KUALA LUMPUR: Their orders were to go into war-ravaged Donetsk in Ukraine, secure the crash site and black boxes from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, and recover the remains of the victims.
The region where the Boeing 777-200ER had crashed — brought down by a Russian-made BUK 9M38 surface-to-air missile on July 17, 2014 — had seen intense fighting between Ukrainian forces and separatist troops.
The jetliner was en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam, when it was shot down in eastern Ukraine.The aircraft carried 283 passengers and 15 crew.
There were no survivors.The 12 Malaysians handpicked for this mission — "The Dozen Persons" — were told to go in — unarmed — and get the job done, using nothing but their wits, ingenuity, and guile.
At almost every turn, they faced the constant threat from both Russian and Ukrainian snipers, being double-crossed, or worse — executed as spies if captured.
A decade after their mission in Ukraine, "The Dozen Persons" reunited for the first time to recount their harrowing experience of entering an active war zone, unarmed.
In a special programme organised by the 'New Straits Times' to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the tragic shootdown and the daring mission that eventually brought some closure, these unsung heroes were not just reunited, but were able to meet the families of several MH17 victims.
"The Dozen Persons Reunited", was a poignant reunion, marked with gratitude, as the key players could finally tell the real story of their mission.
For the families, it was especially moving, to finally be able to thank the 12 men who were willing to lay down their lives to bring home their loved ones.
Many said that they did not know about "The Dozen Persons", partly because there has been little recognition of the role they played.One of the team members, Superintendent Abd Rahim Abd Aziz, praised the NST for the effort, noting the challenges in organising such a reunion.
"There are two good things that we can benefit from today's session... First, we get to meet one another after 10 years.
"Secondly, we get to share the real stories. This is a great effort from the NST, because no one had ever attempted to reunite us in one session (before) today," he said.
Besides Rahim, the team included Colonel (Rtd) Mohd Sakri Hussin from the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), Major-General (Rtd) Datuk Dr Mohd Ilham Haron, Colonel Dr Mohd Hafizi Abdullah, and Major Dr Mohd Zainizam Zainal from the Armed Forces' Royal Medical Corps.
The team also comprised four members of the Royal Malaysian Air Force's special forces unit (Paskau) — Colonel Muhammad Mustafa Omar, retired Sergeant Rosli Mustafa, retired Warrant Officer Shahrizal Abu Bakar, and Flight Sergeant Mohd Affandy Ahmad Zaini.Lieutenant Colonel Nadzri Musman from the Armed Forces' Religious Corps, Rosli Shaari from the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Smart), and Datuk Dr Mohd Shah Mahmood of the Kuala Lumpur Hospital Pathology and Disaster Victim Identification team, were also part of the group.
During their two-day life-and-death mission, the team encountered 12 military checkpoints on their journey from Kyiv to Donetsk.
The area was an active combat zone, and each checkpoint was manned by troops armed with heavy-caliber weapons. Some were backed up by Russian-made BMPs (infantry fighting vehicles), and tanks.
On one occasion, they were stopped dead in their tracks when Ukrainian forces detected their movement towards Donetsk, and demanded that they leave immediately.
The team then met with separatist leader Alexander Borodai and, after some tense negotiations, managed to secure safe passage into the crash site.
There, the team recovered some crucial evidence, including the plane's black boxes. They also secured and recovered the remains of the victims.
Mustafa said the mission proved that, despite being a small country, Malaysia was capable of planning and executing a dangerous mission amidst a regional conflict between a nuclear superpower and her neighbour — without a single shot being fired.
This achievement was even recognised by the international media.
"The incident occurred thousands of miles away from our country, amidst a war between a superpower and her neighbour.
Despite being a small country, we demonstrated our capability in negotiations and crash recovery operations.
"This is why the media recognised our efforts and our leadership's ability to manage this crisis.
"However, Rosli Shaari expressed the team's disappointment at the government's failure to acknowledge their sacrifice, and the risks they took.
"It's about team effort. None of us can claim that they were the sole hero for this mission.
"We gave our soul, our heart and, of course, 100 per cent commitment to this mission, which was during Ramadan. We got the job done, accomplished the mission, but we never received any recognition or appreciation from anybody," he said.
The reunion also saw the team being honoured with a special plaque from Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
In his speech, read out by his military adviser, Brigadier-General Datuk Mohammad Razeif Che Ahmad, Khaled said the mission undertaken by the team was a testament to their commitment to justice for Malaysia over the downing of the plane.
"Entering a war zone unarmed, without any weapons to protect themselves, is not an easy task, and they faced this harrowing experience without any issues.
"Although this mission was very challenging, it did not dampen the spirit of these 12 remarkable individuals in the slightest," he said.