Regional and Rural Development Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal wants the people to pray for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's wellbeing in handling the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 incident in Ukraine.    

"Najib has taken a risk in dealing with the Ukraine rebels and we really praise the efforts taken by him.

"We also express our gratitude to him (Najib) for enabling the bodies that were at the crash site to be taken out to a safe place in the Netherlands and also the black box in a short time," Shafie ( left ) said when met at a Hari Raya Aidilfitri function at his residence in Semporna yesterday.

He said the diplomacy used in handling in the incident could not only resolve problems but also reflected the nation's positive image.

As such, he urged the people to emulate the action of the prime minister in addressing the issue.

Najib will leave for the Netherlands tomorrow to meet his counterpart, Mark Rutte at The Hague, to discuss on the issue.

- Bernama