KUALA LUMPUR: Seven Malaysians of the MH17 tragedy have yet to be identified, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

He said the government is in the midst of coordinating with the Dutch government on expediting the process of identifying the remains.

"This is because if their remains are not in the Netherlands, then they might still be at the crash site and this is something that we are afraid of, given the circumstance of the current situation there.

"Hence, we hope the discussion that Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein is having with the Ukraine counterpart is a successful one so that there will be a safe passage corridor for our investigation team to enter into the crash site and look for the remains," he said after opening the MCA Selangor State Convention at Wisma MCA yesterday.

He also expressed hope for a longer ceasefire between pro Russian rebels and the Ukraine government to allow the investigating team to have more time to remove the plane's debris from the crash site.

Asked on the arrival date for the next batch of victims who had been identified, Liow said, they will issue a press statement on the matter.

Liow said the authorities have identified the two sons of Shell employee Tambi Jiee, who also perished in the ill-fated flight and also that of two others whose names will be released once their identification process is completed.

As to the Sept 18 date announced, Liow said, it was only a suggestion but the actual date and the number of remains coming home will be announced.

With regard to MH370, Liow said, two more assets have been deployed in the deep sea search for the airliner which disappeared on March 8 this year.

"We will deploy Fugor Discovery and Go Phoenix to help locate the missing plane in the Indian Ocean," he said, adding that the deep sea mapping is still being conducted as they recently found out that the plane can fly a further 38 degrees south.

Liow said once Go Phoenix reaches Perth on Sept 21, the search will begin.