On this edition of Release International’s Voice Podcast we will hear from Susanna Koh, wife of Malaysian pastor Raymond Koh, who was abducted more than four years ago in a highly professional operation. He has never been seen since.
Listen as Susanna talks about her family’s struggle to find out what has happened to Raymond and the pressure they have been under. But also hear how Raymond’s suffering has motivated Christians in their service of Christ and the gospel.
On this edition of Release International’s Voice Podcast we will hear from Susanna Koh, wife of Malaysian pastor Raymond Koh, who was abducted more than four years ago in a highly professional operation. He has never been seen since.
Listen as Susanna talks about her family’s struggle to find out what has happened to Raymond and the pressure they have been under. But also hear how Raymond’s suffering has motivated Christians in their service of Christ and the gospel.
Susannah Koh – Depending on God
“We have lost our spiritual leader, the breadwinner, so we just have to run to God and depend on Him”.
Kenneth: From prison, the Apostle Paul wrote to Christians in Philippi, “I want you to know brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel so that it has become known throughout the whole Imperial Guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ, and most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the Word without fear”.
On this edition of Release International’s Voice podcast, I’m speaking to Susanna Koh, wife of Malaysian pastor Raymond Koh, who was abducted more than 4 years ago in a highly professional operation. He has never been seen since. We’ll hear Susanna talk about her family’s struggle to find out what has happened to Raymond and the pressure they’ve been under. But we will also hear how Raymond’s suffering has motivated Christians in their service for Christ and the gospel.
Susanna, it’s a great pleasure to have you join us on this edition of Release International’s Voice podcast. Many thanks for joining us.
Susanna: Hello, brothers and sisters in the family of God. Greetings from Malaysia!
Kenneth: Susanna, you kindly spoke to us on the Voice podcast a couple of years ago but, for any listeners perhaps joining us for the first time, or for folk who have not heard about your husband, can you remind us what happened to Raymond in February of 2017?
Susanna: On 13 February 2017, that’s five years ago, my husband Pastor Raymond Koh, was suddenly and violently abducted from the streets of a suburb in Malaysia. CCTV footage recovered by the family showed that it was a professionally executed operation involving more than 15 men, with seven vehicles and it took only 40 seconds to execute. Sadly, we have not seen nor heard from him since.
Kenneth: You mentioned CCTV. So, at the time, how did you and your family first find out about Raymond’s abduction?
Susanna: Actually, I was waiting for him for dinner and he did not come back, and I was also trying to contact him through his cell phone but it went straight to voicemail. Later, I called my lawyer friend who told me to make a missing person report in the police station, and so we went to the police station and straight away I was taken into a small room and to my horror the officer started interrogating me about Raymond’s activities. Then the lawyer went out of the room and he talked to some policemen who were outside and they said there was a police report lodged by an eyewitness about an abduction and they had the car registration number – it was my husband’s car. So, the next morning, my family and I went to that street and we found the scattered glass. We saw that there were houses on both sides of the street and so we went door to door to ask people if they could share with us their security camera footage.
Kenneth: So obviously that was a very traumatic day for you. What then happened in the weeks following that awful day?
Susanna: Well, I must say the first three weeks was a bit like a rollercoaster ride; it was a bit like hell. I was called for many interrogations by the police and we were all traumatised and fearful. I experienced panic attacks and thank God that He brought me to a silent retreat during that time. We also made a complaint to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia that the police were not following the normal procedures and they decided to have a public enquiry into the abduction.
Kenneth: Susanna, it’s perhaps an obvious question, but an important one nonetheless. Why do you think Raymond was abducted?
Susanna: Well, I suspect that it was because of his work with the NGO Hope Community, which he started, whereby we help the poor and the needy from all different races, including Muslims. So whenever he is asked about his faith obviously, being a Pastor, he would share his faith. And we think the religious authorities or the police may have suspected that he was proselytising to Muslims. In 2011, six years before the abduction, he and I received a death threat after we had a fundraising dinner for stakeholders of the Hope community. So, we did have a run-in with the authorities before this. A note written in red ink came with two bullets for Raymond, and I had a white powder and it said that ‘you Christians think that you are stronger than Muslims, but we want to kill you.’
Kenneth: Thank you for that; that in itself would have been a very traumatic thing. Susanna, it’s now been well over four years since Raymond was abducted. How has life been for you and your family during that time? What’s been the most difficult aspect of this whole situation and how has it impacted your faith in Christ?
