Of the 16 bodies of Malaysian victims of the fatal Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crash identified, 10 have been confirmed as being those of non-Muslims, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup.
Kurup has been tasked with managing the return of the remains of 22 Malaysian non-Muslim victims involved in the crash, out of the total 43 Malaysians on board the aircraft.
The Malay Mail Online reports that Kurup said four non-Islamic religious representatives have departed for Amsterdam to manage the rites for the non-Muslim victims.
“These religious representatives will conduct prayers and perform other rites in accordance with the respective religious beliefs,” he said last night at a press conference in KLIA.
The four non-Islamic religious representatives on their way to Amsterdam are Ven Sing Kan (for Buddhist victims), Datuk Mohan Shan (for Hindus), Sardar Haracharan Singh (for Sikh victims) and Daozhang Tan Bon Sin (for Taoists).
Kurup said the management of Christian Malaysian victims would coordinated by Reverend Klaas van der Kamp of the Council of Churches in the Netherlands.
“The four religious representatives are accompanied by two officers from the National Unity and Integration Department to ensure a smooth operation,” he added.
Kurup said the Malaysian government would respect the decision of victims’ families on whether to cremate the remains in the Netherlands, or to have them flown back to Malaysia, with costs to be borne by Malaysia Airlines.
The management of Muslim victims’ remains is being overseen by Kurup’s counterpart, fellow Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom.
Deuty Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to announce the date for sending the 16 Malaysian victims already identified back to Malaysia, after a meeting in Putrajaya today.
