Safe passage to MH17 crash site still the biggest concern - Hishammuddin

Safe passage to the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 crash site is still the biggest concern, even though a ceasefire has been announced, said Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

Hishammuddin who departs for Ukraine tonight, believed it would not be an easy task for him at ground zero.

"Thank God there is a ceasefire on the table, but whether it can be translated to the crash site, grant safe passage for our boys to go down (remains to be seen).

"Whether we can get the other countries like Netherlands and Australia to join the team...that is what I have to do when I go to Ukraine," he told a press conference after opening the Segambut Umno's delegates meeting here, today.

A ceasefire between the Ukrainian government and the pro-Russian rebels went into effect last Friday evening following an agreement signed in the Belarus capital of Minsk.

Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 as it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft is believed to have been shot down over the troubled country. Out of that, 43 were Malaysians.

The Boeing 777-200 aircraft was believed to have been shot down over the troubled country, although no party claimed responsibility.

Seven more remains of the Malaysian victims in the MH17 tragedy arrived home last Tuesday bringing the total to 31.

On the case of the former defence staff assistant at the Malaysian embassy office in Wellington, New Zealand, Warrant Officer II Muhammad Rizalman Ismail, he said Malaysia was currently cooperating with the New Zealand authorities.

“We are working very closely with New Zealand, the chambers of both countries are working very closely but as I said, what we want is for justice to prevail…justice to whoever is making the allegation but at the same time justice to those who have been accused,” he said.

Muhammad Rizalman, 38, was arrested by New Zealand police on May 9 this year and brought to court the following day to face a charge of house-breaking and sexual assault on a 21-year-old woman with the intention to rape.