Vanishing into thin air
It is absolutely essential for the police to solve the cases, bring back the victims and apprehend the perpetrators soonest in a bid to allay public fears and doubts.
By Sin Chew Daily
Today, exactly two months since the abduction of Pastor Raymond Koh, his whereabouts remain a mystery.
Now, another alleged mysterious disappearance involving former Petaling Jaya city councillor Peter Chong took place one week ago on April 6.
There have been five similar mysterious disappearances over the past half a year. Last November, Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife Ruth went missing, and his church friends have been unable to contact them to this day.
Meanwhile, 44-year-old Perlis Hope founder Amri Che Mat also went missing in Kangar on November 24,
While these missing cases have sounded an alarm bell among Malaysians, they have also triggered widespread speculation and guesses.
There have been people linking these five cases together although so far the police have treated the cases independently, However, we cannot deny that there is something common among the cases.
The families have all not received any call from their captors demanding ransoms, showing that the disappearances of these five people are not straightforward kidnapping cases and are unrelated to money matters.
While this may not prove anything, it nevertheless has aroused speculation, especially after the video footage of Pastor Koh’s abduction went viral on the Internet.
Before Peter Chong went missing, he wrote on his Facebook account that he had been verbally warned by a stranger to be careful, and this has triggered more queries about his disappearance.
What are the motives behind these disappearances or abductions? Are these cases related to one another? Who are the people behind all this?
These questions have invariably sparked unending speculation. Of course, none of these speculations have been substantially grounded and we can only wait for the official replies from the police.
Notably, these disappearances and abductions have triggered widespread concern in our society, and could generate an air of uneasiness among the public if the cases are not solved immediately.
The police are now actively pursuing these cases but given the speculation and rumours, it is imperative that the police mobilise more resources and hasten their operations in order to solve the cases and bring back the missing as soon as possible.
Even as the country has been plagued by serious public safety issues for years, this is still the first time we have seen a string of mysterious disappearances and abductions within a relatively short period of time, making public concerns and worries inevitable.
Malaysia is a country ruled by law. Anyone flouting the laws must be legally sanctioned.
It is absolutely essential for the police to solve the cases, bring back the victims and apprehend the perpetrators soonest in a bid to allay public fears and doubts.
Sin Chew Daily is a local vernacular publication
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