In a landmark judgment that reverberates through Malaysia’s justice system, the High Court has ordered the government and the police to pay a total of RM40 million in damages to the families of two men whose disappearances shocked the nation and exposed deep flaws in law enforcement accountability.
In two separate decisions delivered by High Court Judge Su Tiang Joo, the court found that state actors — including serving and former members of the police — had acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally in connection with the enforced disappearances of Pastor Raymond Koh and activist Amri Che Mat.
For the family of Pastor Koh, who was abducted in broad daylight eight years ago, the decision brought long-awaited vindication. For Amri’s family, it offered a measure of justice for years of official neglect and silence.
Justice Long Denied
Pastor Raymond Koh, a Christian clergyman known for his social and charitable work, was abducted on February 13, 2017 in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. His car was boxed in by seven vehicles and about 15 masked men in a military-style operation. The entire abduction, captured on CCTV, lasted barely 40 seconds. He has never been seen since.
A 2019 Suhakam inquiry concluded that Koh had been abducted by agents of the Special Branch, Malaysia’s secretive intelligence arm. Yet despite the inquiry’s damning findings, no meaningful action was taken by the government or the police.
Koh’s wife, Susanna Liew, had spent nearly a decade seeking answers. After years of official denials and bureaucratic stonewalling, she filed a lawsuit in 2020 — just before the legal time limit to sue expired — to hold the authorities accountable for misconduct and the unlawful abduction of her husband.
This week, Judge Su ruled in her favour. The court found that one or more police personnel had acted “oppressively and arbitrarily,” misusing their powers to carry out Koh’s abduction. The government was ordered to pay over RM37 million in general, aggravated, and exemplary damages to Koh’s family — one of the largest compensation awards ever issued in Malaysia for a rights violation.
‘Closure and Vindication’
For Susanna, the ruling marked a bittersweet milestone. Speaking to reporters outside the Kuala Lumpur court complex, she described it as “closure and vindication” after nearly nine years of anguish.
“After nearly nine years of the loss of a husband and father, anguish and uncertainty, the judgment brings a long-awaited decision,” she said, as quoted by Free Malaysia Today.
She also paid tribute to Sergeant Shamzaini Daud, a Special Branch officer who had come forward to reveal the truth about the abduction, defying institutional pressure and risking his career.
“It will be remiss of us not to mention one man who stood up against overwhelming odds and pressure, who revealed the truth which enabled us to reach this far,” she said.
While acknowledging that the court’s decision cannot bring her husband back, Susanna expressed hope that it would serve as a turning point in Malaysia’s fight against enforced disappearances.
“Though this will not bring Koh back, it is somewhat a vindication and closure for our family. We dedicate this struggle and judgment to Koh — a man of faith, compassion, and courage — and to all victims of enforced disappearance.”
Amri Che Mat: The Forgotten Activist
Just months before Pastor Koh’s abduction, Amri Che Mat, the founder of the NGO Perlis Hope, went missing under equally mysterious circumstances. He was last seen leaving his home in Kangar at around 11.30pm on November 24, 2016. His car was later discovered abandoned near a construction site the following morning.
Amri’s wife, Norhayati Ariffin, has spent nine years seeking answers. Like Koh’s family, she faced a wall of silence from the authorities — and in 2023, was even forced to seek a fasakh (annulment) in the Shariah Court to qualify for financial aid for her children.
But the High Court, in its decision on Amri’s case, rejected any argument that she lacked standing to sue. Judge Su ruled that the government and police had breached their statutory duties and acted unconstitutionally in their handling of Amri’s disappearance.
The court awarded over RM3 million in total damages — RM2 million in general damages, RM1 million in exemplary damages, and RM14,457 in special damages — plus RM250,000 in legal costs.
Su was scathing in his criticism of the authorities, calling the investigation “disturbing” and highlighting how the investigating officer, Khor Yi Shuen, had treated the case with bias and indifference. Khor had even admitted to perceiving Shia Islam — which Amri was allegedly sympathetic to — as a “threat” to national security.
“The IO did not pursue the investigation with seriousness when he ought to have done so,” the judge observed.
The court also chastised the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) for “bare denial” and for allegedly suppressing evidence. Judge Su ordered that the current investigation team be removed and replaced with new officers, directing the Inspector-General of Police to report progress to the AGC every two months.
“The public wants to know how the current Attorney-General will deal with this,” Su remarked pointedly.
A Moment of Reckoning
Taken together, the judgments mark a historic reckoning for Malaysia’s law enforcement institutions — one that lays bare a pattern of impunity and political shielding that has long haunted cases of state-linked disappearances.
Both Koh and Amri were declared victims of enforced disappearance by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) in 2019. Yet successive governments had failed to act on the commission’s findings or establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI).
Susanna and Norhayati’s struggles — waged over nearly a decade, in courts and in the public sphere — have forced the nation to confront uncomfortable truths about its justice system.
While the multimillion-ringgit compensation is symbolically significant, the deeper question remains: will the system now reform itself? Will those responsible ever face criminal accountability?
For now, both families have received a measure of justice and recognition, but not the answers that truly matter. As Norhayati poignantly said after the verdict:
“The feeling of sadness remains because questions about Amri’s whereabouts — whether he is alive, dead, or in good health — are all still unanswered.
“We sincerely hope that those responsible will be held accountable for what they have done,” she said.
The High Court may have delivered justice in law. But for the families of Malaysia’s disappeared, justice in truth and closure remains a journey unfinished.
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