THE disappearance of pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife, Ruth, will be the subject of a public inquiry by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) next month.

This comes after Suhakam conducted two inquiries into missing pastor Raymond Koh and Perlis Hope founder Amri Che Mat, and concluded that they are cases of “enforced disappearance”.

Under international human rights law, an enforced disappearance occurs 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. It follows refusal to acknowledge the person’s fate and whereabouts, with the intent of placing the victim outside the protection of the law.

Joshua, a Malay Muslim who converted to Christianity, and Ruth, whose maiden name is Sitepu, were last seen on November 30, 2016.

Very little was known about the couple until a police report was lodged by Ruth’s brother, Iman Setiawan Sitepu, and sister, Ram Ram Elisabeth, in 2018.

Ruth’s family live in the fishing village of Nambiki in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. They knew about her disappearance in March 2017, but could not come to Malaysia earlier due to financial constraints.

Her family last spoke to her in November 2016.

They told Suhakam that she sounded cheerful and there were no issues, adding that she used to call the family twice a month.

Suhakam, in a statement today, said the inquiry into Joshua and Ruth’s disappearance will begin on February 18, with the panel to be chaired by commissioner Hishamuddin Yunus, assisted by commissioners Jerald Joseph and Madeline Berma.

The commission urged those with information on the couple to come forward and have their statements recorded.

“Through this inquiry, Suhakam intends to fully investigate, to its best ability, what transpired, in order to identify and make the best possible recommendations to the appropriate parties.”

In the cases of Koh and Amri, the Suhakam panel was unanimous in finding that Special Branch from the federal police headquarters had abducted the duo in commando-style operations.

Amri was abducted on November 24, 2016. It was revealed during the inquiry that he was, at the time, under police surveillance for alleged Shia activities.

Koh was snatched on February 13, 2017. A police report was lodged against him a few months later for allegedly proselytising to youth.

After Suhakam made known its findings, Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced the setting up of a special task force to investigate Koh and Amri’s cases.

It has been more than 11 months since the Suhakam report was released, and there has been no word on the whereabouts of the two activists.

Muhyiddin last month said he would meet the task force soon to discuss its findings. – January 26, 2020.