WITH less than five days before the New Year, an Australian son's quest to seek justice for his mother, whose remains were found in Penang continues - into the eighth year of battling anguish, depression and legal setbacks.
Annapuranee (Anna) Jenkins was visiting her now late mother in Penang with her late husband Frank Jenkins in 2017 when she disappeared without a trace after alighting from a ride-sharing service near Scotland Road, Penang.
Her partial skeletal remains were found in a construction site metres away from the Penang Turf Club four years later during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Widely covered by the mass media, both in Australia, especially Adelaide, Anna's base of residence and in Penang, a Malaysian court inquest delivered an open verdict last year, ruling that it was inconclusive how Anna passed away since only partial remains were located by the police forensic unit.
The ruling only saw Anna's only son Greg overcome with grief that no answers were forthcoming but it also strengthened his resolve to find closure.
For Greg, his mother's untimely death, lit up a personal crusade in him, seeking to find the truth and at the same time, cement the justice the family craves.
It can also bring a sense of closure, which is now absent from Anna's surviving family - Greg and sister - Jennifer.
Greg suffers from sleep deprivation, as he mitigates his sorrow.
In an appeal to the media, the Aussie stated that he is now seeking help from the Australian consular services and has personally reached out to the Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, after exhausting his efforts with the Malaysian side.
Greg is frustrated that both the Malaysian and Australian authorities remained slow in unearthing what he sees as further remains of his mother from the construction site, which has now become a luxurious home living.
Perhaps the findings of more remains can shed new light on the mystery.
At the same time, he has appointed new counsels to appeal against the inquest decision and to seek civil damages from the authorities for what he describes as negligence in the investigation.
The initial reaction by the authorities was rather dismissive that his mother was indeed missing and that the 65-year-old Anna wouldn't simply wander away.
Greg remains convinced despite various other reasons that his mother was murdered and her remains dumped in a jungle covering near the Turf Club.
"I just want to find justice for my mother. We hope everyone in authority can understand this. Nothing more or less," said Greg, who reportedly has spent a fortune of up to USD$600,000 in the crusade for justice.
He is disgusted that the consular services cannot render the same level of assistance as fellow Aussie nationals, who were convicted of crimes overseas.
Greg has now taken to social media almost daily, posting his struggles and a retelling of how Anna went missing and the subsequent efforts to find justice.
Along his arduous and lonely battle, Greg has found South Australian parliamentarian Frank Pangallo, an outspoken politician, on the same page.
A former journalist, Pangallo has been championing the family's cause for the past years.
Pangallo has gone public to slam Wong for not rendering the same level of legal assistance as what was accorded to Australians convicted overseas.
He stressed that Jenkins deserved better.
As the new year unfolds, it is just another day of seeking justice for Greg. - December 27, 2024.
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