MH17 tragedy: Remains of two more Malaysian victims identified

The remains of two more Malaysian victims, both of whom are non-Muslims, have been identified by the Netherlands authorities, bringing to date 26 Malaysians identified in the Malaysian Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 tragedy.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Wee Ka Siong said this latest development had been relayed by the Netherlands government to the Malaysian Embassy and Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

"I was informed of the matter in a meeting with our ambassador to the Netherlands Datuk Dr Fauziah Mohamad Taib and MAS Services Operation vice-president Datuk Baharom Mohd Yatim on Saturday.

"The families have also been informed. The documentation process is being carried out and will be completed as soon as possible before a prayer ceremony or cremation is carried out," said Wee told Bernama here late Saturday.

"Also, both the governments are working hard to ensure the remains of the two victims can be sent back quickly," he said.

On Aug 14, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had said the remains of 14 Malaysian victims of the MH17 tragedy had been identified by the authorities in the Netherlands, namely of 14 passengers and 10 crew.

He also said the remains of 16 these victim, including that of a non-Malaysian, would be sent back to Kuala Lumpur in a special aircraft and expected to arrive at the KL International Airport (KLIA) at 10am, Friday.

The date had also been announced as a day of national mourning and a ceremony in honour of the victims would be held on that day at the Bunga Raya Complex at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

In the meantime, Wee, who prior to this had been appointed to handle the process of managing the remains of Malaysian victims who are Buddhists, said all ashes and remains of those already identified would be collected on Thursday for the process of sending back to Kuala Lumpur.

According to Wee, continuous discussions were being held with the government of the Netherlands and updated to ensure all standard operation procedures and documentation were done correctly and smoothly.

Commenting on the presence of numerous non-Muslim heads of religions who were specially brought from Malaysia to manage the remains in the religious context, Wee said he was satisfied with the good response given over the matter.

"We do not know when the remains of more non-Muslim Malaysian victims would be placed under them after this and as such we will continue to discuss and cooperate to ensure the ceremonies run smoothly.

"We also receive a very good response from the Buddhist association here to voluntarily hold their own or join the ceremonies to manage the remains," he said.

It is reported that the Buddhist religious head Reverend Sing Han, Tao Daozhang religious head Tan Boon Sin, Hindu religious head S Mohanshan and Sikh religious head Sardar Harcharan Singh were specially flown from Malaysia since several days ago for the management of the religious ceremonies for non-Muslim bodies.

Flight MH17, carrying 298 people including 15 crew, crashed in the Donetsk region, east of Ukraine close to the Russian border on July 17. The plane is believed to have been shot down.

Twenty-eight of the passengers were Malaysians.