Angry Chinese nationals barge into briefing room - Malaysiakini

 

There was chaos at the auditorium used by the authorities for the daily press briefings on Flight MH370 after a group of Chinese nationals barged in to speak to…

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There was chaos at the auditorium used by the authorities for the daily press briefings on Flight MH370 after a group of Chinese nationals barged in to speak to reporters.

The group, numbering at about a dozen people, said they were relatives of those on board the plane and want to express their anguish and anger after being brought to Malaysia, but are left with little information on the progress of the search for the missing plane.

A press officer announced through a microphone that the venue is for Department of Civil Aviation's (DCA) press conferences only, and security personnel arrived shortly after to remove the gatecrashers by force.

Some of them were seen crying and screaming as they were dragged into the media secretariat office in an adjacent room, which is off-limits to media personnel.

"I've been here for four days! Please help me get back my son!" cried one elderly woman in Mandarin.

"From the South China Sea and now elsewhere. We don't know where the plane had gone... There is no information at all," cried another person, who was on the verge of tears.

Another was seen carrying a banner which read "We are against the Malaysian government for hiding the truth and delaying the rescue. Release our families unconditionally!"

The entire episode lasted less than 10 minutes.

Hisham: It is heart-wrenching for me too

The incident happened as reporters were stationed in the auditorium. The standard practice is to reserve seats about an hour before the press briefing, which usually takes place at 5.30pm.

Relatives of some of the 152 Chinese nationals aboard the missing Flight MH370 have been flown to Malaysia and are currently staying at a hotel in Putrajaya.

MAS has claimed that they have been assigned a staff for each family in Malaysia and China, who will provide updates on the progress of the search.

However, there are some families who have grown impatient with the lack of progress while several families, in Beijing, have threatened to go on hunger strike.

Meanwhile, Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein (left), during the press briefing which followed, said he could empathise with what the families are going through.

"One of our main priorities is how to handle their emotions and the families. That is why we are sending a team to Beijing.

"I hope and appeal to everybody, that we are trying our very best. This is also heart-wrenching for me," he said.

Earlier during the briefing, Hishammuddin had also said that they are sending a high-level team that comprise of representatives of the prime minister, foreign ministry and the DCA to Beijing.

Fresh chaos

As the press briefing was going on, another round of commotion erupted elsewhere when the families were escorted out of the media secretariat office under heavy police guard at about 5.40pm.

Journalists were pushed away when they tried to approach the Chinese nationals as they were being taken to an upper floor.

Several journalist fell down while policemen could be heard shouting "tahan, tahan (detain them)"  at the press.

After the family members were led to the new room, a police line was formed outside to bar entry of pressmen.

"Who is the officer in charge here and why we are not allowed to talk to the Chinese families?" asked a BBC journalist while recording a live report.

The latter was later pushed against a wall while he tried to approach Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar for comment at about 6pm.

The police chief then entered the room without talking to the press.

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KJ: Wan Azizah too busy to become a good assemblyman

Hindu in Pakistan suffer acid attack for celebrating Holi

Three Hindus were injured in an acid attack during a religious festival in Pakistan’s southern port city Karachi on Monday, according to police.

“People were throwing colors on each other at…

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Three Hindus were injured in an acid attack during a religious festival in Pakistan’s southern port city Karachi on Monday, according to police.

“People were throwing colors on each other at a ceremony to celebrate [Hindu religious festival] Holi in Model Colony area, when one of the participants threw acid-mixed color on the crowd and sped away,” said Pir Mohammad Shah, a city police chief.

We can hardly doubt the motivation behind this attack on Minority Hindus in Pakistan. As per the Standing Committee on Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas, it is strictly prohibited for Muslims to take part, celebrate the festivals of Kuffar (Hindus). It reads:

It is not permissible for the Muslim to join the kuffaar in their festivals and to express joy and happiness on these occasions, or to take the day off work, whether the occasion is religious or secular, because this is a kind of imitating the enemies of Allaah, which is forbidden, and a kind of co-operating with them in falsehood. It was proven that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” [Fatwa no. 2540]

Muslims in Karachi believe that the attacker was a Hindu, ironically the acid-throwing incident follows the burning of a Hindu temple and a community office in the southern Larkana district on Sunday, by angry mobs protesting the alleged burning of a Quran by a Hindu.

