Najib: Malaysia will ensure justice for MH17 victims

(THE STAR ONLINE)Malaysia will not stop until justice has been served for those who died on board flight MH17.

“I promise you that Malaysia will remain steadfast until those behind this heinous act are made to pay for their crimes,” said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

In a statement, he said the report by the Dutch Safety Board on MH17 yesterday meant that Malaysia must move forward to make sure those responsible for the crash were held accountable.

“We now know that the plane was hit by a Russian-made BUK missile fired from rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine,” Najib said.

He added that the criminal investigation, led by the Dutch together with Malaysia’s full support, must give definitive answers and allow for the “strongest action” against those responsible.

He said that though it had been 15 months since the July 17, 2014, incident, Malaysia’s commitment to bringing those to justice was as strong as the day it happened.

He added that it was a difficult journey for the families of MH17’s victims, who he added were in his thoughts and prayers.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said Malaysia was working with other MH17 joint investigation team (JIT) members to create an international court on this.

“Malaysia together with our JIT partners: the Netherlands, Belgium, Ukraine and Australia are working towards adopting a treaty to esta­blish an independent international court in order to have an effective prosecution mechanism for those responsible,” he said in a statement.

He said even though an attempt to get an international tribunal via the United Nations was vetoed, Malaysia’s fight over MH17 was “far from over”.

In July, Russia vetoed a United Nations resolution for an international criminal tribunal for MH17, much to Malaysia’s dismay.

Even so, the Government had said it was looking at other options and prosecuting mechanisms to ensure justice.

He said Malaysia had stated that it was “single-minded” in prosecu­ting those responsible for the crash that killed 298 people, calling them “trigger-happy criminals”.