THE children of missing activist Amri Che Mat’s no longer ask about their father. But that doesn’t mean they have forgotten him.

Their mother Norhayati Ariffin told The Malaysian Insight they stopped asking because they don’t want to make the family sad.

She and her four children aged 14, 19, 21 and 23 are spending their fifth Hari Raya without Amri, who went missing on November 24, 2016 after leaving his home in Kangar, Perlis.

“While my children know about the situation, they don’t ask about their father because it will just make everyone sad.

“They know about the abduction and they are resilient. And while they don’t ask questions, they have not forgotten about his disappearance,” she said.

The 46-year-old Norhayati said all the family wished to know now was whether Amri was still alive.

“That is our hope for some closure. We want to know (from the authorities) what is the status now.

“What has happened to all the investigations? Have they stopped? Don’t tell me they (the authorities) don’t know about this case?”

Amri is said to be a Shia Muslim and a social activist with non-profit group Perlis Hope.

Another high-profile disappearance often associated with Amri’s is that of Pastor Raymond Koh, who was snatched by masked men in broad daylight while driving on Jalan SS4B/10 in Petaling Jaya, on February 13, 2017.

A public inquiry held by the National Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) concluded it was highly likely the two men were victims of enforced disappearance who were abducted by the police Special Branch.

Enforced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organisation or by a third party with its authorisation, support, or acquiescence, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person’s fate and whereabouts, with the intent of placing the victim outside the protection of the law.

Suhakam is now holding an inquiry into the disappearances of Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife, Ruth Sitepu, who were last seen on November 30, 2016.

Ruth is Indonesian while Joshua is from Taiping, Perak. Joshua was a Muslim who converted to Christianity. The couple were said to have been married in Batak in 2006 before moving to Malaysia a year later.

In 2019, then home minister Muhyiddin Yassin ordered a special task force to look into Suhakam’s findings. The task force was given six months, beginning June the same year, to do the job.  

Norhayati questioned the lack of updates on the investigations, saying she last had contact with an officer from the special task force in 2020.

“I contacted the officer about five times and I was always given the same answer, which was that  investigations are still ongoing and that they can’t reveal any details as they are confidential.”

Norhayati said if the task force could not reveal its findings to the public, it should at least reveal their findings to her.

On April 2, Citizens Action Group on Enforced Disappearance (CAGED) had called on Putrajaya to release the findings of the task force

They said the authorities must show commitment to right the injustice done to the missing men and their families.

CAGED spokesman Rama Ramanathan questioned what action had been taken by the government and police in response to the findings of the task force.

“Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and the cabinet must make public the report of the task force,” the group said in a statement.

Norhayati, a secondary school teacher, said she and her children are getting by on her income while her eldest daughter is working in Langkawi.

The five of them still live in the double-storey house in Perlis where they have fond memories of their father. Norhayati is using the same Black Toyota Fortuner that Amri was driving when he got abducted.

Hopes on new IGP

Norhayati filed a civil suit in November 2019 for special and general damages as a last resort after failing to receive information on the police investigation into her husband’s disappearance.

The suit named Muhyiddin, former home minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, former inspectors-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar and Mohamad Fuzi Harun, and former principal assistant director Commissioner Awaludin Jadid.

Case mention and discovery hearings will be held in August.

Meanwhile, she is hoping the new Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani will make better headway in the case.

“I’m sure the IGP (Acryl) knows about this case. We plead with him to help us.  

“It is our right to know the truth.” – May 14, 2021.