SEPANG, July 11 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak revealed today that the criminal investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 last July is expected to be completed at the earliest by the end of this year.

The investigation is conducted by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) comprising police personnel and prosecution teams from Malaysia, Australia, Belgium, and Ukraine, and coordinated by the Netherlands.

“Detailed investigations are still being conducted by JIT where it has been entrusted to the police force and prosecution team to collect evidence to identify the cause as well as the parties responsible for the fatal attack of MH17.

“JIT expects that the investigations will continue until at least the end of 2015,” he said inhis speech at the MH17 National Memorial ceremony at the Bunga Raya complex at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Flight MH17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down in eastern Ukraine last July 17, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board.

Today’s somber occasion saw 196 MH17 next-of-kin as well as other dignitaries and the press dressed in dark colours to mark the one-year anniversary of the plane crash.

During the ceremony, the national flags of the 10 countries affected by the disaster were raised with each flag bearer reading out the names of the victims.

In his speech which was delivered in Bahasa Malaysia, Najib said the criminal investigations team now has a “clearer picture” on the nature of the attack on

MH17 and is going through every scenario in detail.

He stressed, however, that the purpose of the investigation is not to blame any party but to bring those responsible to justice, adding that every prosecution mechanism is being considered.

Najib also said that the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) is now going through comments on the preliminary report of the crash and is expected to publish a final report early October this year.

The prime minister, who was the only speaker at the ceremony, also highlighted the “difficult decision” he had to make when he had to negotiate with separatists in order to gain access to the crime scene.

“I had to make a very difficult decision, unprecedented in Malaysia history, to negotiate with the separatists but it was done with the intention of recovering the bodies and the black boxes.

“I cannot allow the families to grieve without the bodies,” he said in a muffled voice.

The ceremony ended in less than an hour.