The Acting Transport Minister says that his cousin only stated that MH370's last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
VIDEO INSIDE
PETALING JAYA: Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein today defended Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on the latter’s announcement made last week on the fate of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
Responding to a question posed during today’s daily briefing, Hishammuddin said that claims of the plane having crashed was “totally erroneous”.
“He (Najib) said that based on analysis, Inmarsat and AAIB concluded that MH370′s last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
“He also said that it was a remote location, far from any possible landing sites.
“However, there was no mention of a crash or that there were no survivors at all,” said Hishammuddin.
Najib on March 24 had said that the new radar analysis had concluded that flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.
Family members of passengers in the ill-fated jetliner, especially those from China, had been highly critical of the government’s announcement that the plane had “ended in Indian Ocean”. They want the government to provide them with tangible proof to show that the plane had crashed in the ocean.
“We understand that it has been a difficult time for all the families. And we appreciate that many families want to see physical evidence before they will accept that MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean,” said Hishammuddin today.
“We find ourselves in a difficult position. I repeat: the question that the families principally want answered, is the question we simply do not have the answer to – namely, where their loved ones are, and where is MH370,” he added.
He added that the government, together with its international partners, will continue searching, and will keep investigating.
“We will never give up until we find out what happened to MH370,” he said.
Hishammuddin’s clarification on what Najib had said – or did not mention – only added confusion to the situation.
Najib’s statement on March 24
This is what Najib said in a hastily arranged 10pm press conference on March 24:
“This evening I was briefed by representatives from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). They informed me that Inmarsat, the UK company that provided the satellite data which indicated the northern and southern corridors, has been performing further calculations on the data. Using a type of analysis never before used in an investigation of this sort, they have been able to shed more light on MH370’s flight path.
“Based on their new analysis, Inmarsat and the AAIB have concluded that MH370 flew along the southern corridor, and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth.
“This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites. It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.
“We will be holding a press conference tomorrow with further details. In the meantime, we wanted to inform you of this new development at the earliest opportunity. We share this information out of a commitment to openness and respect for the families, two principles which have guided this investigation.
“Malaysia Airlines have already spoken to the families of the passengers and crew to inform them of this development. For them, the past few weeks have been heartbreaking; I know this news must be harder still. I urge the media to respect their privacy, and to allow them the space they need at this difficult time.”
An hour earlier on the same day, Malaysia Airlines sent SMS to family members to state:
“Malaysia Airlines deeply regrets that we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board survived. As you will hear in the next hour from Malaysia’s Prime Minister, we must now accept all evidence suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean.”
Taken as a whole, the prime minister’s statement on March 24 gave the clearest hint yet that MH370 had indeed crashed in the Indian Ocean, although he never used the ‘crash’ word.
This morning, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters that all evidence points to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 being lost in the remote Indian Ocean.
“The accumulation of evidence is that the aircraft has been lost and it has been lost somewhere in the south of the Indian Ocean,” he told reporters at the Perth military base coordinating the search.
“That’s the absolutely overwhelming wave of evidence and I think that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was perfectly entitled to come to that conclusion, and I think once that conclusion had been arrived at, it was his duty to make that conclusion public,” he said.
Najib to visit Perth
On a related matter, Hishammuddin said that Najib will be travelling to Perth on Wednesday for a working visit to the Pearce Air force base.
“He is going there to see the operations first hand and also to thank the personnel involved in the multinational search effort, including the Malaysian personnel,” he said.
Hishammuddin on the other hand will be attending the Asean Defence Minister’s meeting in Hawaii from tomorrow until April 3. The meeting is convened by the United States Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
“I will leave tonight for the US Pacific Command in Hawaii. On behalf of the Malaysian government, I will share with my Asean counterparts and the government of the US, the latest developments regarding the search for MH370,” he said.
He added that he will also discuss the possibility of deploying more specific military assets in the event Malaysia needs to embark on a more complex phase of the operation.
“I shall be discussing with the US, and our other friends and allies, how best we can acquire the assets needed for possible deep sea search and recovery.”
Search continues
On the operational update, Hishammuddin said that nine military aircraft and one civilian aircraft travelled to the search area today.
These planes were two Malaysian C-130, one Chinese Ilyushin IL-76, one Japanese Coast Guard G5, one Australian P3 Orion, one New Zealand P3 Orion, one New Zealand civilian aircraft, one American P8 Poseidon, one Japanese P3 Orion and one Korean P3 Orion.
Eleven ships were also deployed to the search area which include eight Chinese ships, namely, the
Xue Long, the Kunlunshan, the Haikou, the Qiandaohu Jian, the Jing Gang Shan, the Haixun, the Dong Hai Jian and the Nan Hai Jian. The three Australian ships were the HMAS Success, the HMAS Toowoomba and MV Barkley Pearl, which is currently transiting in the search area.
The Malaysian ship, the KD Lekiu, is expected to arrive in the search area on April 3.
The ADV Ocean Shield – fitted with the towed pinger locator and a Bluefin 21 autonomous underwater vehicle – is due to arrive in the search area also on April 3.
MH370 disappeared from the radar on March 8 while on a routine flight from KLIA to Beijing, with 239 passengers and crew members on board.
Investigators deduced that the plane’s communications and transponder had been disabled, the plane then diverted from its original course and headed towards the Indian Ocean.
