KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 – Some 300 people, including members of the Malaysian Community Policing Association, held an hour-long peaceful gathering at Dataran Medreka here from 9pm tonight in a show of support to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak over his handling of the MH17 tragedy.
The association’s president, Kuan Chee Heng, 51, said Malaysians, irrespective of race or religion, should stand behind the prime minister in these “difficult hours”.
“We want to send a message to the Prime Minister that we fully back his efforts to assist the next-of-kin of the crew and Malaysian passengers of the
ill-fated flight to bring back their remains to Malaysia,” he told reporters.
He also extended his condolences to the families of those who perished in the tragedy. Checks by Bernama at the location found several musicians playing patriotic and sentimental songs, candles lit up in the form of ‘RIP MH17’ and there was also a designated spot for the laying of flowers.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall enforcement personnel and a Police van were also present to ensure there were no untoward incidents. One of the participants who just wanted to be known as Tony, 49, from Cheras here, said he came to give his support because he knew one of the victims.
He said he knew Shubashini Jeyaratnam, 38, also known as Shuba Jaya since 10 years ago when she was working for the New Straits Times before she pursued a
career in the performing arts.
Shuba Jaya was among the 44 Malaysian passengers on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 which crashed in the Donetsk area in east Ukraine while on a flight
from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
She was travelling with her Dutch husband Paul Goes and their 21-month-old daughter Kaela. There were 298 people on board the plane, including 15 crew members. It has been reported that Ukrainian authorities believe that the Boeing 777 was shot down.
– BERNAMA
