MH17: Malaysia supports setting up of tribunal to speed up investigation - Liow

Malaysia is optimistic that a tribunal can be set up under the aegis of the United Nations to speed up the investigations into the Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash although the proposal has been rejected by Russia.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the establishment of a tribunal was still at the discussion stage, taking into consideration the views of other countries.

He said Malaysia would support the formation of an international tribunal to expedite the investigations and to ensure justice for the victims of the MH17 tragedy.

"What we want is a tribunal which can help us speed up the investigations and obtain justice for the air crash victims," Liow told reporters after opening the Hulu Kelang MCA division's annual general meeting in Batang Kali, near here, today.

The proposal to set up the tribunal was voiced out by Malaysia, the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium and Ukraine during a discussion in New York last week.

However, it was rejected by Russia which regarded it as untimely and counter-productive.

The Boeing 777 airliner carrying 298 passengers and crew members was shot down in the conflict zone of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on July 17, 2014 while en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam.

On MCA, Liow who is the party president, said an extraordinary general meeting would be held this year to amend the party constitution to allow for direct elections for the top leadership posts from the divisional level.

"We are still obtaining feedback from the party members. The EGM can also be held together with the annual general meeting which is scheduled for this October," he said.

The move was part of the MCA transformation agenda aimed at strengthening unity in the party, he added.

Liow also said that at the moment, MCA had no plans to postpone its party elections as what UMNO had done.

"Our focus now is on party transformation and service to the people.

"We will also look at the political developments in the country (before making any such decision," he said.