Observe minute-long silence as one nation - Najib

Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday called on all Malaysians to unite as one nation in observing a minute of silence in honour the victims of the MH17 tragedy.

He said, after a month-long identification process of victims' remains, the first 20 victims will arrive home this morning at the Bunga Raya Complex, KL International Airport (KLIA).

"Tomorrow (today) will be a national day of mourning for us. We mourn the loss of 298 lives on board the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 which went down on July 17th, 2014.

"Let us all unite in observing the minute of silence together as one nation in honour of the victims," the Prime Minister said in his Twitter account.

Najib said a nationwide one-minute silence will be observed and the exact time would be announced through official government radio and television channels.

The official ceremony to honour the victims of the MH17 tragedy will be held at the Bunga Raya Complex grounds.

The Prime Minister noted that he and his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin would accompany the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah to lead the nation in paying last respects to the victims.

Cabinet ministers and senior government officials would also be present, he added.

"My prayers go out to the families who are awaiting to receive their loved ones tomorrow #MH17," he said.

According to the Bernama journalist in Amsterdam, the Kuala Lumpur-bound special aircraft bearing the remains of 20 Malaysian victims of the MH17 crash left Amsterdam's Schiphol airport at 9.40pm Malaysian time Thursday.