Malaysia unhappy with the latest report on MH17 - PM Mahathir

PUTRAJAYA, June 20 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is unhappy with the latest report on the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who asked for proof and not just hearsay in the investigation.

On Wednesday (June 19), international investigators charged four people -- three Russians and one Ukranian -- with murder over the 2014 shooting down of MH17 in eastern Ukraine in which 298 people were killed.

Dr Mahathir said the government was unhappy with the investigation into the incident as from the very beginning it had turned into a political issue.

"We are very unhappy because from the very beginning it became a political issue on how to accuse Russia of the wrongdoing even before they examined," he said when met by reporters after attending the Hari Raya open house of the Prime Minister's Department here today.

"From the very beginning, they wanted to accuse Russia and now of course they said they have proof who the person is. This is a ridiculous thing.

"We want a proof of guilt but so far no proof, only hearsay," Dr Mahathir added.

The Dutch-led international investigation team reportedly said it was going to prosecute Russian nationals Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko over the downing of the ill-fated plane.

The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the attack includes Australia, Belgium, Malay­sia, the Netherlands and Ukraine.

Asked whether Malaysia made this stand because it has palm oil trade with Russia, Dr Mahathir said it was a different issue.

Asked if Russia would not want to cooperate in the investigation, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia was only a small country and could not do anything.

"They can say what they can say. If we don't like it and we don't agree, there is nothing we (Malaysia) can do," he said.

-- BERNAMA