Susanna: As I said, the first few weeks and months were very difficult for our family because we have lost our spiritual leader, the breadwinner and so we just had to run to God and depend on him and different ones of us respond differently. My son was depressed, my second daughter was very traumatised and fearful of everything; my third daughter was angry with the authorities, the police, as well as God. And so, we struggled for a few weeks. I think it’s our personal relationship and time with God that sustained us. And so, I keep a very regular quiet time and worship time and I find that this really helps me through the storms of life. God’s Word assures me that He will be with me; also, the prayers of the saints, they strengthen us. Many people were very supportive – they sent us cards and letters to encourage us. Also, the words of people who pray for us: that was one of the things I value most.
Kenneth: That’s great to hear. Well, praise the Lord that you have been sustained and encouraged by Christians around the world, not only praying for you but sending cards of encouragement as well. Now, I guess many Release International supporters listening to this podcast may well have signed the petition we ran a couple of years ago which was calling for explanations from the government of Malaysia in terms of the reasons behind Raymond’s disappearance. Now, I understand, Susanna, that you have an important court case coming up in a few weeks’ time. You may not be able to tell us everything about it but can you tell us a little bit about what that is about and what you are hoping to achieve in that process?
Susanna: The family decided to file a civil suit against the police and the government because the Human Rights Commission do not have the power to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators. And also, we desire to know what happened to Pastor Raymond and to have some kind of closure for the family. And so, the lawyers, from Borneo, have been working very hard to submit all the documentation and make representation for the family. So, the court case, the trial, will be on the 19 – 22nd December and also 5 – 8th June.
Kenneth: I’m sure Release supporters will want to be praying for that process as it unfolds. Susanna, can I also ask what sort of impact has Raymond’s disappearance had on Christians generally in Malaysia. Obviously, you’ve talked about the impact on yourself and your immediate family. But what about your church? what about other Christians in the area who know Raymond well? How has this whole incident impacted them?
Susanna: Initially, I think there were people who were afraid and who distanced themselves from us. There were others who came around us and were very supportive. Actually, with the blessing of hindsight, looking back now that it’s five years, I can see the bigger picture that God is doing something in the lives of Christians as well as some non-Christians, in that He’s bringing them to a deeper knowledge and experience of Himself through them being involved in prayer and all that, and that the church worldwide has been encouraged. I see that there are more missionaries coming to Malaysia because they’ve heard the story of Pastor Raymond.
Recently, this year, I’ve heard from different pastors of what they have seen and heard about the legacy of Pastor Raymond. One of these is, a Pastor who was selling some meat skewers, and the person said ‘I am a Christian’ and said he has 20 families under him – 20 believers – these are secret believers. And he said that we are not afraid because of Pastor Raymond, because Pastor Raymond has given his life, and so we are more bold to witness for him at this time. And so, I can see that God is using Pastor Raymond’s testimony and his life has impacted many people. He mentored many people, and one of these pastors shared with me that he has 200 believers that he is discipling. That brings a lot of joy to me. Also, one of Pastor Raymond’s desires was to have churches from other nations: recently, people shared with me that they wanted to start an Arabic speaking church so, yes, we think that five years of silence God is not doing anything but actually, behind the scenes, God is doing a wonderful work that we can’t see with our physical eyes, but with our spiritual eyes we can see what he’s doing.
Kenneth: Thank you for sharing that. It’s really thrilling to hear that. When you were speaking there it reminded me of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians where Paul says that the fact that he’s in prison has actually made other Christians more bold to share the gospel and to proclaim Christ; so, it’s great to hear that that is still true today for Christians in Malaysia and elsewhere in the world as they hear of Raymond’s story and of his own faithful testimony to Christ.
So, finally, Susanna, what would you want listeners to this podcast to be praying for, perhaps in the coming weeks and months, both in terms of that court hearing that you mentioned but also for you and your family?
Susanna: Remember us as we continue the legacy of Pastor Raymond, that we will continue to be an influence for God, a vessel that is being used to encourage people to reach out to the unreached and that is what Pastor Raymond’s vision was – to see people from every tribe, nation and tongue worshipping before the throne of God, the Lamb of God.
Can you pray for my daughter, Esther? She’s studying psychology and she wants to be a counsellor because of what she has been through, and she felt that she wants to help others who also go through depression and mental issues.
Pray for my daughter Elizabeth, who is in the US, that she will keep close to the Lord.
Pray for our ministry here. Even though we cannot share much, we need the prayer support of the church.
Kenneth: Thank you for that. Susanna, once again thank you so much for taking time to talk to us on the Voice podcast. We at Release International will certainly be praying for you and for your family in the lead up to the court hearing that you described, and may the Lord continue to strengthen you.
Susanna: Thank you for inviting me. God bless.
Kenneth: It’s almost impossible for us to imagine how Susanna and her family must feel from day to day, still not knowing what happened to Raymond more than four and a half years ago, but at the same time, what an encouragement to hear how our gracious God has sustained them and how other Christians are being inspired by Raymond’s faithful witness.
Thank you so much for listening to the Voice podcast.