KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 ― Peter Chong’s Facebook Messenger was active over the weekend till this morning and a friend’s phone call got through the activist’s social networking account although it was unanswered, two lawmakers said.

PKR lawmakers R. Sivarasa and Elizabeth Wong expressed hopes that the police would be able to use the lead to locate Chong, a former Petaling Jaya city councillor and Sivarasa’s aide, who was last seen last Wednesday by his family.

"This could mean two things, either (1) that Peter is able to access his Facebook account, or (2) that another person other than Peter is accessing his account.

"We are optimistic and hopeful that he is alive and well. However it is still much too early to draw any firm conclusions,” Sivarasa and Wong said in a statement.

The Subang MP and Bukit Lanjan assemblyman also commended Kuala Lumpur police for setting up a special task force to investigate Chong’s disappearance.

Chong ― who had been active with an adult education NGO, according to Sivarasa and Wong ― went missing shortly after the disappearance of four other activists: Pastor Raymond Koh, Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife Ruth, and Amri Che Mat.