Kamal Haasan’s latest flick to be on MH370

The Tamil star is believed to begin pre-production work for the movie next month.

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PETALING JAYA: While the world acknowledges the first anniversary of one of aviation’s greatest mysteries – the disappearance of MAS flight MH370, one Tamil superstar plans to make a move based on it.

According to online India news portal www.iluvcinema.in, Kamal Haasan is believed to be producing the movie under the Raj Kamal Films International banner, with pre-production work scheduled for next month, The Rakyat Post reported.

Besides the Tamil hotshot, the movie will be directed by top choreographer Prabhu Deva, who has a string of Tamil, Telugu and Bollywood hits to his credit.

Kamal Haasan meanwhile has a movie that will be released soon, Uthama Villain, which he produced, wrote and acted in.

MAS admits maintenance oversight over MH370’s expired beacon battery

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) said today that the expired battery for its underwater locator beacon (ULB) would not make any difference in the search for the missing MH370 jetliner, following revelation in yesterday's interim report that the beacon battery for the flight data recorder had expired more than a year earlier.

It admitted that it was a maintenance scheduling oversight, but said a similar ULB unit was also installed with the Solid State Cockpit Voice Recorder (SSCVR) and as such, the battery life was still valid on the day of the incident on March 8, 2014.

"The SSCVR battery would have been transmitting for 30 days upon activation when immersed in water," the statement said.

Beijing-bound flight MH370, with 227 passengers and 12 crew members, went missing from radar screen about an hour after it departed Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 8 last year.

Yesterday, a 584-page interim report into the disappearance of the Boeing 777-200ER said the beacon battery for the flight data recorder had expired in December 2012 and was not replaced.

As stated in the findings of the report, the Engineering Maintenance System was not updated correctly when the ULB battery was first installed.

MAS said this was a maintenance scheduling oversight.

Welcoming the report published by the Transport Ministry, MAS said it would continue to cooperate with investigations and act on recommendations in the final report.

"MAS lost 13 dear friends and colleagues on board the flight. We also want to find all of the answers as fast as possible," the statement said.

Meanwhile, on the consignment of Motorola Lithium-ion batteries, MAS said they were physically inspected by MASKargo personnel in Penang and customs inspectors, prior to being sealed leaving the Penang Cargo Complex.

"The inspection procedures followed for this consignment are in line with those defined by the International Civil Aviation Organisation." it said.

In terms of improvements of safety, MAS said it has taken steps in response to the loss of the plane.

The airline said it consistently adhered to the standards required by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) programme, as part of its compliance with IATA membership requirements.

This month, MAS said it would voluntarily adopt the Enhanced IATA Operational Safety Audit to further enhance operational safety and security practices.

"Flight tracking and monitoring procedures are being enhanced. We have upgraded our Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) across the entire MAS fleet.

"Since December 2014, the B777 fleet ACARS position report intervals have been changed from the 30 minute ACARS protocol previously in place, to match the recent ICAO mandated 15 minute reporting interval.

"Our B737-8, A330 and A380 fleet are now set at 10 minute reporting intervals.

It added it was also preparing to upgrade flight tracking application using the SITA system.

"Once implemented, every aircraft will be tracked using ADS-B, Ground Radar and ACARS. This will allow the dispatcher to see both the aircraft’s actual track and projected track.

"Flight planning and flight monitoring is also now better integrated." it said. – March 9, 2015.

MH370 flew with expired underwater beacon battery

Official investigation shows battery shelf life ended 14 months before

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KUALA LUMPUR: The battery for the underwater locator beacon on the MH370 flight data recorder, one of the two “black boxes” on the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft, had expired in December 2012, about 14 months before the plane went missing, according to the official investigation.

There was no evidence to suggest that the battery had been replaced before the expiry date, the report said.

However, the battery for the beacon on the cockpit voice recorder, the other black box, was replaced as scheduled in June 2014.

Underwater beacons are required by international law to work for a minimum of 30 days.

The report said that “while there is a definite possibility that a ULB will operate past the expiry date on the device, it is not guaranteed that it will work or that it would meet the 30-day minimum requirement.

“There is also limited assurance that the nature of the signal (characteristics such as frequency and power) will remain within specification when battery voltage drops below the nominal 30-day level,” the official Factual Information report said.

Both crash-protected recorders were equipped as provided by the regulations with ULB whose transmission time is at least 30 days, on the 37.5 kHz frequency, operating depth up to 20,000 ft (6096 m) and activated with fresh or salt water immersion.

Technical log records showed that the flight data recorder and its beacon was replaced on 29 Feb 2008; the installation records showed that the expiry date for the ULB battery was December 2012.

Interviews with the MAS Engineering staff revealed that the Engineering Maintenance System computer to track and call out maintenance was not updated correctly when the flight data recorder was replaced in February 2008.

Although the old unit was removed from the system, the new unit was inadvertently not installed.

As the system record was not updated “it did not trigger for the removal of the SSFDR for replacement of the ULB battery when it was due,” the report said.

This oversight was not noted until after MH370 disappeared a year ago today, when details of the ULBs were requested.

The report said MAS Engineering had since carried out a fleet-wide inspection of ULB records to ensure that the records of other aircraft were updated accordingly.

- BERNAMA

Factual Report On MH370 Gives Convincing Details Flight Ends In Indian Ocean

KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Bernama) -- The Factual Information on the investigation of Malaysian Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 provides a clearer picture and more convincing information that MH370 ended in the Indian Ocean.

