Dutch praise Malaysian team's determination, professionalism in managing remains

The Dutch authorities have praised the determination and professionalism of members of the Malaysian team involved in managing the remains of Malaysian victims of the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) MH17 tragedy.

Malaysian ambassador to the Netherlands, Datuk Dr Fauziah Mohamad Taib said the appreciation was expressed following good cooperation between the two countries in speeding up the process of managing the remains.

"They praised and were in awe of the spirit and efficiency of our team, like the officers and staff of the Malaysia Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and the Malaysian Armed Forces Religious Corps in managing the remains, including conducting the bathing rites.

"Not everyone can perform the task well except for the experts and those who are highly skilled," she told the Malaysian media this afternoon.

Fauziah said the skills of the team and the cooperation given by the Dutch authorities speeded up the process of managing the remains.

She said the embassy was still waiting for the latest developments in the remaining three days before the remains were flown home.

"There will be no formal ceremony on Thursday to hand over the remains to the Malaysian government.

"It will be only the normal process of taking the remains out of the morgue to be handed over to the Malaysian government after permission is granted by the Dutch authorities, before they are taken to the airport to be placed into an aircraft and sent home."

Fauziah said the embassy was constantly being updated on the latest information regarding the remains of the Malaysian victims.

"Almost 60 per cent of the remains of Malaysian victims have been recovered. Since the incident happened, we have constantly been updated on the latest developments.

"Sometimes, we did not even sleep as we were waiting for the developments each day. Once we got it in black and white, we would inform the families of the victims in Malaysia," she said.

Meanwhile, Fauziah said she would be returning to Malaysia and would be involved in receiving the remains of the victims at the Bunga Raya Complex at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Friday.

The remains of 22 victims including one non-Malaysian will be sent home in 18 coffins and four receptacles (for ashes) on a special aircraft from Amsterdam and are expected to arrive in KLIA at 10am on Friday.

That day has also been declared a national day of mourning and a special ceremony to honour the victims would be held at the Bunga Raya Complex..

Flight MH17 carrying 298 people including 15 crew members, is believed to have been shot down by a missile, in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, near the Russian border, while on its way from Amsterdam to KLIA on July 17.