US Congressman Commends Najib's Leadership in MH17 Negotiations

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 2 (Bernama) -- A United States congressman has commended Prime Minister Najib Razak for his leadership in negotiating the release of the remains of victims killed in the alleged downing of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine on July 17. Eni F. H. Faleomavaega, who represents the American Samoa commended Najib at a congress seating and his words were posted on http://capitolwords.org on July 24. Capitol Words visualised the most frequently used words in the Congressional Record, giving readers of the website an at-a-glance view of which issues lawmakers address on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. Capitol Words is a project by Washington DC-based Sunlight Foundation - non-partisan and non-profit - which advocates for open government globally and uses technology to make governments more accountable to all. In the posting, Faleomavaega praised Najib for not leaving the negotiations with the separatists in Ukraine to his aides. "Prime Minister Najib's personal involvement in the negotiations sets the standard for diplomacy around the world. I commend Najib for not leaving negotiations to aides," he said. Faleomavaega said Najib had held a series of secret talks with the separatists to broker an agreement for the return of the bodies and the promise of safe passage for recovery teams going to the crash site. The Malaysian prime minister also secured the return of the black boxes of Flight MH17 so that a full investigation might ensue, he further said. "Some matters in life are sacred, and I am pleased that Prime Minister Najib recognised this situation as such. "I thank him for setting aside politics for a higher purpose - to return the bodies of fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters to the families who lost and loved them. I praise him for doing what others would not or could not," said Faleomavaega. MAS Flight MH17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it went down in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine near the Russian border on July 17. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft which was carrying 298 people - 283 passengers and 15 crew - was believed to have been shot down, but until today, no one has claimed responsibility for the heinous act. On July 19, Najib in a press conference said he had spoken to Alexander Borodai, who is in command of the region where the MH17 tragedy occurred. The three agreements reached by the prime minister and Borodai are: remains of those on board the doomed aircraft would be handed over to the Netherlands; black boxes would be handed over to a Malaysian team; and independent international investigators would be guaranteed safe access to the crash site. -- BERNAMA