Joshua and Ruth Hilmy were last seen by one of their friends on 30 November 2016.
Joshua is a Malay Muslim who became a Christian. He married Ruth Sitepu, an Indonesian national who had attended seminary training in Indonesia. Joshua and Ruth worked as pastors in Malaysia.
Civil society organisations believe the couple’s disappearance is linked to the enforced disappearances of Shiite social activist Amri Che Mat (24 November 2016) and Christian pastor Raymond Koh (13 February 2017).
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) investigated all these disappearances.
Citizen Action Group on Enforced Disappearance (Caged) offers a brief introduction to the cases, including the question of burden of proof answered by the first Suhakam panel of inquiry (on the disappearance of Amri and Raymond), which issued its report in April 2019.
The NGO then briefly states the position of Ruth’s family in relation to the accountability of the state (police) before it summarises the position the police force has taken in the case – as stated by the police in their final submission to the Suhakam panel of inquiry on 20 January 2022.
Caged also comments briefly on the police’s submission. Since the submission was made on behalf of the police, Caged does not name the officer who made the submission.
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.