Malaysia to give $6,800 aid to next-of-kin of each Malaysian MH17 victim

The Malaysia government will give a one-off aid of RM20,000 (about S$6,838) to the next-of-kin of every Malaysian passenger and crew of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 that was shot down in Ukraine in 2014, reported Bernama.

The Cabinet approved the aid on March 18, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim, who made the announcement.

"The ministry is scrutinising the list of Malaysian victims because some of the passengers had dual citizenship," she told reporters.

The minister said the aid would be disbursed to the next-of-kin at a special ceremony organised by the ministry.

Flight MH17 was struck down over Ukrainian air space on July 17, 2014.

All 298 people on board the flight perished. It was carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew on an Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lumpur flight.

Apart from 44 Malaysians, the Boeing 777-200 also carried passengers from the Netherlands, Australia, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, the Philippines, Canada and New Zealand.

The plane was believed to have been shot down by a surface-to-air missile launched by pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukrainian territory.

Russia has, however, denied this.

Related: Family members of victims moving on

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