MH17: Waiting ends as some find closure amid full military honours at KLIA

BY RAZAK AHMAD, MAZWIN NIK ANIS, LEE YEN MUN, NICHOLAS CHENG, ZUHRIN AZAM AHMAD, LOH FOON FONG,CHAN LI LEEN, PATRICK LEE, SARBAN SINGH, WANI MUTHIAH, ZAZALI MUSAM IVAN LOH, BEH YUEN HUI, DESIREE TRESA GASPER, A. RUBAN, MANJIT KAUR, HEMANANTHANI SIVANANDAM, YU JI, JEANNETTE GOON, LIM CHIA YING,NATASHA JOIBI, NATALIE HENG, T. AVINESHWARAN, TAN YI LIANG, KATHLEEN ANN KILI, DINA MURAD, TASHNY SUKUMARAN, AMANDA YEAP, AND ANN-MARIE KHOR.

SEPANG: Families of some of the victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 received closure when the remains of their loved ones were brought home more than a month after the plane was shot down over the Ukraine.

It has been a trying time for the families as they had to wait for news on their kin, wait for the bodies to be recovered from the crash site that was in a war zone, wait again for the remains to be identified, and then for the caskets to be flown home.

The ceremony at the KL International Airport yesterday morning to receive the remains of the victims was respectful, simple and dignified.

Many throughout the country also grieved with the families as the nation observed a one-minute period of silence as a mark of respect for the victims.

On the way: Royal Malay Regiment soldiers carrying a casket into a hearse during the arrival of MH17 victims’ remains at KLIA. -EPA

The remains were flown from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport at 9.40pm on Thursday (Malaysian time) via a special Malaysia Airlines flight which touched down at KLIA at 9.55am yesterday.

The Boeing 747, assigned the flight code MH6129, was piloted by senior MAS captains Datuk Misman Leham, Bakri Othman and Zaim Khalid, as well as First Officer Yap Koon Kong.

An air of sadness tinged with anticipation marked the sombre moment when the aircraft pulled up slowly to the airport’s Bunga Raya Complex where close to 1,000 people, comprising the family members, royalty, government officials and others, had gathered to witness the ceremony.

The huge and imposing aircraft added to the dignity of the event with its signature MAS red-and-blue livery on an all-white fuselage with the name of the airline in blue and the Jalur Gemilang emblazoned next to it.

Many in the crowd could not resist snapping pictures with cameras and smartphones as the aircraft drew closer and then stopped.

Royal prayer: The King and Queen with Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in prayer at the Bunga Raya Complex in KLIA. —Bernama

Then a hush settled over the crowd as its engines started to power down. It was about 10.15am and as soon as the engines fell silent, 20 white hearses drove onto the tarmac led by a military motorcade.

The hearses – one for each victim – assembled in a neat row in front of the aircraft as pallbearers, formed by members of the Malaysian Armed Forces, stood at the ready.

The plane’s bay door opened and military personnel nearby entered its cavernous interior with the help of a mechanical platform on the tarmac.

After that, the caskets – draped with the Malaysian flag – were brought out in pairs.

As these reached the tarmac below, the smartly dressed pallbearers in white ceremonial uniform carried each casket into the hearses.

Every step they took along the way was with their heads held high and the caskets firmly shouldered.

They showed no concern for the hot sun beating down on them; their intent firmly fixed on giving the victims a dignified homecoming.

Sad day: Najib at Bunga Raya Complex in KLIA.

Tears flowed freely amongst the family members and others in the crowd by this time, and there were also the sounds of quiet sobbing coming from a few.

As the doors of the 20th hearse shut on the casket within at about 10.55am, it signalled the start of the nationwide one-minute of silence.

Leading the nation in this moment of respect for the victims was Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah.

Also there with the families were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Cabinet ministers and their deputies, ambassadors, government officials and politicians.

The rest of the gathering comprised MAS pilots, cabin crew and other personnel, with many of the women covering their heads with black scarves.

“Last month, 43 Malaysian lives were taken over eastern Ukraine. We mourn the loss of our people and today we begin to bring them home,” Najib said in a statement issued after the ceremony.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives. Today we stand with you, united as one.”

Tears again flowed when the hearses started making their way to the victims’ final resting places in their hometowns.

Those caskets that had to be ferried to states that were too far to reach in a few hours by road and to Sarawak were taken in the hearses to waiting military helicopters and transport planes.

There were 43 Malaysians on board MH17, including 15 crew members, when it was hit by a surface to air missile.

No one has claimed responsibility for the crime, which happened during the conflict between Ukraine and Russian forces.

Sombre mood at Nirvana Memorial Park

KUALA LUMPUR: It was a solemn affair at the Nirvana Memorial Park in Sungai Besi.

