Parit Buntar-born Jenkins, 65, fondly known as Anna, was in Penang on a short holiday with her husband Frank in December 2017. Her remains were found at a construction site at Batu Gantong in June 2020, 3km from where she was last seen alighting from an Uber ride.

Frank Pangallo, a member of the parliament’s legislative council, said the Jenkins family had gone through a “difficult four-year process” leading up to the inquest, to be held in George Town from today to April 1.

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He called on the Malaysian authorities and the coroner to uncover the truth behind Jenkins’ disappearance and her unexplained death.

“The Malaysian authorities must take note of the serious interest expressed by the parliament of South Australia in seeking that justice is served to one of our citizens who never returned home safely to her family,” said Pangallo in a statement.

“For Anna’s devastated family, the coronial inquiry is the start of a long arduous process to find some form of closure to the case which has lingered on for more than four years,” he said, adding that the Jenkins family was also seeking to have her remains returned to Adelaide as soon as possible.

The inquest will be presided by coroner Norsalha Hamzah and assisted by Penang prosecution director Khairul Anuar Abdul Halim.

Pangallo said while there was no conflict between the Australian and Malaysian authorities over the handling of Jenkins’ case, he hoped to have preliminary discussions with South Australian police and the Australian Federal Police about any assistance they may be able to provide to their Malaysian counterparts.