MH17 As many as 10 cabinet ministers have been roped in to a meeting today to prepare a mega welcome home ceremony for the arrival of the remains of Malaysians who perished on MH17.
Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said in a press release that he would be heading the special committee to prepare a ceremony to pay final respects to the victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight which crashed in eastern Ukraine last month.
The remains were due to be flown back via the Netherlands after the process of identification, now being carried out, is completed.
The ministers involved were Foreign Affairs Minister Anifah Aman, Rural Development Minister Shafie Apdal, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai, Communications and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek; Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam; Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rohani Abdul Karim and three ministers from the Prime Minister’s Department - Jamil Khir Baharom, Joseph Kurup and Wee Ka Siong, the press statement said.
Not only will the reception be a cross-ministry effort, it will also require coordination from multiple government agencies including the armed forces, the Islamic Development Department (Jakim), National Unity and Integration Department, Malaysia Airlines, Malaysian Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) and much more.
Many of these agencies have been meeting since July 25, Hishammuddin said. But the ministerial members of this mega-committee will meet for the first time at the Defence Ministry today, where they would be briefed about their respective duties and responsibilities. Following that, Hishammuddin said, he would hold a press conference to announce the details to the public.
Forty-three Malaysians were on board the Boeing 777 plane which was shot down over war-torn Donetsk on July 17 and a multi-national criminal investigation and salvaging efforts were only halfway complete as of yesterday.
Related stories
Sources: MAS shares to be halted on Friday
Envoy recites Quranic verse at MH17 memorial