Principal Specialist at Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology, University Kuala Lumpur Ahmad Maulan Bardai said the collected satellite data had shown detailed path of the flight before it lost contact completely.

"Now we are more convinced that it had ended in the Indian Ocean. Analysis of data from the Inmarsat has shown the flight had changed course after flying passed the tip of Sumatra and heading to the southerly direction.

"And based on that information, it is right that the search and rescue team search in the Indian Ocean," he told Bernama.

The report, released by Malaysian International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370 on Sunday detailed records of preparations for the flight, communications between cockpit and air traffic control, flight path collected from various satellite data, its crew and cargo on that ill-fated flight.

Aircraft information and flight history of MH370 was also recorded in the report.

The Beijing bound flight MH370 disappeared from radar screens with all 239 passengers and crew on board on March 8, 2014.

It had made an air turn back from its intended flight path an hour after it took off from KL International Airport (KLIA) at 12.42am.

Ahmad Maulan said that the fuel capacity of the aircraft on that ill-fated flight had enabled it to travel towards the south.

The report had revealed that MH370 carried 49,100 kilogrammes of fuel that gave an endurance of seven and an half hours. The planned flight duration was five hours and 34 minutes, it said.

"The aircraft can travel 900 kilometers per hour. From the time it made an air turn back, it can still fly for another 5,400 kilometres," Ahmad Maulan said, adding that it could have glided for another hour without fuel before it ended in the Indian Ocean.

On another matter, he said that underwater locator beacon (ULB) battery of the solid state flight data recoder (SSFDR), which was reported expired 14 months before the accident, had no major impact on the recording as SSFDR was operated by aircraft power.

"The only unfortunate thing when the battery expired was that it would not be able to emit beacon when the plane crashed," he said.

However, he noted that the fact how the expired battery was not changed and that it had been overlooked by aircraft safety auditing report was rather questionable.

-- BERNAMA

MH370 next of kin recall their disbelief at news of missing plane

United in sorrow, the next of kin of crew members on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 gathered tonight for strength and solidarity as they recounted the disbelief and terror they felt one year ago upon hearing that the plane carrying their loved ones had vanished.

"Oh My God, oh my God, oh my God, what's going on, what's going on," was the first thing Melanie Antonio said when she first heard the news of the Beijing-bound jetliner's disappearance on March 8, 2014.

Antonio, the wife of chief steward Andrew Nari recalled the shock and the speechlessness she felt that morning.

"They said the flight had lost contact and I said, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, what's going on, what's going on... seriously that's what I said because I was shocked," she told The Malaysian Insider tonight at the One Year Remembrance of MH370 Cabin Crew Families event in Petaling Jaya.

There were 12 crew members, including the pilot and co-pilot, on board the plane that lost contact with civilian radar over the waters off Vietnam as it headed towards Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. The plane then did an air turn back before flying southwards to the Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have ended, and where a massive undersea search is ongoing.

Kelvin Shim, whose wife Christine Tan was the lead stewardess, said he told himself that what he was experiencing could not be true.

"My first reaction was to feel very scared, and I called my mum. I was telling myself, it could't be me.

He said he was first informed by WhatsApp about a missing plane at around 8.30am on March 8.

"First, I received the information on WhatsApp about an aircraft missing, then later, it was a Malaysia Airlines plane that had gone missing. I knew it was a Beijing-bound flight, but I didn't know how many flights go to Beijing in one day."

"After I saw the WhatsApp, I quickly checked whether the flight number was the same with the flight that she boarded," he said.

With the current search in the southern Indian Ocean expected to end in May, Shim said he hoped the government would continue trying to find the plane.

"If nothing is found, I hope the government would sit down again, analyze all the information, data and continue to search."

"I'm not sure whether they should search other areas. The world is so big, I can understand that you can't simply search everywhere, the search is expensive. You have to depend on correct data, then only you search," he said.

Another spouse of a crew member, Choi Loong Chow, said he last spoke with his wife Goh Sock Lay, at 9.24pm on March 7, before she boarded the plane.

She reminded him to apply for leave from work in April to observe the Qing Ming festival, a time when Chinese clear the graves of their ancestors and pay respect to them.

"That day on March 7, around 9.24pm, she first called me when I had my shower, but I didn't pick up, so she called me a second time at my other phone. She talked in a very rushed manner, saying, Daddy, daddy…I remind you, we need to go back to Malacca for Qing Ming," Choi said.

Jacquita Gonzales, the wife of steward Patrick Gomes said the first thing she did after hearing of the plane's loss of contact was to send him a message.

"That was my first message, Where are you."

"Right now at this time last year, our spouses were preparing to go on the flight, we were having dinner, right now, almost a year ago. My husband was playing with his grandson on the iPad," Gonzales said, adding that the memory was still fresh in her mind.

"[If only we could] just press the rewind button," she said.

The gathering tonight observed a minute of silence.

Gonzales, speaking on behalf of the next of kin of the crew members, then gave a speech thanking several parties, including the Malaysian government, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, then acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor, and Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin, who had headed a committee for the next of kin.

"Thank you to Malaysia and to every other country that has sent us prayers and wishes, to tell us to be strong, and keep the faith," she said, adding that they also thanked the search team of MH370.

Hamzah, who attended the gathering tonight, said he decided to be with the next of kin even though he was supposed to be at an Umno meeting in Perak.

