KUALA LUMPUR: The Defence Ministry is monitoring the remains of the Flight MH17 crash victims, as they are being transported from Torez, Ukraine to the Netherlands where forensic identification will be carried out.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said while no Malaysian military aircraft have been deployed in the transfer, two Royal Malaysian Air Force C-130s will remain on standby.
"The bodies will be flown by a Dutch aircraft to Amsterdam and then moved by road," he told reporters at the Dewan Rakyat today.
He said the aircraft's black box flight data recorders have been turned over to British experts for analysis, while the victim identification process will be done by Dutch investigators.
"They have the right expertise. The important thing for us is to get to the truth, to ensure that it is not tampered with and to ensure the integrity (of the investigation)."
Hishammuddin praised Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's efforts in securing the deal which allowed the remains of the crash victims to be collected from the crash site and the black boxes returned to Malaysian authorities.
"Najib handled the situation with the wisdom and tact needed.
"That was the most difficult part. Now, our task is to ensure to the best of our ability to return as promised, the remains of the Malaysian victims back to their families before Hari Raya."
The remains of 282 people were moved by train yesterday from Torez to Kharkiz where they are currently awaiting transfer to Amsterdam.
Zarina Zakariah, SYED UMAR ARIFF and Ili Liyana Mokhtar