PUTRAJAYA: Former High Court judge Datuk Abd Rahim Uda will head the Special Task Force to investigate the disappearances of Pastor Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat.
Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin today said Abd Rahm will be assisted by five others.
They are former head of the police legal division Datuk Mokhtar Mohd Noor, former Bukit Aman Integrity and Standard Compliance Department director Comm Datuk Zamri Yahya, director of enforcement agency integrity commission Datuk Muhammad Bukhari Ab Hamid, Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) prosecuting division officer Mohd Sophia Zakaria and Police Force Commission for the Home Ministry, Mohd Russiani Idrus.
He said the task force was expected to complete its work within six months.
“They will start their investigation on how Amri went missing and then onto Pastor Koh. This is because a court case regarding Koh is ongoing,“ Muhyiddin said.
“Whether it (the hearings) will be open to the public depend on the task force but usually such probes are held behind closed doors.”
He added the task force may need more than six months because of the Koh court case.
Muhyiddin said as result of the Suhakam findings over the disappearance of Koh and Ambri the public had lost trust in the police force.
He said the findings pointed to the Special Branch being involved and this has affected the public’s perception of the police.
He said the ministry viewed his negative perception very seriously and that is why steps are taken to set up the task force.
“The task force has a difficult job ahead and most of them have some link to the police but they will be able to do their job independently,“ Muhyiddin said.
He said task force members understand how the police force work especially the Special Branch.
He pointed out that the task force was not a Royal Commission of Inquiry.
He said results of the findings will be presented to him but whether it will be made public as a whole or in part depends on what is discovered.
On the
Amri, who is the co-founder of the non-governmental organisation Perlis Hope, went missing on Nov 24, 2016, after leaving his home in Kangar in an SUV at about 11.30pm.
Koh, who founded the NGO Harapan Komuniti, was believed to have been abducted in broad daylight by a group of men along Jalan SS4B/10 in Petaling Jaya on Feb 13, 2017, while on his way to a friend’s house.
On the Teoh Beng Hock case, Muhyiddin said his ministry has been given a through briefing.
He said the next step will be taken by the AGC.
