THE roll-out of a special task force announced today will kick off investigations by first looking into the disappearance of activist Amri Che Mat, said Muhyiddin Yassin.

The home minister said this was because there was still a case pending in the courts pertaining to Pastor Raymond Koh’s disappearance.

“The special task force cannot look into Koh’s case (for now) as there is a pending case in court,” he said after announcing the six-man committee in Putrajaya today.

Muhyiddin was referring to the criminal trial of part-time driver Lam Chang Nam, 31, who was charged with kidnapping Koh on January 16, last year.

Lam was initially charged for trying to extort RM30,000 from Koh’s son, Jonathan, at a mall in Kelana Jaya on March 6, 2017.

The charge was later changed to kidnapping.

Amri, the founder of welfare group Perlis Hope, left his home in Kangar about 11.30pm on November 25, 2016, in his SUV.

Koh, who founded Harapan Komuniti, is believed to have been abducted by a group of men along Jalan SS4B/10 in Petaling Jaya on February 13, 2017, while heading to a friend’s house. 

“As there is one case involving Koh still being tried in the courts, it could be sub judice to look into his case now. The task force will begin with Amri’s case first.

“The task force will look into Koh’s case after the court case is over,” said Muhyiddin.

As the task force is only set to operate for six months, the ministry will relook the matter if Koh’s court case takes longer, Muhyiddin said.

“We will have to review this again if the court case goes beyond six months. The task force cannot look into this while it is ongoing in the courts.” – June 26, 2019.