The church added that August 31 will mark the 200th day of Koh’s disappearance. It urged the public to not only remember Koh, but also three others who went missing around the same time ― Pastor Joshua Hilmi, his wife Ruth, and Muslim activist Amri Che Mat ― and pray for their “independence” as the country celebrates Merdeka.
“We call on all peace-loving Malaysians to remember Raymond, Amri, Joshua and Ruth in their thoughts and prayers, and as we commemorate the 60th anniversary of Merdeka on 31 August 2017, that their own ‘merdeka’ or freedom from captivity will follow soon,” Archbishop Datuk Ng Moon Hing said in a statement.
The Anglican Church said many unanswered questions remain over who abducted Koh, the reason behind it, and what has happened to him since.
“We pray for those involved in the investigations and search for Pastor Raymond Koh. We ask for God to guide them in the discharge of their duties diligently and professionally, and to lead them to his discovery and safe return.
“We pray for those who have abducted him, that they will treat Pastor Raymond Koh with dignity and decency. And that God will move their hearts to return him to the bosom of his family,” said the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of West Malaysia and Archbishop of the Anglican Province of Southeast Asia.
A coalition of NGOs called Citizen Action Group On Enforced Disappearance has claimed that the disappearances of the four were abductions by state agents, an assertion mainly based on the lack of ransom demands. The Home Ministry has denied political interference in any of the four cases.
The Malaysian Human Rights Commission has since launched its own probe into the alleged “forced disappearance”, while police claimed last month that human trafficking syndicate with links to groups in Southern Thailand may have been involved in Koh’s abduction.
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