Same ceremony for next batch

KUALA LUMPUR: The third batch of the remains of the MH17 victims will be accorded the same ceremony as those given on Aug 22 when it arrives on Saturday, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
He said that more remains are expected to be brought home this Saturday and a similar ceremony will be held, with better coordination and planning.
Speaking to reporters after presenting academic excellence awards to children of the armed forces personnel at his ministry today, Hishammuddin said the number of remains have yet to be confirmed.
As for the remains that have yet to be recovered or identified including that of his step grandmother, he said that it is still in progress although it is understood that the crash site is outside the zone of Ukraine and Russia, and is under the control of the (pro-Russian) separatist group.
"This makes gaining access to the site to look for the remains, a challenge," he said, adding that he is fully aware of the trauma the families are going through while waiting for the remains of their family members to come home.
Hishammuddin also pointed out that Malaysia's ability to negotiate with the separatist group to bring home the remains was no easy feat.
"Thanks to the bold move by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, we were able to bring most of the remains home to be laid to rest. This may not be achievable for other countries. If he (Najib) had not negotiated with the separatist group, I am not sure we would be able to bring any of the remains home."
On the black box, he said that its retrieval is being handled by the Transport Ministry while his ministry coordinates the bringing home of the remains, the military ceremony and investigation into the tragedy.
"Malaysia is one of those in the investigation committee as the tragedy impacts us directly although now the investigation is carried out by a third party. The black box, debris and other evidence gathered from the site are important for us to build up our case when it comes to the court," he added.
As for the search for the missing MH370, he said that a delegation will be going to Canberra next week to sign a trilateral agreement, approved by the Cabinet last week, between Australia, China and Malaysia which includes cost sharing.
The delegation will include Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi , Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri and Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainudin.
"This will refute all the conspiracy theories that surfaced with the disappearance of MH370," he said, adding that his ministry is responsible for the deployment of assets in the second phase of the search for MH370.
The second phase, he said, is complicated and would involve sophisticated assets that very few companies in the world own as only countries like US and China have the military capabilities needed for the deep-sea search.