A helicopter crashed south of
Kuala Lumpur Saturday killing all six people on board, including Prime
Minister Najib Razak's 'Chief of
Staff' and a former ambassador to the
United States.
The helicopter
went down in a rubber plantation in the town of Semenyih with Najib's
principal private secretary, Azlin Alias, aboard.
Also
among the dead was Jamaluddin Jarjis, a lawmaker and a senior member of
Najib's political party UMNO. Jamaluddin was a former Malaysian
ambassador to the United States.
"I
am personally grief-struck. Jamaluddin Jarjis was my friend of many
years and no truer friend could I have," Najib said in a statement.
"Azlin
Alias was my Chief of Staff and a truly outstanding government servant.
The contributions of these two men to the government, to UMNO and to
Malaysia were very significant."
Najib added that he had ordered an investigation into the cause of the crash, saying that "no stone will be left unturned."
Transport
Minister Liow Tiong Lai said in a separate statement that all six
bodies had been recovered and sent to a hospital in the capital Kuala
Lumpur.
"This is indeed a great loss and my thoughts and prayers
are with their families and the families of the other victims during
this tragic time," the minister said.An eyewitness told Malaysia's official Bernama news agency that the helicopter "exploded in mid-air" during heavy rain.
"Then, the debris, tail and blades were thrown all over the place," the eyewitness, Roslan Harun, was quoted as saying.

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