Solidarity vigil for 'kidnapped' pastors and others

A candlelight vigil will be held tomorrow at Dataran Merdeka to show solidarity for the pastors and two others who were purportedly kidnapped.

"To show our solidarity to the kidnapping victims and their families, we invite you for a solidarity vigil session.

"We invite all Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, to attend on April 8 (Saturday), 8.30pm at Dataran Merdeka," read a joint statement from a group of 46 NGOs.

Pastor Raymond Koh

Pastor Raymond Koh was kidnapped on Feb 13 and police are currently investigating his case, while Amri Che Mat who supposedly disappeared on Nov 24, 2016, is still missing.

Another couple, pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife Ruth Hilmy, have also reportedly been missing since Nov 30, 2016, and their location is still unknown until today.

"The similarities between these kidnapping victims is that they all did charity work for the poor and the outcast in our country.

Pastor Hilmy and wife Ruth

"They are not from rich families, which is why the motive for their kidnapping cannot have been because of money or as a hostage.

"There has been no demand for ransom in all of these cases so far," the NGOs' statement, prepared by Suaram, read.

While Koh's case has been extensively covered by the media since his disappearance, the NGOs lamented that there is a lack of media attention on the other two cases, even though they happened much earlier.

They also said that even though it has been a month since Koh's kidnapping, the police still have not arrested anyone with regard to the case.

"It is worrying that three kidnappings happened within four months and the police appears not to care and seems to not have responded to the worries of the rakyat in the country," the statement read.