Task force’s report on Pastor Koh biased against me, ex-cop tells court

 

Former Special Branch officer Awaludin Jadid said he gave a speech at a local university on the topic of ‘extremism’ to inform the public about the ‘dangers’ posed by Shia and Christianity towards the Muslim community.

KUALA LUMPUR: 

A former senior officer from Bukit Aman’s Special Branch has accused a task force probing the disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat of bias against him.

Awaludin Jadid, who previously led the Special Branch’s social extremism division, said the task force members never met him to hear his explanation.

“I want to go on record to say this was a biased report,” he said during his testimony in a lawsuit brought by Koh’s wife, Susanna Liew, on behalf of their family, against him, the police and the government over the pastor’s disappearance.

Liew wants the authorities to be held liable for her husband’s unlawful abduction and for misfeasance in public office.

The task force’s report, which was classified, concluded that “rogue” police officers were directly or indirectly involved in Koh and Amri’s disappearance. The report was tendered as evidence at the trial.

The task force had also found that Awaludin was one of the “persons of interest” in the disappearance of both Amri and Koh.

Today, Awaludin told the court he had delivered a speech at a local university in 2016 on the topic of “extremism”.

He said the speech was meant to inform the public about the “dangers” posed by Shia and Christianity towards the Muslim community.

“This is to prevent them (Shia and Christianity) from becoming a national threat.

“The task force said I gave a ‘stern’ warning to the participants (to take action to curb the spread of Shia and Christianity), which I do not agree with,” he said.

Awaludin said his call for NGOs, political parties like PAS, and individuals to “join forces” with the police was a reference to holding programmes aimed at strengthening the Sunni Muslim faith among Muslims in the country.

He also lamented the “inconsistent” approach taken by the religious authorities of the different states in curbing the spread of Shia.

“Some states took action while others did not,” he said.

He also told the court there was nothing wrong in him and his officers paying Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin a courtesy call in October 2016.

“It was part of our job as the police,” he said.

Koh disappeared on Feb 13, 2017, after he was abducted on Jalan SS4B/10 in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

The hearing before Justice Su Tiang Joo continues tomorrow. - FMT