"I realise the importance of someone from the government to assure them that the government will always be with them," he said, adding that he would follow through with the issues raised in the interim investigation report on the plane that is expected to be released on Sunday. As required by international aviation convention, an interim report on any air disaster must be released a year from the incident. – March 7, 2015.

Makhluk asing? Teori MH370 terus meliar

MH370 families vow not to give up hope until there is proof

Just three days to the first anniversary of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370, families of the missing passengers and crew have vowed not to give up hope until there is physical evidence of the aircraft.

In a statement today, Voice370 – a group made up of wives, husbands, children, parents and other close relatives of the missing passengers and crew – also called on Putrajaya to commit to the search for the missing plane and their loved ones until they are found.

"Despite the complete lack of wreckage found or physical evidence of a catastrophic event, the Malaysian government has officially declared that the airplane crashed, leaving no survivors, and it has ended the rescue phase of the search effort.

"We do not accept this finding and we will not give up hope until we have definitive proof of what happened to MH370," it said.

On March 8 last year, flight MH370 vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. There has so far not been any signs of the plane and those on board.

Voice370 said it was unlikely that on Sunday, the next of kin would find out anything more about the final moments of the flight or the whereabouts of their family members.

It said the disaster had been devastating for the families and caring people all over the world, and in the months following the disappearance of the plane, MH370 families were subjected to "a disorganised barrage of information from varied sources, much of which later proved to be incorrect".

"This included when the plane’s transponder and Acars (Aircraft Communications and Reporting System) stopped sending data in relation to the crew’s last recorded radio call, what was said in the last radio call, what items were stored in the plane’s cargo bay, and other critical details.

"We were initially told that the airplane went either on a northern route, which would bring it over land and possible landing sites, or a southern route, but the possibility of a northern route was quickly abandoned.

"Since then, the entire search effort has been focused on a relatively small area of the southern Indian Ocean, a search area that was determined by a never-before-employed analysis of automatic communications between the plane and a communications satellite."

Voice370 said the determination of the area as the only place to search remained questionable, and accused Putrajaya of abandoning hope of finding their loved ones alive early in the search effort.

Recalling the March 24 announcement by the government last year that MH370 had crashed into the southern Indian Ocean and that there was no hope of survivors, Voice370 said some families only received the information by text message.

It added that the announcement was "emotionally devastating" and "unacceptable" at the time, when it was too early to make such a determination, especially given the mistakes, miscalculations, misinformation and lack of crash evidence associated with the search then.

The group also recounted the second blow, which came with little warning when Putrajaya declared on January 29 that the plane was lost in an accident and all on board were killed, and that the rescue effort would be called off.

It expressed concern that the January 29 announcement was the first step towards the government calling off the search effort completely, with the underwater search of the area of the southern Indian Ocean scheduled for completion in May this year.

"We do not accept this declaration and will not give up hope until we have definitive proof of a crash and a determination of location – even if it is just one piece of the wreckage.

“The majority of that area has already been searched with no findings. The search must continue and all options explored if nothing is found in the coming weeks.

“Finding MH370 is important not only for humanitarian reasons, but also to discover out what caused the plane to disappear," they said, expressing fears that MAS and Putrajaya wanted to put the tragedy behind them.

Voice370 said the group harboured no ill-will towards MAS, which is going through a restructuring exercise to recover from the tragedies it suffered last year, including the shooting down of flight MH17 in Ukraine, but added that it could not accept the government's announcements and move on.

The group also asked MAS and its insurer to treat the MH370 families with compassion. They said neither had offered settlements to the families other than a US$50,000 (RM180,000) advance per family.

"They told us that we will need to prove our losses in accordance with whatever the law in our home countries requires MAS to pay. This plan, however, is in stark contrast to how we understand other families have been treated in recent accidents," it said.

It said that in the TransAsia Flight 222 crash, the airline reportedly offered each family approximately US$500,000 and did not require the affected families to go through the painful steps of proving their emotional and financial losses as the investigation unfolded.

"We ask Malaysia Airlines and its insurer to treat us fairly, to not require us to initiate the painful process of obtaining death certificates in order to discuss compensation, and to consider the benefits to not only us, but the future of the airline, if we are treated with compassion," it said.

The group also expressed gratitude to the countries that helped in the search for MH370, and the people around the world who sent their good wishes and sympathies as the families endured the tragedy.

Voice370 is organising “A Day of Remembrance” on Sunday to pay tribute to their missing loved ones at The Square @ Publika in Kuala Lumpur from 3.30pm to 6.30pm. The event will also feature live links to India, France, Australia and New Zealand. – March 5, 2015.

MH370: Australia has no plans to abandon search

The Australian government said discussions are not under way to call off the search.

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CANBERRA: Australian Transport Minister Warren Truss has insisted that Australia, China and Malaysia have no plans to abandon the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 off Western Australia.

The Australian newspaper said Truss’s spokesman issued a statement today denying that the three nations were discussing calling off the search.

“Discussions are not under way to call off the search,” the spokesman said.

“Discussions are ongoing about the search.”

Reuters new agency had quoted Truss as saying the search could not go on indefinitely and discussions were already being held with China and Malaysia about whether to call the search off within weeks.

MH370 and its 239 passengers and crew vanished on March 8 last year while on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

No trace of the aircraft or those aboard has been found.

