PETALING JAYA: It has been three years to the day since activist Amri Che Mat vanished but his family still harbours hopes of seeing him alive.
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His wife Norhayati Ariffin (pic) said they had not given up on him returning home and were still awaiting answers from the task force that was formed to look into the case.
“We can only pray. There is nothing much we can do, ” she said.
“Life has been rocky and tough since he went missing.”
She said prayers were held yesterday for his safety and for him to return home.
Amri, who is the founder of the NGO Perlis Hope, left his home in Kangar on Nov 24,2016.
His SUV was later found at a construction site of the Bukit Cabang Sports School in the wee hours the following day.
Amri, who was being investigated for allegedly spreading Syiah teachings, is also a mountain climber who was part of the 1997 Mount Everest Malaysian expedition team.
In April, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) concluded in an inquiry that the Special Branch was behind the enforced disappearances of Amri and Pastor Raymond Koh.
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Koh was believed to have been abducted by a group of men in Petaling Jaya on Feb 13,2017 while on his way to a friend’s house.
In June 2019, a task force was formed to look into their disappearances.
At the time of Amri’s disappearance in 2016, he and Norhayati, both 43, had been married for 19 years.
They have four daughters.
Last week, Norhayati commenced civil proceedings against the government and police over concerns of their conduct during investigations into Amri’s disappearance.
Norhayati, who is a teacher at a primary school, said Amri’s sick mother always asked her for updates about him.
She added that her daughters were growing up without a father.
“One of my daughters just completed her UPSR exams, and she did well but Amri was not around to share this, ” said Norhayati. -The Star