“ARE we widows?”

After the conclusion of an inquiry panel that missing activist Amri Che Mat and pastor Raymond Koh were victims of enforced disappearance, this is what the wives of the two men are asking.

“I don’t know the status of my children. Are they orphans?” Amri’s wife, Norhayati Mohd Ariffin, said at a press conference after the findings were announced by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) panel today.

She and Koh’s wife, Susanna Liew, broke down in tears when commissioner and panel chairman Mah Weng Kwai read out the conclusion earlier.

The panel was unanimous that Special Branch abducted both men more than three years ago in a commando-style abduction.

Liew said the two women had been drawing strength from one other over the last three years to get through their ordeal of not knowing if their husbands were dead or alive.

They give each other moral, emotional and even financial support, Liew added.

“This is not the end. This is just the beginning for our fight for religious freedom and for human rights,” said Liew.

The two women said they are satisfied with the findings of the inquiry, but have also given the authorities six months to act on the conclusion that police were involved, failing which they would file a civil suit.

Amri had been under police surveillance for alleged Shia-related activities. Shia Islam is illegal in Malaysia.

Koh, meanwhile, is said to have proselytised to some youths in the northern part of the peninsula. In Malaysia, proselytization of other religions can only be done to non-Muslims.

Meanwhile, Amri’s daughter, Nur Amirah, said it is tough getting by without her father.

Esther Koh, the daughter of the missing pastor said her father’s disappearance is an ambiguous loss for the family.

The Koh family have been badly affected by this and it is not easy dealing with the police, she said.

Both Norhayati and Liew were seen giving each other support while the inquiry was going on. The two women were seen hugging each other and sobbing. – April 3, 2019.