Truss’s spokesman said that with more than 40 per cent of the 60,000 square kilometre priority area searched so far, the government remained cautiously optimistic about finding the aircraft.

“If, however, the plane is not found at the completion of the search, expected around May 2015, then discussions will be had between Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia and potentially others on the next steps,” the spokesman said.

“But to be clear. We are not in discussions to call off the search.”

A pilot did it, says documentary on MH370

An aviation safety expert suggests that someone in the cockpit deliberately flew the plane towards Antarctica.

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PETALING JAYA: A documentary video on Flight MH370 concludes that a pilot was responsible for the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines plane.

The 44-minute video appears on YouTube and is said to be a leaked National Geographic documentary scheduled for airing on March 8, the anniversary of the tragedy.

On March 8 last year, what was meant to be a routine night flight turned out to be the aviation industry’s worst nightmare. A Boeing 777 carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew flown by Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and first officer Fariq Abdul Hamid disappeared without a trace after taking off at 12.41am from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing.

In the video, former air force and airline pilot John Nance, an internationally recognised expert in aviation safety, said the conversation in the cockpit before the plane went missing had gone according to routine.

At 1.19am, air traffic control in KL made its last transmission to MH370. The crew was then expected to contact air traffic control in Vietnam in less than one minute, but 19 minutes later there was no word from the plane, and it had disappeared from radar screens. Malaysian and Vietnamese controllers scrambled to contact it, but could not elicit any response from the cockpit.

Following this, Malaysian authorities launched a massive search for the missing plane, and were later joined by Australia, the US and China.

But things proved difficult as Flight MH370 had disappeared over the Gulf of Thailand, where there was limited radar coverage. So they turned to the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), which used satellite to transmit information between the ground and aircraft in flight.

But unlike GPS, ACARS does not provide constant location data, and without knowing the flight’s direction, there was not much to go on.

While scrutinising the plane’s passenger manifest, authorities discovered that two persons had boarded the plane illegally, leading investigators to examine the possibility that the plane had been hijacked.

On March 11, the Malaysian military released radar data that seemed to support a hijacking theory. Three minutes after its last radio call, MH370 had made a sharp turn off course.

Also, photos from a previous flight of Fariq posing with a passenger surfaced and sparked speculation that the cockpit’s security had been compromised.

But aviation experts dismissed the hijacking theory. Nance pointed out that pilots had several ways to send emergency signals during a possible hijacking – radios, emergency frequencies, ACARS, and codes to key into the transponder. Air traffic controllers never received any of these, and the two suspects travelling on stolen passports were cleared as they had no links to terrorism.

Fire theory doused

Authorities then focused on why the plane’s transponder cut off two minutes after the last communication from the cockpit, followed by signals from the ACARS.

According to Nance, this could be attributed either to a purposeful act or an emergency, such as a fire.

Malcolm Brenner, the US National Transportation Safety Board’s former senior investigator, agreed that a fire could have affected the capabilities of the ACARS.

The video suggested that the plane might have changed course to prepare for an emergency landing.

But the fire theory was doused by Nance, who pointed out there was no radio call and the plane was later discovered to have flown for seven hours after it disappeared.

In London, a team of engineers at Immarsat, which runs a satellite system, uncovered a series of automated signals received from MH370 long after it had vanished from radar screens. The signals continued from 2.25am until 8.19am. This meant the plane had not crashed over the Gulf of Thailand, but had enough fuel to fly for seven hours.

Another theory the video explored was that the plane suffered pressurisation failure and flew for hours on auto pilot.

But well before hypoxia (lack of oxygen) could set in, the plane had made three turns, taking the plane south towards Antarctica over the next one and a half hours.

Brenner concluded that this suggested that someone in the cockpit deliberately flew the plane off course.

“The flight over the next hour makes a few more turns that appear to be human directed and finally ends up heading to Antarctica. So it is apparent that this was a carefully thought out action to evade detection,” he said.

Brenner added, “It is conceivable that a pilot could deliberately de-pressurise the airplane as part of an effort to hijack the airplane or take it for some purpose.”

The video also explored the possibility that the pilot had sent the first officer for a coffee and locked the door. Then, he could have switched off the transponder and changed course to somewhere with little radar coverage, and later switched off the ACARS without realising that some part of the signal would remain on.

“Somebody did this and it was a pilot,” said Nance. “Whether it was one of the two individuals up front, or in charge of keeping the plane safe, or whether it was somebody else, we do not know.

“I feel very strongly, very very strongly, given all the evidence we think we have – we always have to put that caveat on it – that whoever did this intended for the airplane and the passengers to simply vanish from the planet” he added.

Missing MH370 data 'strongly suggests' the Malaysia Airlines jet was deliberately flown off course towards ANTARCTICA, experts tell new documentary

• New documentary tries to find out what happened to flight MH370
• Satellite data suggests plane flew for hours after losing contact
• Expert says it 'strongly suggests' it was deliberately flown off course
• Australian search co-ordinator confident MH370 will be found by May
• Flight vanished on March 8, 2014 travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing

By Sara Malm for MailOnline and Louise Cheer for Daily Mail Australia

Flight MH370 may have been deliberately flown off course by someone in the cockpit, a new documentary claims.

Aviation disaster experts have analysed satellite data from the lost Malaysian Airlines flight and discovered that the plane flew on for hours after losing contact.

