KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22- Preparations are being made at the state level to enable the people to show their respect for victims of the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 crash by having special programmes to observe a minute’s silence in conjunction with the Day of National Mourning today.
Twenty remains of victims who were Malaysian nationals are expected to arrive at the Bunga Raya Complex, KL International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang tomorrow and would be accorded an official welcoming ceremony.Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah is scheduled to be present at the KLIA together with other leaders and family members of the victims of the air crash in east Ukraine on July 17.
The one minute’s silence to show respect for the remains of the victims of the MH17 air crash is scheduled to be observed at any time as early as 10.30am today.
In KUALA TERENGGANU, the one minute’s silence would be observed at the grounds of the Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah (HSNZ) here simultaneously throughout the country tomorrow.
According to a statement from the State Information Department, Muslims would recite the verse ‘al-Fatihah’ while non-Muslims would pray according to their respective religions. In KUANTAN, the event would be held at the Dataran Setia, on the grounds of Wisma Sri Pahang with the Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob in attendance.
Pahang State Secretary Datuk Seri Muhammad Safian Ismail said it would be held simultaneously at all the 11 district office grounds.”After observing the one minute’s silence, Adnan is scheduled to deliver a speech which will be broadcast to all the districts,” he said after attending the Pahang State Action Meeting chaired by Adnan today.
In addition, the state government directed that all forms of entertainment be halted temporarily beginning tonight until tomorrow night and the national and state flags would be flown at half-mast.In SEREMBAN, Wisma Negeri and Wisma Persekutuan would become the venues for the observance of the one minute’s silence at the state level, said Negeri
Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
In GEORGE TOWN, the Penang state government will observe a minute of silence at the Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak (Komtar) lobby simultaneously with the federal government.”The Penang flag will also be flying at half-mast tomorrow as a sign of mourning,” Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today.
He added there would be a large screen in front of a major bank at Komtar for the public to watch the arrival of the remains at KLIA from Amsterdam.The state government has also advised organisers of other functions during that period to also observe the moment of silence before the start of their respective events.
The flight MH17 was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it crashed in the Donetsk province, eastern Ukraine on July 17.The Boeing 777-200 which carried 298 passengers and crew members had been shot down, but no one had claimed responsibility so far.
Forty-three of the people on board the ill-fated aircraft were Malaysian nationals. So far, the remains of 30 Malaysians had been identified.
– BERNAMA
