PUTRAJAYA, Sept 6 – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has conveyed deep gratitude for Australia’s generosity and deep commitment in helping Malaysia in the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370 and MH17 tragedies.
Najib said: “During such dark hours, there was a silver lining and the silver lining came from our friends, especially Australia.
“I like to say once again that we owe you a deep gratitude right from Prime Minister Tony Abbott, the Australian government and Australian people for your generosity and deep commitment to help us find the plane,” he said in his remarks during the special session with Malaysian officials involved in dealing with both tragedies. Present at the session were some 30 officials representing multi agencies from the Transport Ministry, Defence Ministry, the Department of Civil Aviation and the National Security Council.
Abbott arrived here today for a one-day official visit to Malaysia, his first visit since his appointment as the Prime Minister of Australia on Sept 18 last year. Najib added that both countries would continue to work closely together and, God willing, one day the plane would be found.
“We owe this to the family, we keep saying that and we cannot rest until we have searched the ocean and find the plane,” he said.He said today’s session was also to express his deepest appreciation and gratitude to the Malaysian officials involved in the MH370 and MH17 search operations.
The MH370 flight, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, is believed to have ended up in the southern Indian Ocean, west of Perth, Australia.The search for MH370 is ongoing but no trace of the aircraft has been found yet.Meanwhile, the MAS Flight MH17 was carrying 298 passengers and crew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was believed to have been shot down in eastern Ukraine on July 17.
Besides the 43 Malaysian passengers, the aircraft was also carrying passengers from the Netherlands, Australia, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Philippines, Canada and New Zealand.
– BERNAMA
