KUALA LUMPUR – Five years on, the family of missing Pastor Joshua Hilmy and wife Ruth Sitepu is pleading for the couple’s return, and for closure.
In a statement issued by Sitepu’s family, they are urging for the duo’s return – and if met with tragedy, the return of their remains.
“Ruth is a human being. She is our sister. She has a family. Even if they met with tragedy, we just want closure.
“Please return her remains to us. People do not, and cannot, just vanish into thin air with no trace.”
The family’s pleas come as the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) public inquiry is drawing to a close after speaking with dozens of witnesses over 21 months.
Joshua and his wife were last seen on the night of November 30, 2016, leaving their home in Malaysia.
Her family said the couple has not been reachable since.
“Nobody seems to know their whereabouts. She came to Malaysia to work and support us. Instead, she went missing along with her husband.
“It is unlike her to have disappeared intentionally. Even after getting married and moving to Malaysia, she regularly kept in touch with us via messages and calls.”
The public inquiry, which started on February 18 last year, only began more than three years into their disappearance. It is chaired by commissioner Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Yunus, with panellists Jerald Joseph and Datuk Madeline Berma.
“We thank Suhakam for its diligence, meticulousness, and steadfastness in carrying out the inquiry in spite of the challenges posed by the pandemic.
“The commitment to truth and justice by Indonesia’s Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) has also lent weight to the public inquiry.
“With the efforts of Suhakam, KontraS, and even the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry saying that it will follow up with its counterpart in Malaysia, we still do not know where Ruth is.”
Apart from the couple, Suhakam also made inquiries into the cases of Pastor Raymond Koh and social activist Amri Che Mat, and in April 2019 concluded they were victims of “enforced disappearance by state agents”.
Suhakam said it had found “direct and circumstantial evidence that proves, on balance of probabilities, he was abducted by state agents, by the Special Branch, Bukit Aman”. – The Vibes, November 30, 2021