VIDEO INSIDE
PETALING JAYA: Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein today defended Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on the latter’s announcement made last week on the fate of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.Responding to a question posed during today’s daily briefing, Hishammuddin said that claims of the plane having crashed was “totally erroneous”.
“He (Najib) said that based on analysis, Inmarsat and AAIB concluded that MH370′s last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
“He also said that it was a remote location, far from any possible landing sites.
“However, there was no mention of a crash or that there were no survivors at all,” said Hishammuddin.
Najib on March 24 had said that the new radar analysis had concluded that flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.
Family members of passengers in the ill-fated jetliner, especially those from China, had been highly critical of the government’s announcement that the plane had “ended in Indian Ocean”. They want the government to provide them with tangible proof to show that the plane had crashed in the ocean.
“We understand that it has been a difficult time for all the families. And we appreciate that many families want to see physical evidence before they will accept that MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean,” said Hishammuddin today.
“We find ourselves in a difficult position. I repeat: the question that the families principally want answered, is the question we simply do not have the answer to – namely, where their loved ones are, and where is MH370,” he added.
He added that the government, together with its international partners, will continue searching, and will keep investigating.
“We will never give up until we find out what happened to MH370,” he said.
Hishammuddin’s clarification on what Najib had said – or did not mention – only added confusion to the situation.
Najib’s statement on March 24
This is what Najib said in a hastily arranged 10pm press conference on March 24:
“This evening I was briefed by representatives from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). They informed me that Inmarsat, the UK company that provided the satellite data which indicated the northern and southern corridors, has been performing further calculations on the data. Using a type of analysis never before used in an investigation of this sort, they have been able to shed more light on MH370’s flight path.
“Based on their new analysis, Inmarsat and the AAIB have concluded that MH370 flew along the southern corridor, and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth.
“This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites. It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.
“We will be holding a press conference tomorrow with further details. In the meantime, we wanted to inform you of this new development at the earliest opportunity. We share this information out of a commitment to openness and respect for the families, two principles which have guided this investigation.
“Malaysia Airlines have already spoken to the families of the passengers and crew to inform them of this development. For them, the past few weeks have been heartbreaking; I know this news must be harder still. I urge the media to respect their privacy, and to allow them the space they need at this difficult time.”
An hour earlier on the same day, Malaysia Airlines sent SMS to family members to state:
“Malaysia Airlines deeply regrets that we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board survived. As you will hear in the next hour from Malaysia’s Prime Minister, we must now accept all evidence suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean.”
Taken as a whole, the prime minister’s statement on March 24 gave the clearest hint yet that MH370 had indeed crashed in the Indian Ocean, although he never used the ‘crash’ word.
This morning, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters that all evidence points to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 being lost in the remote Indian Ocean.
“The accumulation of evidence is that the aircraft has been lost and it has been lost somewhere in the south of the Indian Ocean,” he told reporters at the Perth military base coordinating the search.
“That’s the absolutely overwhelming wave of evidence and I think that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was perfectly entitled to come to that conclusion, and I think once that conclusion had been arrived at, it was his duty to make that conclusion public,” he said.
Najib to visit Perth
On a related matter, Hishammuddin said that Najib will be travelling to Perth on Wednesday for a working visit to the Pearce Air force base.
“He is going there to see the operations first hand and also to thank the personnel involved in the multinational search effort, including the Malaysian personnel,” he said.
Hishammuddin on the other hand will be attending the Asean Defence Minister’s meeting in Hawaii from tomorrow until April 3. The meeting is convened by the United States Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
“I will leave tonight for the US Pacific Command in Hawaii. On behalf of the Malaysian government, I will share with my Asean counterparts and the government of the US, the latest developments regarding the search for MH370,” he said.
He added that he will also discuss the possibility of deploying more specific military assets in the event Malaysia needs to embark on a more complex phase of the operation.
“I shall be discussing with the US, and our other friends and allies, how best we can acquire the assets needed for possible deep sea search and recovery.”
Search continues
On the operational update, Hishammuddin said that nine military aircraft and one civilian aircraft travelled to the search area today.
These planes were two Malaysian C-130, one Chinese Ilyushin IL-76, one Japanese Coast Guard G5, one Australian P3 Orion, one New Zealand P3 Orion, one New Zealand civilian aircraft, one American P8 Poseidon, one Japanese P3 Orion and one Korean P3 Orion.
Eleven ships were also deployed to the search area which include eight Chinese ships, namely, the
Xue Long, the Kunlunshan, the Haikou, the Qiandaohu Jian, the Jing Gang Shan, the Haixun, the Dong Hai Jian and the Nan Hai Jian. The three Australian ships were the HMAS Success, the HMAS Toowoomba and MV Barkley Pearl, which is currently transiting in the search area.The Malaysian ship, the KD Lekiu, is expected to arrive in the search area on April 3.
The ADV Ocean Shield – fitted with the towed pinger locator and a Bluefin 21 autonomous underwater vehicle – is due to arrive in the search area also on April 3.
MH370 disappeared from the radar on March 8 while on a routine flight from KLIA to Beijing, with 239 passengers and crew members on board.
Investigators deduced that the plane’s communications and transponder had been disabled, the plane then diverted from its original course and headed towards the Indian Ocean.
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