PUTRAJAYA, June 26 (NNN-BERNAMA) — A Special Task Force (STF) has been set up by the Malaysian government to follow up on the findings of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) on the disappearance of pastor Raymond Koh and social activist Amri Che Mat.
The task force will comprise six members and will be headed by former High Court judge Datuk Abd Rahim Uda.
Announcing this at a press conference here today, Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the STF will delve into the public inquiry report on their disappearance by Suhakam which has held the Special Branch of the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) directly responsible for their disappearance.
“The Home Ministry views the findings by the commission on their disappearance seriously and thus the need for a detailed evaluation of the report in the interest of fairness to all parties.
The other members on the panel are PDRM Legal Division head Datuk Mokhtar Mohd Noor; PDRM Integrity and Standards Compliance Department director Datuk Zamri Yahya; Enforcement Agencies Integrity Commission Operations Division director Datuk Muhammad Bukhari Ab Hamid; Attorney-General’s Chambers Prosecution Division legal officer Mohd Sophian Zakaria; and Police Commission under secretary Mohd Russaini Idrus.
The Suhakam public inquiry into their disappearance was held from October 2017 till December 2018 involving 40 witnesses, 16 for Koh’s case and 24 for Amri ‘s. The government received the inquiry report on April 8.
Following the report on Suhakam’s hearings, he said, the ministry was of the view that the cases had led to the public being concerned over the credibility of PDRM which was responsible for safeguarding the public’s security.
Muhyiddin said the STF is given six months to submit its report to his ministry and the team would look into Amri’s case first because Koh’s court case is still ongoing.
In the event Koh’s court case not being settled within six months, Muhyiddin said: “It will be discussed when the time comes.”
On the selection of the STF members, Muhyiddin said there was no issue of conflict of interest as the appointments of police top brass (in the STF) were not of those implicated in the report.
“Of course, in forming the STF, we take into account that it will be independent and so on, if there is no power to investigate it will be difficult to do (work), therefore we appointed a former judge to head it.
— NNN-BERNAMA
