Pastor’s wife confronts Malaysian government over husband’s disappearance

When Susanna Liew stood before television cameras at the Kuala Lumpur High Court last month, she called the moment a “historic and emotional milestone”.

“Today … the High Court delivered what we have long believed to be the verdict: Pastor Koh was the victim of a grave injustice,” the 69-year-old pastor said that night, his voice shaking.

It was a hard-won but shocking legal victory in a case that has become one of Malaysia’s greatest mysteries.

Nearly nine years ago, her husband was kidnapped by masked men in broad daylight. The kidnapping was captured on CCTV and has attracted national attention for years.

The High Court has ruled that an elite special unit of police took Raymond Koh away, and is holding police and the Malaysian government responsible for the country’s first enforced disappearance to be heard in court.

Ms Liu has spent years trying to uncover her husband’s whereabouts, transforming from an ordinary pastor’s wife into a fierce activist.

She may never know why her husband was taken away, but two separate official investigations have found that police believe the cleric posed a threat to Malaysia’s majority religion, Islam.

Speaking to the BBC shortly after her court victory, Ms Liu said she was motivated to pursue justice.

“There was a voice[inside me]that said… ‘So they took him secretly – and I’ll let the world know’.”

Shortly after 10 a.m. on February 13, 2017, Mr. Xu left home to meet friends.

As the 63-year-old drove out of his quiet home on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, a convoy of SUVs and motorcycles roared towards his car.

The masked man in black rushed out. They smashed Mr. Xu’s car window and dragged the pastor out, sending shards of glass flying everywhere. They packed him into one of their cars and drove off with him.

The kidnapping happened within seconds. It was so dramatic that a witness sitting behind Mr Xu later testified that he thought it was a movie shoot.

Over the next few days, Mr. Xu’s children went door-to-door looking for clues about their father’s disappearance, only to discover that CCTV cameras in two homes had captured the entire incident.

After seeing the video, the family realized this was no ordinary kidnapping. It’s meticulous and well-coordinated. They also have not received any ransom letters or been contacted by kidnappers.

A few months earlier, in November 2016, an activist named Amri Che Mat from the northern state of Perlis was kidnapped in almost the same manner.

Mr Koh’s family appealed to the media for help and the CCTV footage went viral after it was posted online by a local newspaper.

The public demanded answers, and the Malaysian Human Rights Commission – an independent body set up by Parliament – launched an investigation. Subsequently, the government also launched a separate investigation.

Many speculated that the Special Branch was responsible. But the police denied involvement, with its chief telling the public to “please shut up” so they could investigate the disappearance calmly.

A few months later, police investigated and claimed Mr Xu had been kidnapped by a drug gang. Separately, they arrested a man who kidnapped an Uber driver, but the charge was eventually dropped. The Human Rights Commission later ruled both leads were not credible in its final report on the investigation.

Meanwhile, Mr. Xu’s disappearance has taken a toll on his family.

Liu makes ends meet by selling handmade jewelry, while relying on her own savings and donations to put her youngest daughter through college.

She said she expected sympathy from police. Instead, on the night she reported her husband missing, she said she was questioned for five hours about whether Mr. Koh was trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. “I was very traumatized.”

Her interrogator later testified at a Rights Commission investigative hearing that his supervisor directed him to conduct the investigation because Mr. Koh was a pastor.

In 2011, Mr Koh was accused of apostasy – a crime in Muslim-majority Malaysia – after he organized a gathering at a church that was attended by some Muslims. Islamic authorities investigated him but took no action. He and his family have always denied that he was trying to convert Muslims.

Ms. Liu said that in the years after Mr. Xu’s disappearance, she felt that “the police did not launch investigations in a timely manner, and sometimes even hindered us from finding out the truth and created diversions.”

The family has long insisted the police theory was an attempt to cover up their role in the abduction.

The BBC has asked Malaysian police to respond to the allegations. They have not responded yet.

Ms. Liu said that as the search for answers dragged on, everyone in the family began to feel depressed. She still suffers from panic attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder.

But then, there was a breakthrough.

Late one night in May 2018, a man appeared at Norhayati’s home. She was Amri Che Mat’s wife. Activists kidnapped in 2016.

He claims to be a police sergeant Delivering shocking information: the Special Branch had indeed kidnapped her husband and Raymond Xu.

He said police believed Mr Koh was trying to convert Muslims to Christianity, while Amri Chemat was spreading Shia Islam, which is banned in Sunni-dominated Malaysia.

The officer said he wanted to tell Ms Nohayati what had happened because he felt the Special Branch’s approach was wrong.

