The human rights panel in Malaysia was unanimous that Pastor Koh was a victim of an enforced disappearance.

He went missing on 13th February 2017.

In the attack, which was caught on CCTV, at least ten men in black SUVs blocked a major, bundled Raymond out of his car and into another vehicle and abducted him in under a minute. He has not been seen since.

In April 2019, it was announced at a press conference that he was probably taken by police and targeted by religious authorities.

The chair of the panel, Dato’ Mah Weng Kai said: “The direct and circumstantial evidence in Pastor Raymond Koh’s case proves, on a balance of probabilities, that he was abducted by State agents, namely, the Special Branch, Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur.”

The panel also concluded that there had been state involvement in the disappearance of activist Amri Che Mat, who is a Shia Muslim, a branch of Islam banned in Malaysia.

Henrietta Blyth, CEO of the religious freedom charity Open Doors UK and Ireland, said: “The SUHAKAM report was a very significant and bold step forward in pursuit of those who are behind Pastor Koh’s kidnapping.

“We are delighted that it has led to the decision to set up a taskforce which will hopefully reveal what has really happened to Pastor Koh. His family have suffered for so long and deserve to know the true facts.”

The wife of the the preacher, Susanna Koh, who earlier this month met the Home Minister, said: “We want to see the truth revealed. Until today, we just don’t know why they were taken. Malaysia is a moderate country, there should be the rule of law. There should be freedom of religion to practise one’s faith.”

Hearing the news about the taskforce to be set up, she said: “I am so happy. God is good. He answers more than we can imagine or think.”

Esther Koh, the pastor’s daughter, added: “It has never been the same without him. Having to deal with the police has been stressful for all of us. Not knowing what happened, it is ambiguous loss and causes mental stress.”

Malaysia is number 42 on Open Doors’ ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution.

The state is officially secular but the constitution defines ethnically Malay people as Muslims and leaving Islam is illegal

for them in almost every state.