The family of the late MH17 passenger Ng Qing Zheng, 30, wept and clasped their hands in prayer as they watched the casket lowered from the hearse.

Ng’s brother-in-law, who declined to be named, said the family would be bringing his remains to Shah Alam before the funeral rites and cremation tomorrow.

Ng’s body was among the remains of four victims that were carried in a convoy to the park yesterday.

Day of mourning: NV Multi Asia Group (Nirvana) founder and managing director Datuk Kong Hon Kong watching as a casket is carried into the memorial park.

The other victims were Foo Ming Lee and couple Paul Rajasingam Sivagnanam and Mabel Anthony Samy.

Foo’s remains are scheduled to be brought to the Nirvana Memorial Park in Shah Alam for cremation tomorrow.

Nirvana Memorial Centre deputy general manager Teh Khai Lin said there would be a Buddhist ceremony for both Foo and Ng.

The remains of Paul Rajasingam and his wife arrived within minutes of each other.

Their nine-year-old son, Matthew Ezekial Sivagnanam, also perished in the tragedy but his body had yet to be identified.

Their family members, who have hired their own undertakers to handle the remains, are reportedly waiting for the authorities to identify the boy’s body before deciding on the next course of action.

At the Xiao En Centre in Cheras, MH17 passenger Elisabeth Ng Lye Ti’s eldest sister arrived carrying the urn containing her ashes.

Ng, 30, her sister Shi Ing, 33, and the latter’s one-year-old son Lee Jian Han were on Flight MH17.

A Xiao En staff member said Ng’s parents Ng Pae Soon, 67 and his wife Tan Ah Chin, 62 were not present yesterday, but would be at the centre when all the three bodies were there.

In Klang, the ashes of stewardess Angeline Premila Rajandran’s were taken to her home in Bukit Tinggi.

It is learnt that the family will be holding a wake tonight.

In Shah Alam, the family and friends of passenger Karamjit Singh, 54, gathered at the Nirvana Memorial Park.

His wife Harbinder Kaur, 52 fought hard to hold back her tears, as her two sons Amarpal and Melvinderjit Singh held her hands tight.

In grief: Harbinder holding the Jalur Gemilang as Amarpal looks on. — Bernama

Karamjit’s childhood friend Kulvinder Singh, 50, said Karamjit was very active in organising national level camps for Sikh youths every year in the past decade and would often call from Nigeria, where he worked, to ask about the preparations of the camps.

Kulvinder said during the camps, Karamjit would be the first one to wake up at 2.30am and prepare tea for the participants.

“At night when everyone slept, he would wash the toilets. That is the side of Karamjit that people did not know,” he said.

Karamjit’s ashes would be scattered in the sea in Port Klang today.

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Hisham satisfied with readiness for no-frills but noble ceremony

THE STAR

BY ZUHRIN AZAM AHMAD, FARIK ZOLKEPLI, LOH FOON FONG, YUEN MEIKENG, SHEILA SRI PRIYA, ANDHEMANANTHANI SIVANANDAM

KUALA LUMPUR: Simple, yet dignified – this is how Malaysia wants to receive the remains of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 victims when they arrive at the KL International Airport on Friday.

Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Huss­ein, who described a brief sequence of events for the special ceremony, said family members who went to Amsterdam would arrive at KL International Airport on Friday at 6am while the aircraft carrying the victims’ remains would arrive at 10am.

“The bodies will be transported to the hearses and it will take between 40 and 45 minutes for the process.

“It would take considerably longer if there are more than 16 bodies,” the Defence Minister said after a media briefing for top editors at the ministry’s complex Wisma Pertaha­nan here yesterday.

Also present were Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim.

Hishammuddin said the ceremony would start once the bodies were placed in the hearses.

While the planning had taken some time, Hishammuddin, who is coordinator for the committee to oversee the last rites for the victims, said he was satisfied with the preparations for the ceremony.

“It is important for the whole nation to grieve with the families. We aim to present a simple but very dignified ceremony,” he said.

Once the ceremony is over, Hishammuddin said some of the bodies would be transported by road to the burial grounds while others would be flown via five Nuri helicopters and two C-130 aircraft.

“We will be able to inform the public on where to wait for the respective transports once we confirm the routes to be taken,” he said.

He revealed that the authorities in Amsterdam had identified 28 Malaysians involved in the MH17 crash in Ukraine on July 17.

The Defence Minister said that more than the expected 16 remains of the MH17 victims would arrive at KLIA on Friday, which has been set as the National Day of Mourning.

“We can finalise proceedings for the National Day of Mourning and set the time to have the moment of silence once we confirm the exact number of bodies to arrive on Friday.

“We expect to finalise the exact number tomorrow,” he said.

Hishammuddin revealed that the 28 Malaysians identified to date comprised 15 passengers and 13 crew members.