Careful examination of the evidence has revealed that MH370 made three turns after the last radio call, first a turn to the left, then two more, taking the plane west, then south towards Antarctica.

According to Malcolm Brenner, a world's leading expert in the causes of aviation disasters, those turns 'strongly suggest' someone in the cockpit deliberately flew MH370 off course.

'This accident has caught the attention of the world in a way I have not seen in a forty-year career in aviation,' Mr Brenner says.

The claims are being made in a new National Geographic documentary out next month where Mr Brenner and a team of experts try to solve the mystery of MH370.

This follows confident claims by the Australian co-ordinator of the search that the doomed jetliner will be found within the next few months.

As the current search for the Malaysia Airlines plane is set to wrap up by the end of May, Australian Transport Safety Bureau Commissioner Martin Dolan said he was hopeful his team would unearth the wreckage by then, News.com.au reported.

But the Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre is remaining tight lipped about the issue, saying the Chinese, Malaysian and Australian governments would be assessing what to do next.

Flight MH370 vanished on March 8, 2014 while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

No trace of the jet has been recovered since then but Mr Dolan believes his team are close to discovering the wreckage.

'I don't wake up every day thinking 'This will be the day' but I do wake up every day hoping this will be it, and expecting that sometime between now and May that will be the day,' Commissioner Dolan told News Corp.

'It's been both baffling and from our point of view unprecedented - not only the mystery of it, but also on the scale of what we're doing to find the aircraft.

'As we keep on pointing out, we don't have a certainty only a confidence that we'll find the missing aircraft.'

The search for MH370 has so far been fruitless, with the crash site initially thought to be in the South China Sea or Gulf of Thailand.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2965399/Missing-MH370-data-strongly-suggests-Malaysia-Airlines-jet-deliberately-flown-course-ANTARCTICA-experts-tell-new-documentary.html

Bad weather sees MAS flight diverted

Kuala Lumpur flight bound to Kota Kinabalu is diverted to Miri due to bad weather.

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KOTA KINABALU: A Malaysia Airlines flight bound for Kota Kinabalu was diverted to Miri after encountering bad weather this morning.

According to the New Straits Times, MAS flight MH2604 took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 7.30am and was scheduled to land at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport at 10.05am.

Reassuring passengers that no technical issue had cropped up, the official statement from Kota Kinabalu Malaysia Airport Holding Berhad confirmed bad weather was the only cause for the diversion.

“There was no technical issue. It was the bad weather,” their operator said.

Family of ex-MAS steward held in Paris appeals to Putrajaya for help

Breaking their silence for the first time, the tearful family of a former Malaysia Airlines flight steward detained in Paris since August for alleged sexual assault on a passenger, today appealed to Putrajaya to bring him home..

The former MAS employee’s eldest daughter Syaza, 24, said under Article 3 of the Tokyo Convention 1963, her father should be brought back to Malaysia instead of being held in France.

Both Malaysia and France are signatories to the Tokyo Convention 1963, which is a multilateral treaty on offences and certain other acts committed on board an aircraft.

Article 3 states that the state of registration of the aircraft is competent to exercise jurisdiction over offences and acts committed on board.

Therefore, Syaza said, there were grounds for her father to be brought back to Malaysia to be investigated for the offence which he had been accused of.

The former MAS flight steward had been accused of sexually assaulting an Australian passenger during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Paris.

The alleged assault occurred aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH20 on August 7. The steward was detained by French authorities upon arrival in Paris.

A hastily convened press conference was held today by the National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) at Holiday Villa in Subang Jaya.

Also present were Syaza and her husband Mohamad Faiq Ilhan, their legal counsel Shailender Bhar and Nufam president Ismail Nasaruddin.

Despite being detained since August, the former flight steward, who had served MAS for 32 years, has not been charged or tried by French authorities.

Syaza said that she, her mother, an aunt and Faiq had flown to Paris last month and met with her father three times for about 30 to 45 minutes.

"When we met my father for the first time in two months, we did not speak much as we were all overcome with emotion.

"My father looked so sad and depressed, he had also lost about 20kg. The weight loss was due to dietary issues in the prison," Syaza said, as tears rolled down her cheeks.

She suggested that one of the "dietary issues" involved the availability of halal food, as the same food is provided to all detainees.

"He is being detained in a prison where he is confined in a cell with other suspects, most of whom are French."

Syaza also expressed scepticism over the accusations levelled against her father by the passenger, saying it did not sound logical.

"My father is the sole male in our household as he has three daughters besides my mother. So I do not believe he would behave inappropriately."

Syaza said the saddest moment was their third and final meeting with their father, as the family knew they had to return to Malaysia.

"As winter is approaching, we bought some warm clothing for him as he has been borrowing clothing from his colleagues," she said.

Shailender told reporters that under French law, the 54-year-old former steward could be detained for up to 10 years without being tried.

"I have asked around and the average detention period is about four years," Shailender said.

"Just imagine if you were to go for a holiday and get detained for up to 10 years in a foreign country based on a mere accusation," he said.

Meanwhile, Ismail (pic, left) took aim at Malaysia Airlines, saying the national carrier was trying to wash its hands of the incident.

On Thursday, MAS confirmed that it had sacked the flight steward, despite the fact that he had not been charged or tried for the alleged incident.

Ismail said the letter of dismissal had been sent to the flight steward while he was still languishing in an overseas detention centre.

