KUALA LUMPUR:Twenty-eight of the 43 Malaysian victims of the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 tragedy have been identified up to yesterday, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
He said 15 of them were passengers and 13, crew.
Fourteen of the 28 were Muslims and the other 14, non-Muslims, he told reporters after a briefing for senior editors of the media on the preparations for the ceremony honouring the victims of the tragedy, at the Defence Ministry here.
“I can confirm that on Friday, the remains of 15(Malaysians) and one (Dutch national) will be brought home (to Malaysia).
Most probably, more remains may be brought back, and this will be confirmed tomorrow (today),” he said.
Hishammuddin also said that the ceremony on Friday would be the first such ceremony for civilians conducted by the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF).
He explained that such honours were usually reserved for national leaders and heroes.
“This ceremony will see the MAF directly involved for the first time in according honours to civilians. I believe we can do the best that we can. I’m very satisfied Hishammuddin said the public could participate in paying their last respects to the victims by observing a minute’s silence.
He said they could do this anytime between 10.30am and 11.30am, depending on the smooth running of the ceremony and number of coffins brought back.
Hishammuddin said MAF would hold a briefing session for Cabinet ministers today on the ceremony which is scheduled to be held as soon as the remains of the victims of the tragedy arrive at the Bunga Raya Complex, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) from the Netherlands.
He will also be chairing another meeting of the coordinating committee on Thursday to finalise the preparations to receive remains on Friday.
On yesterday’s briefing, Hishammuddin said it discussed in detail several important aspects related to the media including ‘live” coverage, where media members should be positioned and how their movements should be as well as the schedule of the ceremony from the beginning till the
end.
“This briefing session is important to get the views of the media especially on the ceremony proper, their needs, requests that may be made during the coverage itself and other matters that should be done as the ceremony proceeds.
“The views of the media is vital to ensure the smooth running of the ceremony,” he explaind.
Flight MH17, carrying 298 people including 15 crew members, is believed to have been shot down in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17. — Bernama