Dressed in a white shirt and black pants, Scot Choo stepped onto a podium to read out the names of the pilots and cabin crew of the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines MH17. At a memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of the downing of the plane, the 21-year-old Malaysian highlighted one of the four pilots who flew MH17 in his tribute: his father.
All 298 passengers and cabin crew on board the flight were killed after a missile was fired at the plane by pro-Russian rebels over Ukraine on July 17, 2014.
“My loving father, Eugene Choo Jin Leong … thank you for serving our nation. We will miss you,” said Choo in a calm voice, moving many with his tribute during the event held at Vijfhuizen Park near Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on Wednesday.
Families and friends of the victims started crying under the clear blue skies, surrounded by hundreds of trees planted for every victim of MH17 at the park.
King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof along with other dignitaries around the world attended the memorial where a crowd of 1,500 had gathered. Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim did not attend the service.
“I don’t think anyone could see it, but deep down, it was difficult to read out the names because it meant so much to me. When I [finally] read out the names, I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. I felt proud to commemorate their [MH17 pilots and cabin crew members’] service to the nation.”
“I felt proud to have Eugene Choo Jin Leong as my father,” Choo added.
Choo was only 11 years old when his father died on the flight.
Despite his loss and grief, Choo went on to win a Commonwealth Sixth Form Scholarship and has just completed his studies in aeronautical and astronautics engineering at the University of Southampton in the UK, where he will graduate later this week.
The young engineer wants to follow in his father’s footsteps to become a pilot and has applied to Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia to join their respective pilot training programme.
“My goal is to emulate my father’s career, so the plan now is to become a pilot. Let’s see what the future holds and hope for the best,” Choo said.
“I have been inspired by my Dad since I was a kid. Every time I see him leave for work dressed in his uniform, [which he wore] with a sense of pride to serve his nation, it inspired me to do the same thing. It’s always been a core mission of my life,” Choo said.
Explaining his desire to earn his wings despite his family’s tragedy, Choo said he felt being “lifted” in a “surreal” experience whenever he was on a plane.
His older brother, Melvic Choo, 23, is currently a pilot with Air Asia and has been flying with the airline for around two years.
Choo’s mother, Ivy Loi, said she supported her sons’ decision to become pilots. “I give them my blessings,” she said.
Loi met her late husband when she was working as a cabin crew member of Malaysia Airlines. Describing her two sons as “good boys”, Loi said: “They became adults overnight when my husband died.”
Though 10 years have passed, the younger Choo said the pain of his loss has not eased, but the family has learned to deal with it better.
“We always remember him, every second, every day. Every time I do something, I will ask myself, what will my father want me to do? He always told us to appreciate what we have because there are many out there who have it worse than us,” said Choo.
“So I am always grateful for everything life has given me, although life has taken away my father.”
In November 2022, a Dutch court found two Russians – Igor Girkin, a former colonel of Russia’s Federal Security Service, and Sergey Dubinskiy, who worked for Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency – as well as Ukrainian separatist Leonid Kharchenko, guilty of mass murder for their roles in the MH17 tragedy.
The three were sentenced to life in prison and ordered to pay the victims’ families more than €16 million (US$17.4 million). None of the perpetrators was present in court to receive their sentences then, and they are unlikely to serve time for their crimes.
“I hope that justice will be served, but I understand it will take some time, and it won’t be tomorrow, but justice will be served eventually,” said Choo.
Dutch PM Schoof pledged to continue searching for justice for the victims and told countries that had worked together to investigate the MH17 shooting to persevere.
“It’s very important that the countries stick together. The Joint Investigation Team [JIT] is suspended but whenever there is new information, they can start up immediately again … international cooperation is very, very important,” Schoof told reporters after the memorial service.
The JIT comprises officials from the Dutch Public Prosecution Service and the Dutch police, along with police and criminal justice authorities from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine.
Earlier, when Schoof addressed the memorial service, he said a conviction isn’t “the same thing as actually putting someone behind bars” in an inference to the three convicted perpetrators. Dutch officials have said the trio are believed to be either in Russia or Russian-held territories in Ukraine.
Schoof said: “And I know it too [that] justice takes time. But we have the time. And the patience … perseverance. That is my message to the guilty parties, and my promise to you.”
