The remains of the final Malaysian victim on board Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH17, has been identified.
She was Puan Sri Siti Amirah Kusuma, 83, the step-grandmother of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
Hishammuddin, who announced this today after closing the Selangor Umno Convention in Kuala Lumpur said that he was relieved that the forensic experts were able to confirm the remains of Siti Amirah.
"I am truly grateful by this little revelation. With the experts finally identifying my step-grandmother, this means that the remains of all the victims from Malaysia have been identified,
"This was a responsibility and pledge made by Datuk Seri Najib Razak and it has been fulfilled.
"As if it was destined that the last to be identified is our step-grandmother. As a family member, I am grateful to Allah," he said.
"I was informed her family wants to bury Siti Amirah's remains in Amsterdam because she has children living there. So, there will be no full military honours reception for her remains in Malaysia," he added.
The development brings closure pertaining to the identification of the remains of all the 43 Malaysians who perished in the tragedy.
Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 as it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. The Boeing 777 aircraft is believed to have been shot down over the troubled country.
According to Bernama, so far, the remains of 278 of the victims have been identified by forensic experts at the Military Medical Centre in Hilversum, The Netherlands, where the remains of the victims were brought to from the crash site. – November 1, 2014.