Opposition seeks answers from police over missing Perlis activist

KUALA LUMPUR: The Opposition is seeking answers from the police on a Perlis welfare activist who has been missing for four months.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail questioned why the wife and children of Amri Che Mat, 44, who went missing in Kangar on Nov 24 last year, have been kept in the dark over investigations into his disappearance.

She said the family recently visited Bukit Aman after being informed that the case had been transferred there from Perlis.

However, they were reportedly given the run around before finally being informed by an officer that no case file had reached the federal police headquarters.

“What is the status of the case? Why has the family been left in the lurch, with no news or updates after four months?” Dr Wan Azizah told reporters at her office in Parliament Thursday.

Amri’s wife Norhayati Mohd Ariffin, 44, and their four children were present together with Perlis PKR representative Mohammad Faisol Abd Rahman.

Meanwhile, Norhayati said her husband had not shown odd behaviour or received any threats prior to his disappearance.

However, she claimed that neighbours had seen suspicious-looking vehicles and motorcycles outside her house for several days up to the night of his disappearance.

She also claimed that some parties may have been unhappy with her husband over his work in building a home for the poor.

“There are some people who may have felt challenged by my husband’s work. I really hope the authorities will look for him until he is found,” she said.

Amri, an activist at local welfare NGO Perlis Hope, did not return home on the night of Nov 24 after reportedly meeting a friend.

Police discovered his abandoned four-wheel-drive vehicle in Bukit Chabang the following day, with its windows smashed.

The family has lodged two police reports on the incident.