KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 – The Malaysian investigation team tasked to investigate the tragic crash of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 has arrived in Kiev, Ukraine. However, the team cannot perform their duties as yet because the crash site is still not safe to enter.
Head of the investigation team, Khairil Hilmi Mokhtar, said there is no safe passage yet for the team to visit the crash site at Grabovo, approximately 750 KM from Kiev, and the Ukrainian government is still trying to facilitate the team.
“We will always abide by the Ukraine government’s requirement as they are also trying to ensure our safety in performing our mission,” he told Malaysian journalists in Kiev. The team consist of 131 personnel, including a 24-man Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) and police forensic officers.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, in his special message delivered live on national television, has said the Malaysian government is demanding the relevant parties to guarantee and ensure the safety of the investigating team during the whole period of the probe.
Najib also urged the parties concerned not to tamper with or impair the evidence at the scene so as to allow for a transparent and effective probe and, if the investigation proved that Flight MH17 was indeed shot down, for those responsible to be brought to justice.
“I conveyed all these three demands today to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon. I have also requested the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, to extend full cooperation to help achieve these objectives,” Najib said.
Although Flight MH17 was believed to have shot down, Najib said the government would not point fingers at any party until verified evidence showed up. In Putrajaya today, Najib said Malaysia, as the owner of the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, would ensure that the plane’s black boxes would not be under the control of any irrelevant quarters.
According to the international law, the owner of the plane has every right for the black boxes, he said. “We must follow the international law and those who have no right whatsoever cannot claim or take over control of the black boxes,” Najib said.
The foreign media have reported that the black box of Flight MH17 had been recovered and taken out of the crash site, but Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong had dismissed it, saying the report was still unconfirmed news and needed to be verified.
– BERNAMA