Ismail said MAS gave the flight steward 60 days to appeal against the termination on grounds of "misconduct", but added that he could not appeal as he had no idea he had been sacked.

The union has since referred the matter to the Industrial Relations Department. – November 15, 2014

MAS confirms it sacked employee for alleged sexual assault

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) today confirmed that it terminated the services of a flight attendant who had been held in a Paris detention centre since August for alleged sexual assault on a passenger.

But, in a statement to The Malaysian Insider, the national carrier said it was not at liberty to discuss the matter further as the case was under the judicial purview of the Industrial Relations Department (IRD).

”Malaysia Airlines is not at liberty to comment on the matter as it is currently under the judicial purview of the authorities and we confirm that the person is no longer an employee of the company," the statement read.

Earlier today, The Malaysian Insider reported that the employee, who had served MAS for 32 years, was notified of his termination in a letter that was sent to his home in the Klang Valley two weeks after the alleged incident.

National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) president Ismail Nasaruddin said the letter was sent while he was still languishing in an overseas detention centre.

Ismail said that MAS gave the attendant 60 days to appeal against the termination on grounds of "misconduct", but added that he could not appeal as he had no idea he had been sacked.

The union had since referred the matter to the IRD to reinstate the 57-year-old employee.

The attendant was detained on August 7 after an Australian passenger Laura Bushney, 26, said he had sexually assaulted her twice during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Paris.

Bushney said the first incident occurred on the flight before it took off.

The second incident took place three-and-a-half hours later while the plane flew over the Bay of Bengal, India, in international airspace.

The passenger apparently expressed her nervousness about flying over the Indian Ocean following the disappearance of flight MH370 and the downing of flight MH17.

The passenger, it was reported, lodged a police report upon reaching the Charles de Gaulle airport on August 5.

Ismail said MAS had not provided any assistance to the family of the attendant, adding that the Malaysian embassy in Paris was the one helping him and the family cope.

He said that MAS wanted to wash its hands of the incident as it was struggling from the negative publicity generated following the MH370 and MH17 incidents.

On March 8, Flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, went off the radar over the South China Sea, an hour after takeoff from the KL International Airport at 12.41am. The aircraft was bound for Beijing, China.

Efforts to locate the aircraft are still ongoing in the southern Indian Ocean but there has been no trace of the jet yet.

Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft is believed to have been shot down by a ground-to-air missile. – November 13, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/mas-confirms-it-sacked-employee-for-alleged-sexual-assault#sthash.U5va8kK9.dpuf

MAS sacks steward held for alleged sexual crime, union, lawyers cry foul

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has fired a flight steward languishing in a Paris detention centre since August, even before he is charged and tried for an alleged sexual assault, says the national flight attendants union.

The union, which is crying foul over the sacking, said the action by the loss-making flag carrier was unlawful and against the rules of natural justice.

National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) president Ismail Nasaruddin told The Malaysian Insider that the employee who had served the national carrier for 32 years was notified of his termination in a letter that was sent to his home in the Klang Valley two weeks after the alleged incident.

"This is unprecedented as the letter was sent when he is still languishing in an overseas detention centre," said Ismail.

Ismail said MAS had given the steward 60 days to appeal against the termination on grounds of "misconduct".

"How is he going to appeal when he didn’t know that he was sacked from his employment?" Ismail asked.

The union has referred the matter to the Industrial Relations Department to reinstate the 57-year-old employee.

Ismail alleged that MAS had divorced itself from the case, and had not provided any assistance to the family of the steward.

"It is the Malaysian Embassy in Paris that has been helping our member and his family to cope during this difficult time," said Ismail, who expressed frustration and unhappiness over the way MAS had handled the case.

Ismail also said that MAS wanted to wash its hands off the incident as it was struggling from the negative publicity generated following the missing MH370 flight and downed MH17 flight.

On March 8, Flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, went off the radar over the South China Sea, an hour after takeoff from the KL International Airport at 12.41am. The aircraft was bound for Beijing, China.

Efforts to locate the aircraft are still ongoing in the southen Indian Ocean but there has been no trace of the jet yet.

Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 enroute from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft is believed to have been shot down by a ground-to-air missile.

Lawyer Ragunath Kesavan said that MAS, as the employer, should have made an effort to secure the release of the steward from the detention centre.

"The employee is deemed innocent until proven guilty by a court and MAS should have gone all the way to secure his freedom from the detention centre," he said.

He said the alleged sexual misdemeanour also took place when the steward was on duty.

Describing the sacking as extremely harsh, Ragunath said that MAS could have suspended him and paid 50% of his wages.

"The sacking is very harsh and the right of the employee's livelihood and his dependants have been affected," added Ragunath, who also handles employment and industrial dispute cases.

He said a domestic inquiry should have been held so that the union or the family members could have appeared before the committee to explain what had transpired.

"MAS could redeem itself by restoring the employment of the cabin crew when the matter comes for conciliation before the (Industrial Relations) department," he added.

Ragunath said a gross injustice had been done to the steward who was still being investigated for the crime in France.

"Why is it taking such a long time? In Malaysia one is detained for only 14 days and thereafter must be charged or freed," he said.

Lawyer Shailender Bhar, who has been engaged by the steward's family, said French police had no jurisdiction to investigate the sexual assault on a passenger as the incident did not take place in that country or its air space.

The lawyer said that under the Tokyo Convention, the steward, who has been held by French police for investigation for sexual assault since August 5, should be sent home for investigation.

