THE usually vibrant Dataran Merdeka, filled with tourists snapping photographs, was clearly sombre as the country saw the homecoming of her fallen sons and daughters on board the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
About 500 Malaysians from all walks of life gathered there as a mark of respect for the 298 on board the flight whose lives were cruelly cut short when the plane was shot down in eastern Ukraine.
The crowd had gathered from as early as 8am to watch the live telecast of the homecoming ceremony on the big screen here. They also observed one minute of silence where the nation came to a standstill.
They brought white roses as a symbol of the victims’ innocence and the purity of their thoughts.
Children also took part in the ceremony putting flowers and white roses on the field of Dataran Merdeka.
Yasmin Kumar, 4, came with her mother to pay tribute to those who died in the tragedy.
N. Parvathi, 36, said she wanted her daughter to know the value of life and how fleeting it was.
“That’s why I brought her today,” she said, while placing a white rose on the ground.
Tourists also observed the minute of silence in the square.
Some bowed their heads in a show of respect while a group of elderly visitors touched the ground while praying for the victims.
Catherine Hansla, who is visiting Malaysia with her family from London, travelled with Malaysia Airlines only three days after the tragedy.
“It was heartbreaking with entire families lost on one flight. It could have been us,” she said, adding that she had received a lot of flak from friends for booking a ticket with the airline after the disappearance of MH370.
“It is such a tragedy,” said the 56-year-old.
Sharmaine Lim, 21, from The Philippines said that the issue of airline safety has never carried more weight in the history of mankind.
“In The Philippines, everyone is very concerned about this incident as there are many of us working and travelling abroad. Plus, there are still a lot of questions about MH370,” she said, adding that there were three Filipinos on board MH17.
Filipina Irene Pabellon-Gunawan and her two children, Darryl Dwight and Sherryl Shania, were en route to The Philippines via Kuala Lumpur for a reunion there.
The Shell staff also said her company lost four employees including Petra van Langeveld who was travelling with her son as well as Brunei-based Klaas Willem van Luik. They were both Dutch.
Malaysian employees of the oil and gas company were Tambi Jiee who was travelling with his wife and four children as well as Paul Rajasingam Sivagnanam who was on board the ill-fated flight with his wife and son.
Former television host Azwan Ali, who came in a black robe, was seen reciting verses for the departed passengers.
Azwan, who posted that he would not be replying tweets until Sunday, also saluted the unity of Malaysians of all backgrounds for coming together to observe the solemn ceremony by wearing black.
Prayers were also offered for victims in St Mary’s Cathedral near Dataran Merdeka during its morning services.
Later after observing a minute of silence, Muslims who were gathered here headed in droves towards Masjid Negara.
Meanwhile, traffic at SMART toll plaza Kuala Lumpur bound in Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur was halted for a minute to mark the nation’s mourning for MH17 victims.
Over at the Damansara-Puchong Highway and Sprint Highway, toll booths were closed for a minute to observe the one-minute silence.
The highway concessionaire, Lingkaran Trans Kota Sdn Bhd’s employees also gathered outside their office to pay their respects for the MH17 victims yesterday.
Krisaliz Kindergarten in TTDI was rather quite yesterday as some 20 children joined the nation in grief over the MH17 tragedy.
Sitting calmly in front the television, some were seen holding hands and embracing each other as they watched attentively the special live telecast for the National Mourning Day.
Over at Universiti Malaya, some 100 undergraduates took a brief break from their meeting to observe a minute of silence to remember or recite prayers for the victims of the MH17 as well as their families, friends and colleagues.
The undergraduates also wore black for the day to show solidarity during the mourning yesterday when the first batch of the remains of MH17 victims arrived at KLIA.
The students were among those involved in the university’s orientation week as they welcome new intakes for the 2014/2015 session.
Patrons at restaurants including Uncle K restaurant stopped eating and stood up as a mark of respect during the one-minute silence during the live telecast.
Meanwhile, Body Shop Malaysia, in its own way to remember the MH17 victims switched off the lights in all their stores nationwide for a minute.
The company also turned off the music at its outlets from 10.45am till 11.30am.
Body Shop senior marketing manager Loshini Catherine John said: “We are deeply saddened by the MH17 tragedy and our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims.”