A spokesman for the Indonesian embassy said it had been in contact with Ruth’s family prior to Suhakam delivering the inquiry’s decision.

“The family was really counting on the findings of Suhakam to have some value in pushing the Malaysian authorities to reveal the facts of the case and produce something substantial to ease their pain,” he told FMT.

Ruth and her husband, Joshua Hilmy, a Malay who converted to Christianity, were last seen in November 2016 at their Petaling Jaya home.

On Friday, a Suhakam public inquiry into the missing couple held that they were victims of enforced disappearance.

However, Suhakam said it did not find evidence that the couple were abducted by “agents of the state”.

The Indonesian official said Ruth’s family had high hopes that the Indonesian government could uncover the truth about her disappearance.

He said developments on the case were being closely followed by civil societies in Indonesia. He lamented that the case had dragged on for so long while remaining unresolved.

The Suhakam inquiry was chaired by commissioner Mohd Hishamudin Yunus, a retired appeal court judge.

He said the couple’s disappearance was carried out “with acquiescence of the authorities”. The police had failed to prioritise cases of missing persons like Joshua and Ruth’s, and did not look into the couple’s case thoroughly.

Rama Ramanathan of the Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances group said the police investigation “was sloppy, tardy and lacked seriousness” and the police and the government must take action.

Suhakam’s inquiry began in February 2020 and was assisted by a total of 26 witnesses.