“The remains of 16 victims have already been prepared to be flown back while the remaining ones have to go through a few processes before they can be transported,” he said.

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mu’adzam Shah will lead the nation in paying the last respects to the victims.

Employers Federation calls on members to observe silence

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Em­p­loyers Federation has called on all its 5,000 members to observe a moment of silence on Friday in honour of those who perished in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 tragedy.

Its executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan said its members should observe the moment when the Government decided on the time for the one-minute silence.

Flight MH17 travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17 was believed to have been shot down in eastern Ukraine, a conflict region controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

No one had owned up to being responsible for the alleged shooting while Russian and Ukrainian authorities blamed each other.

Shamsuddin said the act of bringing down the plane should be condemned and those involved brought to justice.

“Some of the deceased were employees of MEF members, such as Malaysia Airlines,” he said.

He also requested that its members fly their flags at half-mast on Friday, when the first batch of bodies of Malaysians arrive.

Its 5,000-member companies have 2.2 million employees with another 21 associations also being members of MEF.

Subra: Bodies can be identified in three weeks

The Star

PUTRAJAYA: A post-mortem on the retrieved bodies and body parts of those who perished in Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 is expected to be completed in two weeks and matching of information to identify who they are is to be done after that.

Health Minister Datuk Seri S. Subramaniam said as of Tuesday, reports from the Malaysian disaster victim identification (DVI) team revealed that post-mortem had been carried out on 150 intact bodies and 300 body parts, of the 600 in total retrieved.

“At the rate that the examination is going, I expect work on all the bodies to be completed in a week or two,” he said yesterday.

Dr Subramaniam said there was more than one body bag in each of the 226 coffins that arrived in Amsterdam for DVI and only one more coffin was being examined as of Monday.

“After the DVI is done, the information would be matched with data collected from the next-of-kin here which we have sent over,” he said.

Matching of the data, which includes finger prints, dental records and DNA samples, would take another two to three weeks.

Insurance claims made easy

KUALA LUMPUR: Life insurance companies have agreed to waive the death certificate requirement and to speed up claims for payouts to next-of-kin of MH17 victims. The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia said its members agreed to do this within a week of the beneficiaries being confirmed. It was reported that some 95 life insurance policies, involving about RM13.7mil, had been taken up by Malaysian passengers and crew members on board the ill-fated plane.

Hisham to help bring remains home

PULAU INDAH: Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein Onn has been tasked to work with several ministries to bring back the remains of the 43 Malaysians on the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. He named Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom and Tan Sri Joseph Kurup from the Prime Minister’s Department and Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim as among those roped in to assist in the effort.

Counselling  for caregivers and staff

PUTRAJAYA: The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry is ready to provide support and counselling for the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) caregivers and staff who have to deal with two tragedies within the span of five months. The Ministry’s deputy minister Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun said the same MAS caregivers have been providing support for the next-of-kin involved in both incidents.

DNA samples  taken from families

PUTRAJAYA: DNA samples have been taken from the families of 47 people who were on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. The 47 comprised 43 Malaysians and four others who were living overseas but had blood ties with Malaysians in this country, according to ministry officials. A 16-member forensic team from the ministry, police and Chemistry Department collected the data.

MAS to host  inter-faith prayers

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airlines will host an inter-faith prayer session at its premises for the passengers and crew of Flight MH17. The prayers will be conducted by religious leaders from the Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Taoist and Hindu faiths at Malaysia Airlines Academy in Kelana Jaya here today. The session will begin at 7.30pm.

MH17: 45 DNA samples taken from victims' next-of-kin in Malaysia

the star

BY LOH FOON FONG

PETALING JAYA: As many as 45 DNA samples have been taken from the next-of-kin of those who died following the shoot-down of Malaysian Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 on July 17 in Ukraine.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said two more samples were still in the process of being taken from two families.

"MAS has informed that 43 of the victims have family ties in Malaysia," he said in a statement Thursday.

Dr Subramaniam said there were victims who lived overseas but had family ties in Malaysia, bringing the number of families involved in ante mortem Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) and DNA sample data collection to 47.

The DNA samples taken were from next-of-kin with biological ties, such as parents, children and siblings.

Meanwhile, he added that six health teams have been activated to be on standby to receive and manage the bodies sent from Amsterdam.

He also said that the medical teams from Hospital Serdang and Hospital Putrajaya had been on standby to provide the medical needs of the deceased families if needed.

Netherlands and Malaysia working together to identify victims of crash

the star

Routine procedure: Family members of the crash victims leaving the briefing room at the Marriott Hotel in Putrajaya while waiting to give their DNA samples.

PETALING JAYA: The Dutch Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team has begun screening and tagging the bodies of those killed in the Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash together with the Malaysian crime investigation team and the Special Malaysian Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART).

