Suhakam inquiry: Religious authorities sought Joshua Hilmy over his religion

Islamic religious authorities had sought out Joshua Hilmy over the status of his religion, a Suhakam inquiry into his disappearance heard today.

Joshua and his wife Ruth Hilmy (above), who went missing in November 2016, are part of a Suhakam inquiry to determine, among others, if they were victims of enforced disappearances.

The first witness to testify today was Joshua's friend Peter Pormannan who is an insurance agent.

The 58-year-old testified that Joshua had previously informed him that the religious authorities were looking for him.

"Two years after I met Joshua, he told me that the religious authorities were looking for him.

"He said that it was related to what he believes in (faith) and about his life experience," he testified.

However, asked by the conducting officer if there were threats, Peter disagreed and said that it was only an investigation.

Peter also said that Joshua had confided in him that his MyKad stated that he was a Muslim though he professed another faith.

"Joshua told me that his identification card stated he is a Muslim but he wanted it to be taken out since he is a Christian," he said.

The couple was last seen on November 30, 2016 and were reported missing on March 6, 2017.

Suhakam had previously also investigated two similar disappearances - that of Pastor Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat.

The Suhakam reports made the damning conclusion that the police's Special Branch was involved in the "enforced disappearances" of Amri (below, right), who disappeared in 2016, and Koh (below, left), whose abduction was caught on CCTV in 2017.

Meanwhile, the second witness to take the stand, 27-year-old logistics executive Grace Thangamalar, claimed Joshua and Ruth had received threats through the phone before their disappearance.

Grace and her younger brother had previously lived together with the couple at a single-story bungalow in Kampung Tunku, Petaling Jaya while pursuing her studies at a private college.

She said the house served as temporary accommodation for those who needed it.

Grace, who is the first witness' daughter, said she learnt about the phone conversation from another tenant, a Sabahan, at the house.

"The housemate said it was a heated conversation. They told me they heard Joshua on the phone saying, 'I didn't disturb you, why are you disturbing me?'" she said.

Joshua had offered Peter's children to live with him between 2015 and 2017 to return a favour.

Peter had previously allowed Joshua and his wife to stay at his mother-in-law's place in Klang after the mother-in-law passed away.

In another incident, Grace claimed that the couple had abruptly left the house in their car.

"After a month, they had called us and asked if anyone called or if there was any disturbance," she said.

Asked by the conducting officer if she knew why the couple had left previously, she claimed that they had faced threats. However, she said they returned a few weeks later. 

As such, Grace said she did not give much thought to it when the couple disappeared the last time. However, they have not turned up since.

"We thought they would return... I told my father about them going missing after a month," she said. - Mkini