A TENANT of missing pastor Joshua Hilmy and wife Ruth Sitepu is expected to take the stand at a Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) public inquiry.

Josiahnandan Emmanuel Peter, 25, will be the third witness to testify on the couple’s disappearance in 2016.

His father, Peter Pormannan, is a friend to the couple. He told The Malaysian Insight his son is being called to give his testimony as he used to live in Joshua’s house in Petaling Jaya.

“He was living there as it was closer to his college than our home in Klang.

“He is expected to give his testimony on his experience living with them,” Peter said ahead of the Suhakam inquiry which resumes today.

On February 18, Suhakan started the public inquiry to determine if Joshua, a Malay-Muslim who converted to Christianity, and his wife Ruth, are cases of enforced disappearance.

The only information police have is a missing person’s report lodged in 2017 by Peter, who was Joshua’s close friend after knowing the couple since 2012.

Also expected to give his testimony is Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (CAGED) spokesman Rama Ramanathan.

CAGED played a major role to highlight the cases of missing pastor Raymond Koh and Perlis activist Amri Che Mat.

Last year, the Suhakam public inquiry into Koh and Amri found that they were cases of “enforced disappearance”.

The panel unanimously agreed that Special Branch personnel from the federal police headquarters had abducted them in commando-style operations.

Amri, who was taken on November 24, 2016, had been under police surveillance over his purported involvement in Shia activities, while Koh was snatched on February 13, 2017. A police report was lodged against him for allegedly proselytising to Muslim youth.

CAGED comprises of 48 civil society groups that aim to seek international help to pressure Putrajaya into providing answers to the disappearance of Koh, Amri, Joshua and Ruth.

A spokesman representing Ruth’s family also said that KontraS, an Indonesian civil society group, will be conducting a watching brief.

“KontraS is the Commission for the Disappearance and Victims of Violence. 

“They were notified of this case by the Indonesian lawyers representing the Sitepu siblings and have been following up on it.”

Last month, Peter who was the first witness said Joshua could have been sought by religious authorities for his religious beliefs.

The second witness, Grace Thangamalar, who is Peter’s daughter, said Joshua and Ruth were troubled after receiving a phone call before they went missing.

A Sabahan living in Joshua’s home at the time told Grace that he got into a heated conversation with someone.

Grace and her brother lived with the couple when they were studying in college from 2015 to 2017.

Little is known about the status of the couple, who vanished from Petaling Jaya on November 30, 2016.

Ruth’s siblings also lodged a police report on the couple’s disappearance in 2018. Her family live in the fishing village of Nambiki in northern Sumatra, Indonesia.

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. – March 2, 2020.