Malaysia to continue seeking justice for MH17, says Hisham

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will continue to seek justice over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 through international courts, defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein told the Dewan Rakyat today.

He said the government did not wish to be embroiled in geopolitical issues related to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and only sought justice over the tragedy.

“Malaysia is primarily concerned with seeking justice for the victims of the tragedy and will not pursue any legal action based on geopolitical agendas.

“The MH17 tragedy cannot be used to provide any indication of our stance when it comes to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict,” he said.

He was commenting on recent reports that Australia and the Netherlands had begun a joint legal action against Russia at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) over the downing of the passenger jet in July 2014.

Hishammuddin, who is Sembrong MP, said Malaysia would continue to observe the matter and would only support the legal action if it served to bring justice to the victims of the crash.

He added that the government remained committed to the issue with the Cabinet having discussed it earlier today.

The joint action by Australia and the Netherlands under Article 84 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation is separate from a Dutch murder trial of four suspects – three Russians and an Ukrainian – for the downing of the passenger jet.

MH17 was enroute to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam on July 17, 2014 when it was hit over rebel-held eastern Ukraine by what international investigators and prosecutors say was a Russian-made surface-to-air missile.

All 298 people on board were killed, among them were 43 Malaysian passengers and crew members.

A verdict in the murder trial is expected later this year. None of the defendants attended the Dutch trial and were tried in absentia. — Free Malaysia Today