Health director-general Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the Ministry’s Forensic department head Dr Mohd Shah Mahmood and Dr Ilham Haron (armed forces forensic odontologist) had accompanied the bodies to Amsterdam.

In Putrajaya, the Health Ministry began collecting DNA blood samples and inner cheek swabs of parents, siblings and children of those who died in the tragedy yesterday and the process would be continued today.

Dr Noor Hisham said the samples would be matched with the DNAs of the deceased. Asked if the DNA samples had to be used quickly, he said: “There is no limited time for use as long as the integrity of the post-mortem material is preserved.”

The samples were taken by a group comprising forensic, medical and dental specialists.

Bukit Aman Criminal Investiga­tions Department (Forensic Data­bank DNA) deputy director Senior Asst Comm T. Narenasagaran said samples and swabs were taken from family members of 29 passengers on board MH17 in addition to dental records or additional physical information of the victims.

DNA identification of bodies

“The information is analysed before it is sent to the investigation team in Amsterdam,” he said, adding that samples of family members of the crew will be taken today.

Dr Noor Hisham said forensic teams would normally identify the bodies by fingerprints and dental analysis but if the bodies had missing limbs, DNA profiles would be used instead.

According to the DVI Guide, primary sources of identification pro­cess include finger printing, forensic dental analysis and DNA analysis while secondary sources include medical reports such as previous surgery scars, personal identification such as tattoos, rings and necklaces.

Finger printing would be used only if skin is still intact and printable and these would be checked against passports, documents from the National Registration Depart­ment or other databases.

Dr Noor Hisham said the current DNA test method could produce quick results and only required small samples.

The method used was polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques, a biochemical technology to amplify a single or few copies of DNA to gene­rate a particular DNA sequence.

“Well-equipped centres should be able to identify bodies using DVI within a few days,” he said.

He said with 282 bodies intact with 87 fragments it meant that most could be identified fast using primary and secondary identification process.

Shared sorrow: Dutch national Franny Holgado, 34, signing the condolence book for MH17 victims at the residence of the Netherlands’ ambassador to Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

MH17: Dutch embassy opens condolence book

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZciPqe1WyA

Ukrainian rebels have so far honoured two of three conditions

BY ZUHRIN AZAM AHMAD, LOH FOON FONG, SANTHA OORJITHAM, YUEN MEIKENG, AUSTIN CAMOENS, P. ARUNA, NURBAITI HANIM HAMDAN, YU JI, RAHIMY RAHIM, LOSHANA K. SHAGAR, RASHVINJEET SINGH BEDI, CHRISTOPHER TAN, JASTIN AHMAD TARMIZI, TASHNY SUKUMARAN, HEMANANTHANI SIVANANDAM, MICHELLE TAM, AND NADIRAH HANI RODZI

MH17 - Malaysia received black box (updated) PUTRAJAYA: There were risks involved in pursuing the agreement with Ukraine’s rebel leaders but Malaysia had an obligation to the families of the victims, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The Prime Minister said the Government was determined to secure the return of the remains and black boxes.

“After meeting the families, I felt that we owed it to them to act. These were extraordinary circumstances which called for extraordinary measures.

“There were risks involved in pursuing this agreement. So far, the agreement has been honoured,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Najib said he was pleased to confirm that the first two of the three conditions agreed with Ukrainian rebel leaders had been met.

The train carrying the bodies recovered from the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 arriving at the Malyshev Tank Plant in the government-held Ukrainian city of Kharkiv from the eastern city of Donetsk. -AFP

The train carrying the victims’ remains had arrived in Kharkiv and the Malaysian team had custody of the black boxes, he said, adding that the boxes appeared to be in good condition.

“They will be held securely in Malaysian custody while the international investigation team is being formalised.

“At that time, we will pass the black boxes to the international investigation team for further analysis,” he said.

The Prime Minister said he was relieved to secure the breakthrough which had allowed things to move forward.

“I would like to thank the Malaysian team on the ground that has worked hard to support this operation.

“Thanks to their efforts, we are closer to finding out what happened to the aircraft and fulfilling our shared responsibility to those who lost their lives,” he said.

At midnight on Monday, Najib announced that he had reached an agreement with Alexander Borodai, who is in command of the region where the ill-fated flight was shot down, to bring an end to the stand-off over the site.

Separatists controlling the crash site also handed over the black boxes of the stricken airliner. -Kamarul Ariffin/The Star

The deal stipulated the return of the passengers’ remains, the handover of the black boxes and full access to the crash site for investigations to begin.

In The Hague, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the first bodies from the MH17 crash would be flown to Eindhoven today.

However, he said their identification could take weeks or months.

“As soon as a victim is identified, first and foremost the family will be informed and no one else,’’ Rutte said, confirming that all the bodies would be brought to the Netherlands and then flown on to their respective countries.