KUALA LUMPUR: More than five years have passed since the disappearance of Ruth Sitepu in November 2016 and all her family wants now is closure.
“It has been five years of silence on the whereabouts of our sister and her husband Pastor Joshua HIlmy, and every day we relive the trauma of receiving the news that they have gone missing,” said Ruth’s sister Ram Ram Elisabeth.
“We just want closure.
“If they are indeed dead, please return her body or even her bones to us,” Ram Ram said in a statement yesterday following the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia’s (Suhakam) release of the findings of a public inquiry into the couple’s disappearance.
Joshua, from Taiping, was a Muslim before converting to Christianity while his wife Ruth was from Indonesia.
“People do not just disappear without a trace, and although the Suhakam public inquiry found that they were victims of enforced disappearances, it does not shed light on what happened to them,” she said.
Ram Ram also expressed her gratitude for the commitment of Suhakam along with the support from both Malaysians and Indonesians who had come forward to help.
The Indonesian embassy also called for the Malaysian government to conduct a more thorough investigation and bring the perpetrator to justice, adding that they were ready to cooperate.
“The Suhakam report showed that the disappearance of Ruth was indeed a breach of human rights.
“We urge the Malaysian government to not rest until the case is solved, as her family along with members of the public in Indonesia and Malaysia deserve to know the truth.
“And hopefully with answers, restore peace in their lives,” it said in a statement yesterday.
Yesterday, Suhakam concluded that the disappearance of Joshua and Ruth was a “case of enforced disappearances”.
Suhakam commissioner Datuk Seri Hishamudin Yunus, who chaired the three-member public inquiry, said their disappearance was carried out by a person or persons unknown under the acquiescence of the authorities.