MH17: Woman wants justice for son

A woman whose son was among the 298 victims of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 which was shot down over Ukraine on July 17 last year, will never give up on getting justice for him.

Hasiah Rajikon, 58, mother of Hasni Hardi Parlan, 32, an engineer who was killed along all the others on board the plane, said she hoped all those involved in their deaths would be brought to justice quickly. "It does not matter who shot the aircraft. The government of The Netherlands or Malaysia must drag them to court quickly.

"As the families of the victims, we want to know why they were cold-hearted enough to shoot the aircraft whose passengers were innocent," she told reporters when met at her house in Taman Seri Alam 2, Buluh Kasap, here, today.

The Dutch Safety Board today confirmed that the MH17 was shot down by a Buk surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine on July 17 last year.

Its chairman Tjibbe Joustra said the guided missile exploded on the left of the aircraft's cockpit.

Hasiah said until today, despite accepting the fact that her beloved son was gone forever, she had never accepted the tragic way he had died. "It has been more than a year since my second child of six siblings had gone forever and let there be justice for his death eventually," she said while poring over an album with the photographs of the late Hasni Hardi.

She said the government of The Netherlands, prior to this, had invited them to the country to hear the outcome of investigations over the tragedy which was announced today via e-mail to one of her children.

However, she said her husband Parlan Mesiran, 62, could not go due to financial factors.

"I definitely wanted to go and wanted to listen to the results of investigation on the tragedy but who wants to sponsor us there?" she said.

A father to another victim, Md Salim Sarmo, 66, concurred with Hasiah in wanting the truth and justice for the victims. "Which family does not want the criminals to be dragged to face justice?

"Be firm in order to do so," he said when contacted by Bernama.

Md Salim's son, Mohd Ali, 30, the sixth among eight siblings, was at that time pursuing a doctorate in 'Development Neuropsychopathology' at the Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherland.

Md Salim also said he had also been invited by the government of the Netherland to go there and listen to the announcement on the results of the investigation.

"We could have considered going there if we were given the (flight) tickets, but it is okay, as whether we go or not, the outcome of the investigation will still be known," he said.