Ms Nohayati’s account of the confession was investigated by the Human Rights Commission and ultimately found credible. Although the officer later denied that he had made the confession, the board found that his denial was riddled with inconsistencies.

Then, there’s the golden car.

An eyewitness to Mr Koh’s abduction recalled seeing a gold Toyota Vios – a similar car was spotted near Amri Che Mat’s home before his disappearance. Officers also noted the presence of a gold car in both kidnappings.

Human Rights Commission investigators traced the car to a man working for the Special Branch in Kuala Lumpur.

In April 2019, the commission concluded that the Special Branch was responsible for the kidnappings of Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat. The two men “were targeted by religious authorities and police for their alleged involvement in anti-Islamic activities in Malaysia,” the statement said.

The report shocked the Malaysian public, with some demanding accountability. Months later, the government launched its own investigation, the results of which were not made public until Ms. Liu and Ms. Nohayati sued to gain access.

A government investigation reached similar conclusions, blaming “irresponsible rogue police officers.”

The report also names a “key stakeholder” – senior Special Branch official Awaludin bin Jadid, who heads the unit to counter social extremism. The report noted that he held “extreme views” on Shia Islam and Christianity and described them as a threat to Islam in public speeches.

The BBC attempted to contact Mr Awaluddin, now retired, for his response to the findings. We have yet to receive a reply.

Awaluddin has previously denied that he had anything to do with Amri Chemat’s disappearance and claimed that the government task force that prepared the report was “biased” against him.

In 2020, Ms. Liu filed a civil lawsuit against several senior police officers, the Royal Malaysian Police and the Malaysian government on behalf of herself and her missing husband.

She held them responsible for Mr Xu’s enforced disappearance, i.e. kidnapping and concealing his whereabouts, and demanded they reveal his location.

Last month, a High Court judge found that “one or more” of the named police officers and the Royal Malaysian Police were responsible for Raymond Koh’s abduction and “conspiracy to cause harm”.

The judge said that because the men were public officials acting under state authority, “the government must be held responsible for the harm caused” and therefore “vicariously liable”.

As well as awarding Ms Liew millions of ringgit for emotional distress, the judge also ordered that Mr Koh be paid 10,000 ringgit (£1,830; $2,385) per day into the trust after his disappearance until his whereabouts are disclosed.

To date, the amount has exceeded RM32 million, with the final figure expected to be the largest expenditure in Malaysia’s history. Funds from the trust will only be disbursed after Mr Koh’s whereabouts are revealed, likely to go to Ms Liew and her children.

Ms Norhayati also sued, won the case and was awarded millions of ringgit in compensation.

But the government is appealing the judgments, arguing there are “issues relating to financial obligations” and the need to “uphold the principles of general justice”.

It also said police were continuing to investigate the kidnapping.

The BBC has asked the police to comment on the verdict. They have not responded yet.

Ms Liu hopes the government will drop its appeal. “If I had to do it all over again I would be very tired,” she told the BBC.

The family already feels uncertain because of “not knowing where Pastor Raymond is… it’s like we’re drowning in grief and can’t move on.”

“If we knew he was dead and had his body, at least we could bury him and we could move on. But now, we’re stuck. We don’t know – is he dead or alive? – and that’s taking a toll on us.”

Ms. Liu choked up at the thought that her husband might be dead. “It’s going to be hard to accept,” she said, adding that she “hopes” her husband is still alive.

But time is helping the family heal. Inspired by the counselor who helped her through depression, Ms. Liu has been training to become a depression patient.

Telling her story has also been “cathartic,” she said. Over the years, she became an outspoken critic of enforced disappearances as she traveled the world to raise awareness of her husband’s case. In 2020, the United States awarded her the International Women’s Medal of Courage.

“I didn’t think I’d be in this place. Eight years ago, I was just a housewife, a quiet person,” she said.

Liu also reached a turning point on a personal level – she forgave the men she believed had taken her husband away.

During the trial, when she saw the defendants in the lawsuit testify, at first “I wanted to choke them. I was angry with them.”

“But I noticed that when I came face to face with the prime suspect, I felt no hatred… I wanted to be truly right and pure before God and not have any shadow or darkness in my life.”

However, forgiveness doesn’t mean she will stop her Pursue justice.

She is now calling on authorities to set up a disciplinary body to oversee police conduct, as well as a commission of inquiry and a task force to track down everyone involved in her husband’s abduction.

So far, the officers named in her lawsuit have not been arrested or punished. One of them has been promoted.

“What we really want is for truth and justice to be served, for the perpetrators to be brought to justice and for us to have a happy ending,” she said.

“That means we want to know where Pastor Raymond is.”