"AS Salam, sir. Today 12 of our men participated in the search at the same site which we were unable to complete yesterday. Again, we only had one and half hours to carry out our work due to security issues. Again, there were shelling heard but not as intense as yesterday. Our team found the cockpit. Although there was strong stench but no human remains discovered. I believe it was trace of the remains... No belongings were found today. The team had left the site, sir and now on the way back to FOB. Search will resume tomorrow at 0730hours. Our capacity at the FOB has been increased from 17 people to 20..."
That's the text message from IGP Khalid Abu Bakar to Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Both are in Ukraine to help investigations into the MH17 incident.
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Zahid is coming home today or tomorrow while Khalid and his team will remain there, working together with teams from the Netherlands and Australia. Based in Solidar near the crash site, they have to be on high alert amid escalating 'war' in the area.
The only reason why I reproduced Khalid's text message is to remind Malaysians, especially some critics, that our PDRM team was dispatched to Ukraine for a noble task - finding an answer to the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on July 17.
They are not there on holidays, let alone 'spending the government's budget' unnecessarily, as alleged by some quarters.
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The base in Solidar is not an ordinary one. Its a makeshift 'camp' set up for investigation purposes, with no first class facility. The road to the crash site was full of roadblocks - some by the Ukrainains and the rest by the pro-Russia insurgents.
Please stop belittling their duty. With intensifying shelling from both sides, our men at any time could be trapped within. They had to undergo harrowing hours, with almost no sleep and rest.
We also have other teams, including the forensic in Amsterdam who work 24-hour attending to body parts and identifying their identity and nationalities.
Please pray for them, instead of complaining and mocking at our own countrymen!
That's the text message from IGP Khalid Abu Bakar to Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Both are in Ukraine to help investigations into the MH17 incident.
The only reason why I reproduced Khalid's text message is to remind Malaysians, especially some critics, that our PDRM team was dispatched to Ukraine for a noble task - finding an answer to the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on July 17.
They are not there on holidays, let alone 'spending the government's budget' unnecessarily, as alleged by some quarters.
The base in Solidar is not an ordinary one. Its a makeshift 'camp' set up for investigation purposes, with no first class facility. The road to the crash site was full of roadblocks - some by the Ukrainains and the rest by the pro-Russia insurgents.
Please stop belittling their duty. With intensifying shelling from both sides, our men at any time could be trapped within. They had to undergo harrowing hours, with almost no sleep and rest.
We also have other teams, including the forensic in Amsterdam who work 24-hour attending to body parts and identifying their identity and nationalities.
Please pray for them, instead of complaining and mocking at our own countrymen!