KUALA LUMPUR, 18 Aug: The Malaysian flag will be flown at half-mast across the country and all entertainment events have to be suspended during the National Day of Mourning this Friday.
According the press statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), everyone has been asked to wear dark colours or colours that are not bright/bold for the mourning in conjunction of the arrival of the bodies of the MH17 aircraft tragedy.
On the day, all entertainment programmes on all radio and television should be suspended and replaced with al-Quran and religious programmes.
“For those who are Muslim and those directly involved (in the arrival of the bodies, they (including media personnel) have been encouraged to wear the songkok (without the white stripe), while female officers and staff have to wear black shawls,” he statement said.
The regulations of the day of mourning set by the PMO Ceremonial Secretariat Division must be followed at all levels of government ministries, departments and agencies, statutory bodies, private companies, radio and television stations, as well as the public.
The National Mourning Day was declared by the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, in conjunction with the arrival of the bodies of the MH17 tragedy victims to express the sadness of all Malaysians regarding the tragedy.
The ceremony for the arrival of the bodies will be held at the Bunga Raya Complex, Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
The MH17 aircraft owned by Malaysia Airlines bringing back 283 passengers and 15 crew members on the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was believed to have been shot down in Ukraine.
NS