Amri's disappearance: Again I say, it’s a Bogus Task Force

Yesterday someone asked me why I’m so enraged by the seven-person “special task force” appointed by Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to investigate the disappearance of activist Amri Che Mat.

I say it’s bogus because of the deception contained in the Home Ministry’s statement which announced it.

The first paragraph reads, in my English translation: “On 8 April 2019 the Home Ministry received the reports of the Suhakam public inquiries into the disappearances of Amri Che Mat and Pastor Raymond Koh. KDN takes Suhakam’s conclusion seriously and welcomes the recommendation to form a special task force to investigate both these cases.”

The reader is led to think the Home Ministry is announcing the formation of the task force described in the recommendation sections of the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) reports.

Then comes the second paragraph. This is the first sentence:

“On May 8, 2019 the Cabinet agreed that KDN will establish a Special Task Force (STF) to investigate the cases of the disappearances of Pastor Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat.”

No problem with that. But then comes the second sentence (I’ve underlined the problem):

“In the case of the disappearance of Amri Che Mat, the STF will investigate all the reports released by Suhakam.”

Big problem with that. The STF will investigate the Suhakam reports!

The first paragraph says the Home Ministry welcomes Suhakam’s recommendation to form a STF to investigate the two cases. Good.

The first sentence in the second paragraph says the cabinet agrees to form a STF in line with Suhakam’s recommendations. Good.

But the second sentence says the Home Ministry is doing something different, just calling it by the same name. This is very bad.

Let me tell you now what the Suhakam inquiry panellists recommended.

The panellists used the words “re-open” and “re-investigate” the cases – although the police told the Suhakam inquiry the cases are still open. This is what they wrote in the Amri report (the same words are found in the report for Koh):

“213. Therefore the panel recommends that a special task force be set up to reopen and re-investigate the case of Amri Che Mat as an enforced disappearance case, instead of a missing person case.”

This is what the panellists meant when they started that sentence with “therefore” (emphasis mine):

“212. The family needs some closure and answers can only be provided by the State. It is believed that those who have been put in charge so far are withholding the answers to these questions, or are refusing to undertake a diligent exercise to discover them, hence a new and separate task force needs to be set up to re-investigate the disappearance of Amri Che Mat.”

Did you see that?

The panellists are talking about “a new and separate task force,” to “re-investigate.” They mean doing what the Investigating Officer in the case failed to do. They mean doing police work. They mean gathering evidence, talking to witnesses and suspects – including cops.

The panellists also spelt out what they want the STF to review (emphasis mine):

“214.2 The Police shall forward all investigation papers and/or intelligence gathered so far in connection with the disappearance of Amri Che Mat to the special task force for its further action.”

When the panellists wrote “new and separate task force,” they expected an active version of the apparently pseudo task force led by Senior Assistant Commissioner Fadzil Ahmat (as described during the Suhakam inquiry, the only thing special about it was that it was pseudo).

The people appointed by the Home Ministry to the “task force” are not investigators capable of taking over from the Investigation Officers. Their appointment is proof of the opposite of what the Home Ministry says. Cakap tak serupa bikin (failing to walk the talk).Their appointment is proof that the Home Ministry rejects the Suhakam report.

I will call them the Bogus Task Force until someone demonstrates to me that their terms of reference spring from the Suhakam reports.

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RAMA RAMANATHAN is spokesperson for Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (Caged). - Mkini