Where could they be?

IT seems that big planes, huge sums of money, and humans can disappear into thin air in this country.

That ill-fated Malaysian plane will be found one day, but when, no one can really foretell for sure. We’ll have to keep on praying for the recovery of the aircraft and its passengers, and to continue remembering their loved ones.

As for the money, forget it. It has been in the laundry for some time now, in circulation in different countries and in different denominations.

What about the four Malaysians? They must be somewhere. Whoever is detaining them, please return them to their homes as soon as possible. Their families are missing them very much.

To anyone who is keeping them, put yourself in their shoes. Would you like a member of your family to be detained without you knowing their whereabouts and their health conditions?

I’m referring to the disappearances of Pastor Raymond Koh, Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife Ruth, and Amri Che Mat. Let’s pray for their health.

These Malaysians have been missing since last year. Pastor Raymond, 62, was allegedly abducted by a group of men; Amri, 44, also allegedly abducted by unidentified men, has not been seen since last year.

The last time that friends saw Pastor Joshua and Ruth was in November – then they suddenly disappeared into thin air and have since been missing without a trace.

Police reports have been lodged and investigations have been carried out into the circumstances of these disappearances but the relevant authorities have yet to release information on what happened to these people for the consumption of the general public. Let’s wait for an inkling of what happened to Pastor Raymond and the others.

Probably the relevant authorities are still tying the loose ends of their findings, so give them more time to complete the job. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we are told about the developments of the probe.

This act of four souls disappearing is strange, though theories abound. But the media have been warned not to speculate in public.

What’s worrying is that it has taken quite some time now for the investigations to yield any clues as to how and why these good people have not been found. Some serious snags in the investigation, I wonder?

If detained by other humans, then where could they be held? They must be somewhere in Malaysia but where in Malaysia? Or are they outside it, but where and are they safe?

Malaysians of goodwill are joining members of their families in prayers for their safe return. But prayers alone are not enough. There must be some clue as to what is or who are holding them against their will. Then the authorities must secure them by any lawful means. And then deliver them home soon, safe and sound.

As it is, we are all concerned about these people. Equally concerned are the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) – there might be some violations of the rights of these people in terms of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.

For this reason, Suhakam decided to hold a public inquiry from Oct 19 till Nov 17 into the disappearances. We won’t know what Suhakam will discover in the process.

Given the mystery surrounding the disappearances, it would be advisable for the families of the abductees to wait for the outcome of the inquiry after Nov 17, by which date Suhakam would have discovered some clues as to why four people were taken away and have been detained for so long for reasons best known to the abductees themselves.

 

Royal Commission of

Inquiry?

Someone asked me why a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) has not been set up for this case. I’m curious about this myself because, with due respect, to Suhakam, the job of carrying out the investigations should be that of the usual authorities – the police.

Of the 35 reports on the disappearances lodged with Suhakam, there could be some that may contain elements of criminality. It is the police who can handle that better than anybody else.

Of course, Suhakam has the right to initiate investigations, but I doubt if they have got the necessary personnel on the ground to carry out probes of these mysterious disappearances as good as the police. It’s their daily routine; their network is more extensive than that of Suhakam’s.

Assuming that Suhakam, having found some clues as to when the four persons had disappeared, how and by whom they were snatched, where they are being held, what else can the Commission do?

It can only provide guidance or advice in respect of human rights violations but cannot initiate prosecutions. Only the police and the Attorney General Chambers can. The best that Suhakam can do is to complement the reports that have been lodged with the police as well; these reports are basically similar anyway.

Suhakam, by virtue of its charter as a statutory body, may only inquire into complaints regarding infringements of human rights, and verify any such infringements. That comes after the infringements have been more or less assessed with regards to evidence of prima facie as discerned from the police investigations before people in the Attorney General Chambers can study the IP (Investigation Papers).

Without the benefit of the outcome of police investigations, the best that Suhakam can do is to report to the government what they found from the accounts of the witnesses. One would expect that is where the buck stops, but the trouble is that the buck does not stop there. The poor police will have to do the donkey job again and if they don’t they will get the blame. Not fair.

Why not initiate a Royal Commission of Inquiry as well in order to save time and money. The four Malaysians must be somewhere and must be found … alive! Look for them by deploying the army, the Rela, and what have you, but find them we must.

If there’s a will to find them, there will be ways and means of finding them.

What’s happening to that will?

 

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