MH17 Coordinating Committee To Hold Meeting - Hishammuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- The MH17 coordinating committee would hold a meeting to discuss preparations for the Aug 30 ceremony to receive and honour victims of flight MH17, said Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein. “If the number to arrive is bigger than yesterday (Monday), then we need to have better coordination, hence why I'm calling for another meeting," he told reporters after the Armed Forces' 24th Academic Excellence Awards presentation here Tuesday. According to him, the coordinating committee comprised representatives from 10 ministries including the Home ministry, Communication and Multimedia ministry, and Health ministry. He said the government was continuing efforts to return to the MH17 crash site in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine to search and identify remains of the rest of the Malaysian victims. "As we all know, the site is located within the war zone. We need a bit of time to speed up on the investigation,” he said. Meanwhile, Hishammuddin assured that while the government was presently concerned with ensuring a dignified closure for MH17, it had not neglected efforts to find MH370. At the same conference, Armed Forces Chief, General Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said the psychiatric evaluation on Second Warrant Officer Muhammad Rizalman Ismail, 38, has been completed. “Muhammad Rizalman will be sent to New Zealand as soon as we receive word from Wisma Putra and the Attorney General's Chambers," he said. The former Defence staff assistant at the Malaysian High Commission in New Zealand, was detained by New Zealand police on May 9. He was brought to court the following day to face charges of house break-in and sexual assault with intention to rape a 21 year old woman. Muhammad Rizalman and his family were flown back to Malaysia on May 22, upon which the defence ministry immediately launched an investigation into the case. -- BERNAMA