappearance, a term which describes abductions involving the authorities.

The three others missing are three others, Joshua Hilmy, his wife Ruth, and Amri Che Mat.

The dinner at DUMC was a thanksgiving event Koh had hosted for his non-profit welfare organisation, Harapan Komuniti, that helps the underprivileged and marginalised.

To a question whether Harapan Komuniti was involved in preaching, Liew said her husband had made it clear to the volunteers that there would be no preaching or talking about religion.

“The volunteers are from different colleges and from all races,” she told the inquiry.

Liew also said after the frequent stops by Malaysian immigration, she and Koh thought of migrating to Australia. 

“We wanted to leave the country but Raymond said he loved Malaysia too much.”

Earlier, she also recounted how she was asked by the police after filing a missing person’s report on her husband if Koh had been involved in proselytising.

She said she was asked this question “repeatedly”.

The inquiry is chaired by Suhakam commissioners Mah Weng Kwai, Aishah Bidin and Dr Nik Salida Suhaila Nik Saleh. – October 20, 2017.