'I should've boarded MH17' - Khoo Kay Kim's son

The eldest son of national historian Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay Kim was among the passengers that should have been flying on the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 that was believed to have been shot down by separatists near the Ukrainian-Russian border.

Cultural activist and freelance writer, Eddin Khoo was supposed to board the plane upon his return from the 2014 World Cup tournament with two of his friends.

“My due flight was KL-Amsterdam-Rio; Rio-Amsterdam-KL.

“The flight I had been booked on to return was MH17, departing Amsterdam 17.04.2014.

“The itinerary and invoice for the flight is still with me,” Eddin wrote on his Facebook page.

Eddin, 44, however had to forgo his trip to Brazil due to a number of factors including poor health.

“I have encountered many surreal experiences in my life, but this leaves me very numb.

Eddin also expressed his deepest condolences to the families of all those lost on Flight MH17 and his thoughts, prayers and empathy with always be with them.

“There is nothing that words can convey,” he added.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in his earlier statement after the crash had described the incident “as a tragic day, in what has already been a tragic year, for Malaysia.”

This is the second tragedy involving MAS in less than five months. MH17 was a Boeing 777-200ER, the same model with that of Flight MH370 which went missing on March 8 while on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. Flight MH370 remains missing until today.