Yesterday marked exactly two years since the tragedy involving Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 but for the wife and children of the pilot of the ill-fated flight,Captain Wan Amran Wan Hussin, their longing for his presence has never eroded.

Wan Amran's 47-year-old wife, Mariam Yusof, said the pictures of Wan Amran, kept intact in her mobile phone, help as a remedy for her and her children.

"My mobile phone is full of his pictures. I would look at those pictures whenever I remember him. That is the only remedy for me whenever I miss him.

"And I would definitely break down whenever I listened to the 'Salam Terakhir' song by Sudirman (Arshad), which is the background song of a video in tribute to MH17 victims," Mariam said.

She was speaking to reporters at the tahlil and Yassin recitals as a remembrance for the crew and victims of MH17 in conjunction with the second-year anniversary of the tragedy, at her residence in Shah Alam yesterday.

The Boeing 777 jet, carrying 298 passengers and crew members, was cruising at an altitude of 30,000 feet before it was shot down in Eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. No one survived.

Mariam said her two sons - Wan Huzair, 13, and Wan Yusof Irfan, 11 - would never stop talking about their father to her on a daily basis.

"Although they have accepted the fact that their 'abah' (father) is gone, they are always telling me stories about their father every day. Among others, they told me about dreaming of him and talking to him in their dreams," added Mariam.

Hoping for attention from the government

For Mariam, all her family is hoping for at the moment is justice for her husband, as well as attention from the government and the national carrier.

"I am truly hoping that aid for the victims' families such as scholarship for children as promised, will be fulfilled. A single, unemployed mother like me, who previously depended solely on my husband, is very tough," she said.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Affendi Khairuddin, 45, the husband of MH17's leading stewardess, Mastura Mustafa, when met at the ceremony, said the next of kin to the passengers and crew of the ill-fated flight would file a suit against MAS, following the tragedy.

Affendi said among the families are Wan Amran's co-pilot, Muhamad Firdaus Abdul Rahim, and two other passengers.

"We have engaged a legal team to sue MAS in the near future to seek justice because what had happened was due to MAS' negligence. MAS had exposed its crew members to danger by letting the aircraft to fly over a region in conflict and declared as a war zone," he said.

- Bernama