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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