SEPANG, Aug 14- Ten of the 16 Malaysian victims of the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 crash identified had been confirmed to be non-Muslims, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup is responsible for managing the return of the remains of 22 Malaysian non-Muslim victims of the MH17 crash, out of the total of 43 from this country including the crew members.
He said four non-Islamic religious representatives had left for Amsterdam, the Netherlands to manage the remains of the Malaysian non-Muslim victims of the air crash which occurred in eastern Ukraine on July 17.”These religious representatives will conduct prayers and perform other rites in accordance with the respective religious beliefs,” he said at a news conference in conjunction with their departure from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, here, tonight.
Kurup said the four non-Islamic religious representatives who left for Amsterdam were Ven Sing Kan (for Buddhist victims), Datuk Mohan Shan (Hindu victims), Sardar Haracharan Singh (Sikh victims) and Daozhang Tan Bon Sin (Taoist victims).
He said for Malaysian Christian victims of the MH17 crash, the management of their remains would be coordinated by Rev. Klaas van der Kamp from the Council of Churches in the Netherlands.
“The four religious representatives are accompanied by two officers from the National Unity and Integration Department to ensure a smooth operation,” he Kurup also said that the government would respect the decision of the families of whether to cremate the victims’ remains in the Netherlands or to bring them back to Malaysia, with the costs to be borne by MAS.
He also said that Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin would announce the date for sending back the remains of the 16 Malaysian victims already identified, at a meeting in Putrajaya tomorrow.
– BERNAMA
