Malaysia (MNN) — Sunday will mark the five-year anniversary of Pastor Raymond Koh’s kidnapping. This Malaysian pastor ran a ministry helping people with HIV/AIDS, recovering addicts, single mothers, and children. But on February 13, 2017, three vehicles forced him off the road and mysterious attackers dragged him out of his car.
Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says, “There is footage of him being taken. It is a military-style precision operation that took less than 40 seconds. He disappeared. There’s been no sign of him since then. His car has never been located. It’s like he fell off the face of the earth. We’re waiting still for the Malaysian government to hold someone accountable for that.”
“The reports and studies have suggested that it was the intelligence police that was involved.”
The Malaysian government formed a task force in 2020 to investigate the disappearance. But since then, the group has not released any information about the kidnapping.
Local Muslim leaders didn’t like Pastor Koh’s ministry. They thought he was trying to convert ethnic Malays to Christianity, which is illegal in Malaysia. Nettleton says, “The government doesn’t have any problem with you unless you are reaching ethnic Malay people who are traditionally Muslim. According to the government, they should always be Muslim, should always stay Muslim. [That means] evangelism or conversations about Christianity with an ethnic Malay person [create] a problem.”
How to pray
Pray for Pastor Koh’s family, who wonder if he is still alive. Ask God to comfort them.
Pray also for God to work among the Malay people. Nettleton says, “Even though the government doesn’t want ethnic Malays to hear the Gospel and to come to faith in Christ, God is certainly more powerful than the Malaysian government.”
The header photo shows pastor Koh with his family. (Photo courtesy of VOM USA on Facebook.)