The Malaysian Insider understands that under the French criminal procedure code, a suspect could be held until the magistrate supervising the investigation gave the nod to frame charges or free the suspect.

There have been cases of suspects who remained in detention for up to four years although the law allows a maximum of 10 years.

Shailender said that from information gathered so far, the complainant, Australian Laura Bushney, 26, claimed that the first incident had occurred on the Paris-bound MAS Flight MH20 at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport before the flight took off.

The second incident took place three-and-a-half hours later while the plane flew over the Bay of Bengal, India, in international air space.

French news portal FranceTVInfo first reported that the steward had been detained for sexually assaulting a passenger during the flight.

The passenger had apparently expressed her nervousness about flying over the Indian Ocean following the disappearance of Flight MH370 and the downing of Flight MH17.

The passenger, it was reported, lodged a police report upon reaching the Charles de Gaulle airport on August 5.

The steward was then questioned and, two days later, taken into custody.

Doubts have been cast on Bushney’s allegations, however, after she appeared on an Australian television station to speak about the incident.

She had also recorded part of the alleged assault on her camera phone instead of trying to stop it, which viewers found illogical.

Social media users criticised Bushney after watching the 30-minute interview, calling her story far-fetched and accusing her of “doing it for money”.

Some questioned how she had managed to record the incident if she was indeed as scared as she had claimed.

Others also took issue with “compromising” photos of her on her Instagram account, but those posts have since been deleted. Some, though, said that as the victim, she should not be blamed.

Bushney had said in the programme that the steward had "begged me not to report the incident, while we were still in the air, as he had a wife and a child".

She said the steward took advantage of her fears about flying on MAS following the MH370 and MH17 incidents by sitting next to her and then eventually touching her on her legs and private parts. – November 13, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/mas-sacks-steward-held-for-alleged-sexual-crime-union-lawyers-cry-foul#sthash.YPOfuO3K.dpuf

Khazanah Promises Transparency On MAS Privatisation, Says MSWG

KELANA JAYA, Nov 6 (Bernama) -- Government investment arm, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, has promised to remain transparent on Malaysian Airline System Bhd's (MAS) restructuring process even after the airline's privatisation, Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group (MSWG) said.

General manager of corporate services, Lya Rahman, said long-time shareholders had voiced out their views and concern and Khazanah should take note of all this.

"Khazanah should be transparent all the way in whatever they do as this is national interest. Let Khazanah do their job and let's pray that it is a successful attempt after the previous attempt failed," she told reporters after MAS extraordinary general meeting here today.

On the balloting process, she said Khazanah's offer to acquire the remaining shares they did not owned at 27 sen, received strong approval from 93 per cent of the shareholders.

"I think shareholders know that they should accept this offer because if this thing does not go through, then they may not get anything at all," she said.

She said MSWG was also satisfied with the response from MAS on its questions and questions raised by the shareholders.

"They responded well," she said.

-- BERNAMA

MH370, MH17 Tragedies Were Caused Due to Un-Islamic Behaviours like 'Serving Alcohol and Exposing Flesh': Malaysian Official

IBTIMES

A senior lecturer of the National Defence University recognised as Ridhuan Tee, has offered a theological contention as the main reasons behind the tragedies of MH370 and MH17, implying that if the Malaysian airlines had adhered to Islamic behaviours or customs, the accidents would never have happened.

In his column titled "Buka Minda" (Open your mind) written for Malaysian publication, Sinar Harian on Monday, Tee said that Malaysian airlines MH370 went missing and MH17 was shot down earlier in the year simply because Malaysians are increasingly refusing to be more 'Islamic'.

He latched on the idea that more Islamic culture should be observed on board Malaysian flights, by narrating his own experience while flying a Royal Brunei Airlines fight recently.

"The flight began with a beautiful reciting of prayers and well wishes," that made him feel that "Allah was with us," he said in a quote translated by Free Malaysia Today.

"Aren't the lessons of MH17 and MH370 not enough?" Tee asked adding that these days the in-flight crew do not bother to dress in a more Islamic manner and that they serve alcohol – something that is prohibited in Islam.

Noting that the tourists "are practically bathing in alcohol in their own countries", the official concluded by offering an advice to Malaysian airlines in order to avoid accidents in future:

"My advice: observe a more Islamic way of life before Allah unleashes his wrath on you."

"Forget those who are not interested in entering heaven. They are but products of the West bent on destroying Muslims in our country."

This is the first time a relatively renowned senior official has provided a theological explanation on why the two flights met their fate earlier in the year.

Kiwi widow rejects MH370 compensation

Beneficiary told to fill detailed questionaire but declined after seeking legal advice.

FMT

WELLINGTON: A widow has rejected a US$50,000 offer by Malaysia Airlines for families of MH370 victims because of the conditions that came with it, the New Zealand Herald reported yesterday.

MAS had said that the US$50,000 compensation to the families of MH370 victims was only part of the final payment.

The Herald reported yesterday that widow of Kiwi victim Paul Weeks had rejected the offer because she was asked to fill out a detailed questionnaire, but after seeking legal advice, she was reluctant to do so.

A Malaysia Airlines spokesperson told the Herald that the offer was made in good faith with no strings attached.

Some victims had accepted the offer, however, the airline understood why others were hesitant.

“An advance compensation payment of US$50,000 has been offered to the families of each passenger on board MH370 to alleviate any immediate financial hardship,” the spokesperson said via email.

