MALAYSIANS took to social media to honour the arrival of the first batch of passengers and crew from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, on a day that was declared as a national day of mourning.
They were united in offering words of grief and solace, especially toward the next of kin of the 298 people who died on the downed plane.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri
Liow Tiong Lai tweeted: “May the families and friends find solace and peace in the healing process through our unified strength”, with a photo of him overlooking flight MH6129, the plane which brought back the remains of 20 Malaysians from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein tweeted: “Yg kecil ni menunggu kepulangan bonda tersayang (This little one waits for his beloved mother ) — I no longer have anymore words 4 them”, along with a photo of him interacting with the toddler.
Twitter user @nadnnasharuddin, a friend MH17 passenger Muhammad Afif Tambi, posted
a picture of the 19-year-old victim, which was superimposed with
a caption and a Al-Fatihah verse.
Along with it she tweeted: “Glad everything went smoothly. May
Allah bless your soul dear friend.”
Twitter user Izzat Nazli (@theonlywann) shared a picture of the MAS pilots with Abderrahman Ahmad Hakimi, who is the son of MH17 first officer Ahmad Hakimi Hanapi. Along with the picture was a tweet that read:“Abderrahman, you will continue your dad’s legacy as a pilot #MH17.”
Another Twitter user also mourned the loss of Ahmad Hakimi by retweeting a picture of the deceased with 9-month-old Abderrahman.
Local songstress Adibah Noor tweeted: “We’ve been too self-absorbed, righteous but often wrong. Our sons and daughters are
gone. Time to put all hatred aside. Unite. #MH17”.
Balqis Hishamudin (@blqishishamudin) waxed lyrical about the fragility of life by
tweeting: “That’s why the last ‘goodbye’ at the airport means a lot. Because we never know what will happen. #rememberingMH17 #MH17.”
Radio announcer J.J. Fernandez tweeted that Malaysians were united in their grief yesterday.
“Malaysia was silent. In this moment we are one. No differences. May God watch over everyone affected.”
American Twitter user Nicholas Augusta put the national day of mourning into perspective by saying: “Today Malaysia buried some of its dead from #MH17 and there still is no clue where #MH370 is. Not one trace.”