PETALING JAYA: DNA samples from all family members of the 55 Malaysians still missing at the Nepal-China border have been collected, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
The Foreign Minister said the samples will be sent to Nepal for authorities to conduct DNA matching to enable positive identification of remains, a process expected to take some time given the large number of victims involved.
Mohamad said Malaysia was also prepared to send experts from the Chemistry Department to assist Nepalese authorities with the process if required.
“Many other countries will also be sending their experts to assist Nepal in DNA matching for the victims, which will help expedite the process,” he told reporters after attending the Pinggiran Senawang Independence Carnival near Seremban yesterday.
Meanwhile, family members here are putting their hopes that the DNA testing will be able to help with providing an answer, following an agonising wait for news on the whereabouts of their loved ones.
M. Subramaniam, whose father-in-law Krishnan Vadivelu is one of the 55 Malaysians who remained uncontactable since a wall of water and debris swept across a valley along the Nepal-China border on Aug 26, said DNA profiling will be the last hope for families to get the answers they are desperately seeking.
“This will give us closure,” he said when contacted.
Subramaniam noted that while citizens of other countries have been found, there has been no updates on any of the 55 missing Malaysians, with the search entering its 12th day today.
“There are families whose breadwinners were involved in the disaster and it is extremely important for them to know whether their family members had survived.”
Citing the ordeal of the families of the MH370 flight passengers as an example, Subramaniam hoped it will not take years for these families to get closure.
Preparing for the worst, Subramaniam said this will also allow families to prepare for the last rites and provide a dignified send-off if remains are found.
He said this was also the only way for families to find consolation, after waiting in agony for over a week.
The police have taken DNA samples from Subramaniam’s wife and brother-in-law, who are the biological children of Krishnan.
Subramaniam also proposed that Malaysia send a forensics team, similar to what Singapore has done with its Health Sciences Authority.
Krishnan, 74, a retired civil servant, was on a pilgrimage trip to Kailash-Manasarovar in Tibet.
Nepal has already begun burying many remains, including unidentified bodies, as authorities struggle with overflowing morgues and rapid decomposition.
Daytime temperatures in Kathmandu this week remain slightly above the mid-20s (in Celsius).
Nepali police have also called on relatives of Nepali and foreign nationals who remain missing to provide DNA samples to help in the identification process, with immediate blood relatives of foreign nationals asked to submit their DNA at authorised forensic laboratories in their home countries, before e-mailing the result of the profile to the Nepali police.