“The payment is being made in recognition of a non-binding, though widely followed international practice, with the amount being part of and to be offset against the final damages payable.

“The payment being offered is not conditional on the families waiving any rights to claim further compensation from the airline and the families remain free to take whatever further legal action they deem appropriate.

“However, in order to receive the payment full personal details have been requested to ensure that the amount is made to the legally entitled next of kin,” he said.

The spokesperson wanted to assure victims that full compensation would be offered regardless of whether they accepted the initial payment.

“The families are at liberty to either accept or reject the offer. The families were also advised that they can accept the payment later if they so wish,” he clarified.

The spokesperson could not comment further on when final compensation would be offered.

Voice370, the group Mrs Weeks helped set up for the families of the missing, criticised the offer at the weekend.

“Is any life worth so little?” the group asked.

“No sum of money, no matter how great, can compensate the families for our losses. No amount of money can ever take the pain away. True justice cannot be measured by money.”

The group said finding out what happened to MH370 was more important than compensation.

RM1 Million Pledge For Education Of MH370, MH17 Cabin Crew's Children

Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun HusseinGENTING HIGHLANDS, Sept 17 (Bernama) -- Eu Yan Sang and Genting Group have pledged RM500,000 each to kickstart the Flagbearer Education Foundation for the children of the cabin crew on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and MH370.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, who was appointed as the patron of the foundation, applauded Eu Yan Sang for establishing the foundation and other charitable drives that have improved the conditions of Malaysians who were less fortunate.

"My heart reaches out to the affected families (of the MH17 and MH370 tragedies). Their loss is great, an incomprehensible one that cannot be soothed by mere words of consolation and comfort.

"We could not begin to imagine their pain as much as we can try to be empathetic to their grieving. What we can do is to continue our best efforts to ensure that every affected family receives closure and to pray for the peace of those who have tragically departed regardless of our racial and religious background," he said in his speech at Eu Yan Sang's 135th Anniversary Celebration Gala Dinner, here, Wednesday night.

Hishammuddin said with the kind of struggles that the nation had been going through recently, it was extremely commendable to witness a strong sense of communal responsibility from the local industries that supported those who were in need.

"It echoes the aspiration of the government to have more private and public organisations undertake strong positions in their corporate social responsibility programmes that centre upon the ideology of mutual respect, love and charity.

"In the future, we hope to see more such entities embodying this philosophy as we strive to become a nation that is not only economically driven but also morally responsible," he said.

At the event, Eu Yan Sang also donated RM1.26 million to the Cancer Research Initiatives Foundation and the Registered Trustees of the Joseph William Yee Eu Foundation.

MAS MH198 to Hyderabad forced to turn back, emergency landing in KLIA

Malay Mail

A screengrab from Flightradar24’s Twitter feed showing MAS flight MH198's forced u-turn.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — Malaysian Airlines (MAS) flight MH198 from Kuala Lumpur to Hyderabad, India was forced to turn back and made an emergency landing at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport shortly after its departure last night after its crew detected a problem, global flight tracking agency Flightradar24 tweeted.

The Boeing 738 plane, which took off at 10.20pm last night, landed without incident at 2.01am today, MAS said in a statement posted on its website.

The national carrier attributed the cause for the turnback to a "technical problem" but did not go into specifics.

"The defect did not have any impact on the safety of the aircraft or passengers, however as a precautionary measure, the operating Captain decided to turn back," MAS said.

It added that the passengers aboard disembarked safely and have been provided with accommodation at hotels nearby the airport.

It also said Flight MH198 has been rescheduled to operate as MH198D and will leave the city at 12 noon today. The rescheduled flight is expected to land in for Hyderabad at 1.35pm local time today.

News of the unexpected emergency landing was first reported by Flightradar24, which said the plane started maintaining a holding position shortly after take-off and burnt fuel to prepare for an emergency landing.

"Yeah I was on #MH198 apparently some issues with their radio & they had to land manually after burning out fuel," a Twitter user posted on the microblogging site under the handle ‏@im_not_sana.

The late night incident follows two air disasters for MAS this year, the first being the mysterious disappearance of Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8.

More recently was the shooting down of Flight MH17 over Ukraine on July 17, killing all 298 people on board.

Safety Assurance Also For Journey To Crash Site - Hishammuddin

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein SEPANG, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- The safety of the Malaysian investigating team must not only be ensured at the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in Ukraine, but also throughout the journey there.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the decision to enter the crash site could only be made after receiving a detailed report from all parties, including the intelligence team.

"We need to know which side is controlling the area, and must abide by their instructions," he said at a press conference held upon his arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport here today, from a working visit to Ukraine, Russia and the Netherlands.

Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 after it was believed to have been shot down in the troubled country while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, with 283 passengers and 15 crew.

Besides 43 Malaysian passengers and crew, the other passengers included Dutch, Australian, Indonesian, British, German, Belgian, Philippine, Canadian and New Zealand nationals.

Hishammuddin also said the Malaysian investigating team would not be entering the crash site on their own but would be with teams from the Netherlands and Ukraine to reduce the risk.

On his visit to Ukraine, Russia and the Netherlands, Hishammuddin said it was complicated but had high hopes that all affected parties were on the same track as Malaysia.

While in Russia, he met with Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Borisovich Karasin and Dutch Defence Minister Hennis-Plasschaert.