RUTH Sitepu’s siblings are hoping that Putrajaya will help find answers to the disappearance of their sister and her husband, Pastor Joshua Hilmy.

Her brother Iman Setiawan Sitepu and Ruth’s elder sister Ram Ram Elisabeth said they feel lost without their sister, who went missing four years ago.

“We hope that we can be united with her. We are desperate to find the truth on what had happened to Ruth and our brother-in-law,” Iman said after the first day of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia’s (Suhakam) public inquiry. 

The siblings flew in yesterday from Nambiki in North Sumatera, Indonesia for the inquiry today, and are expected to return tomorrow.

Suhakam established the inquiry to determine if Joshua and Ruth were victims of enforced disappearance.

Ruth and Joshua were last seen in November 2016 and are still missing without a trace.

Iman said he is sure someone has information regarding the couple and the circumstances of their disappearance.

“We are grateful for this inquiry and we hope to get answers.”

Ram Ram, who broke down in tears, said she misses her sister very much and is hoping for a positive outcome.

“After marrying Joshua she always kept in touch with the family. She is a responsible and caring person. We are a large family of over 50 people and we all miss her.”

Earlier, the first witness in the public inquiry told the hearing today that the pastor was sought by religious authorities before the couple went missing.

Insurance salesman Peter Pormannan told the Suhakam panel that Joshua, a former Muslim who converted to Christianity, could have been sought for his religious beliefs.

The second witness, Grace Thangamalar, said the couple were troubled after receiving a phone call before they went missing.

The daughter of Joshua’s friend, Peter Pormannan, said she heard from a Sabahan couple living with them temporarily that Joshua argued with someone over the phone in 2016.

“The Sabahan said that it was a heated conservation. They told me they heard Joshua on the phone saying: ‘I didn’t disturb you, why are you disturbing me,’,” the inquiry heard today.

However, little is known about the couple, who vanished from Petaling Jaya in 2016.

Joshua and Ruth were last seen on November 30, 2016.

Ruth’s siblings also lodged a police report on the couple’s disappearance in 2018.

They last spoke to her in November 2016.

The inquiry was established to ascertain if Pastor Raymond Koh, Perlis activist Amri Che Mat, Joshua and Ruth were victims of enforced disappearance.

International human rights laws define enforced disappearance as when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organisation, or by a third party with the authorisation, support or acquiescence of a state or political organisation. – February 18, 2020.