Remains of Malbatt 5 sergeant expected to arrive at KLIA today

The remains of a sergeant of the Malaysian Battalion 5 (Malbatt 5), which is part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) peace keeping mission, is expected to arrive at the KL International Airport (KLIA) at about 2.30pm today. The remains of Sergeant Rosdi Mohamad Zan, 32, will then be taken to the Subang Air Force Base for a funeral prayer at about 3.30pm before being flown to Ipoh by an RMAF C130 aircraft. Rosdi succumbed to his injuries when the tow truck he was in went out of control and plunged into a 15-metre deep ravine near the town of Houla at 5.40pm local time (10.40pm Malaysian time) last Friday. The accident happened when the tow truck manned by a three-man team led by Rosdi which was towing a Condor armoured personnel carrier overturned while negotiating a bend in Malbatt 5's operational area. A parade in honour of the fallen soldier was held at the Rafic Hariri International Airport, Beirut at 4pm local time (9am Malaysian time) Monday. At the ceremony, Unifil Commander Maj-Gen Paolo Serra posthumously presented Rosdi with a Unifil award while Lebanon Armed Forces commander Col Said Mourad awarded the deceased with a Lebanese national medal. The two medals were pinned on the UN flag which drapes Rosdi's coffin. Present was Malaysian Ambassador to Lebanon Illango Karuppanan. Rosdi's colleagues in the tow truck, L/Cpl Nur Syahied Taib, 26, who was driving, and L/Cpl Mohamad Aizuwan Atan, also 26, were injured in the incident.