PM and wife meet mh17 crash victims’ next-of-kin

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Najib and Rosmah talk to a relative of one of the victims during their visit. — Bernama photo

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor yesterday spent about two hours meeting with the next-of-kin of the people aboard the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 that crashed in Ukraine on Thursday.

The meeting, which took place at the briefing room of a hotel here, also saw many of the griefing relatives shedding tears when they met with the national leader.

Najib and his wife met with every one of the 24 families present to personally hear their stories.

Also present were Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Aziz Kaprawi, Deputy Communication and Multimedia Minister Datuk Jailani Johari and Umno Wanita chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

In a media conference following the meeting, Najib described it as “bringing a human dimension that touched the feelings”.

“When I met with the family members, only then can we have the perspective from the individual and family unit aspects that brings a perspective that enables us to see at close range at the individual level,” he said.

The prime minister said he was emotionally moved when he met with the affected family members, who were deeply saddened, and heard their stories.

The MAS flight, MH17, was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it went down in Ukraine. It was carrying 298 people – 283 passengers and 15 crew.

MH17 had left Amsterdam at 12.15 pm (Netherlands time) Thursday and was to have arrived in Kuala Lumpur at 6.10 am (Malaysian time) Friday. — Bernama