PASTOR Raymond Koh’s wife has denied any knowledge of her husband’s evangelistic work in northern Malaysia.

“I’m shocked as this is the first time I’m hearing about it. No matter what had happened (referring to reports of Koh’s evangelistic work), there is no justification to abduct someone,” Koh’s wife Susanna Liew told The Malaysian Insight.

Liew was commenting on a news report quoting Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar as saying that police had received a report alleging Koh was attempting to evangelise to some youths in Kangar, Perlis.

She said this was the first time she had heard that her husband’s abduction may be related to him and two others trying to influence a group of youths to convert to Christianity on January 19 and 20.

“We had no idea about the news.”

She, however, declined to answer when asked if she knew her husband had been to Perlis.

On the morning of February 13, Koh was abducted from his vehicle while he was travelling along Jalan SS4B/10, Petaling Jaya.

The incident was captured by CCTV, which showed 15 men in three black SUVs carrying out the abduction that took a matter of seconds.

Koh’s car, a silver Honda Accord with the registration number ST 5515D, is still missing.

His disappearance was first reported by the family to police, who classified the case as a missing person’s report.

However, several days later, when the CCTV footage of Koh’s abduction was uploaded on YouTube, his son lodged a second police report, stating that his dad was kidnapped with the intent to be murdered.

He had also told police that his father had received two bullets in the mail in 2011 after the Selangor Religious Islamic Department (Jais) raided an event at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) where Koh was hosting a luncheon which also had Muslims in attendance.

“The first report my son made was on his disappearance, and that time we didn’t have the CCTV recording. We made a second report after viewing the CCTV footage which very clearly showed that he was abducted by a group of men and done so professionally. That was the reason we feared for his life.”

Koh’s son, Jonathan, lodged the police reports on February 14 and February 27.

Koh’s abduction has also left the family fearing for their safety.

Liew and her family are afraid that the same fate that had befallen her husband might happen to them.

“Since the incident, we have been very cautious. I don’t permit my daughters to go out and if they do, they will have to be accompanied by a friend or relative. We have also shifted out of our home. We fear that if my husband can get kidnapped in broad daylight, the same can happen to us,” she said.

Liew has two daughters and a son.

She said her family members are finding it difficult to cope with their daily lives now.

She recalls in the weeks after Koh’s abduction she had felt angry and frustrated with the lack of information on her husband’s whereabouts.

Liew also hopes that the police will regularly update the family on the progress of the investigations.

“We last spoke to the IGP on March 23 and he assured us that the police are doing everything.

“Since then we had to call the police for updates and each time we call, we get the same answer which is ‘there is no new development’. We hope the police will be able to update us more regularly,” she said.

The family have also put up a RM100,000 reward for information on Koh’s whereabouts.

Since Koh’s disappearance, the family has been receiving tremendous support from Christian and non-religious groups.

Liew thanked those who have organised prayer vigils for her husband. The prayer vigils are mostly held in the Klang Valley, but recently, the family also attended one session in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

“This is one way to keep the issue alive,” said Liew.

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), a civil society group established to monitor and advocate respect of human rights in Malaysia, will lead other civil society groups in holding a gathering tomorrow at 8.30pm in Dataran Merdeka tomorrow to stand in solidarity with the families of Pastor Koh and three other religious workers who have gone missing over the past five months.

Koh founded Harapan Komuniti in 2004 as a non-profit undertaking that supported his calling to help those who needed assistance and friendship, regardless of race, religion or social status.

With the help of The Body Shop Foundation UK, he set up a public reading room and tuition centre called Teratak Sinar at Kuala Muda and Inspirasi KL in Sri Sentosa, which then moved to Taman Sri Manja, as a learning hub and quiet space for needy students.

In the last decade, Koh’s work has been in building up and managing Harapan Komuniti as a not-for-profit community-based resource centre.

“Things have been different since his abduction,” said Liew.

“We miss his support and presence. We are constantly having sleepless nights wondering where he is and if anything untoward has happened to him.

“We will continue to wait for his return. My daughters also believe he is alive and said that their father has appeared to her in her dreams. We have hope.” – April 7, 2017.