Pakistan is a Muslim-majority country where Hindus are the second largest minority after the Christians. They make up 2 percent of the 180 million population.

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Diverted MH370 path never used by pilots before

Neither the pilot nor co-pilot of the missing Flight MH370 had any experience flying on areas which are now subject to search and rescue operations.

 

"None," Malaysia Airlines chief…

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Neither the pilot nor co-pilot of the missing Flight MH370 had any experience flying on areas which are now subject to search and rescue operations.

 

"None," Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya told journalists at the daily briefing for MH370 when queried about the pilot's and co-pilot's experience using the new route which diverted from the KLIA-Beijing route.

 

"As far as pilots are concerned, looking at the northern corridor, we do not fly there at all as a commercial airline.

 

"(For) the southern corridor, unless you fly to these islands, (but) we don't fly to any of these islands," he said at Sama-Sama Hotel, KL International Airport.

 

Based on satellite data, an international investigation team had established that the aircraft's last position could have been either in what is now known as a "northern corridor" which ranges from the northern Thai border to the borders of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan or the "souhern corridor" which ranges from Indonesia to South of the Indian Ocean.

 

The plane had at 1.30am on March 8 lost communication over the Gulf of Thailand and later detected by military and satellite data flying westwards, possibly for several hours, away from its destination.

 

Unfamiliar route

 

MAS' confirmation today indicate that pilot Zaharie Ahmah Shah or co-pilot Fariq Ab Hamid were flying on an unfamiliar route, if they were indeed the ones in control of the cockpit when communications with air traffic controllers were lost.

 

But MAS' official routes are not necessarily a measure of the pilots' real experience, as a Berita Harian report today quoted unnamed investigators saying Zaharie's flight simulator at home had five airstrips which he could practice on, including one which sits in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

 

While the other four airstrips in the simulator are situated in India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka, countries where MAS flies to, the British territory of Diego Garcia, located in the central Indian Ocean, is an exception.

 

Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein who was present at the press conference refused to confirm if these airstrips did indeed exist in the simulator, instead asked journalists quiz the police.

 

The aberration raises legitimate questions but does not necessarily suggest something devious, as it could also just be an innocent fascination of an aviation enthusiast with over 18,000 flight hours.

 

No one else could fly

 

Investigations to date showed none of the other 237 passengers knew how to fly an aircraft, at least officially, if the international intelligence agencies are correct. 

 

"None of the passengers have pilot background," said Jauhari.

 

This fact, coupled with a New York Times report quoting US investigators that Flight MH370 was reprogrammed to be diverted, something only doable by experienced individuals, meant that the spotlight remains on Zaharie and Fariq.

 

"Instead of manually operating the plane's controls, whoever altered Flight MH370's path typed seven or eight keystrokes into a computer on a knee-high pedestal between the captain and the first officer," the report said.

 

Responding to the report, Jauhari said this "could be speculation", but did not put the speculation to rest as he added that "anything is possible in the aircraft" when asked if it was plausible for Flight MH370's original KLIA-Beijing route to be reprogrammed.

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Malays less willing than non-Malays to accept child rape, says deputy minister

Question: Why is the incident of child rape more common among Malays?


Answer by Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar in parliament: Because non-Malays are less sensitive…

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Question: Why is the incident of child rape more common among Malays?


Answer by Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar in parliament: Because non-Malays are less sensitive and under report such cases.

He said this was because the majority of Muslim parents are unable to accept the idea of sex before marriage compared with non-Malay parents who are presumably less sensitive over the issue.

Wan Junaidi said statistics showed 80% or 1,147 of the 1,424 of statutory rape cases reported last year involved Malays. Statutory rape covers those aged below 16, regardless of whether it involved consensual sex.

In comparison, he said, Chinese accounted for 4.3% (62 victims), Indians accounted for 2% (32) while other races made up about 13% (183).

He said this was consistent with the numbers for 2012, whereby out of the 1,243 underage rape victims, Malays accounted for 80%, Chinese 5%, Indians 3% while other races accounted for 12%.

Wan Junaidi said the statistics for the Malay community were higher than that of the other races because they were more inclined to lodge reports of teenage sex, whereas non-Muslims were possibly less sensitive over the issue.

"This is because Muslim parents cannot accept sex before marriage or babies born out of wedlock as it is against Islamic teachings," he said in reply to a question from Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh (BN-Setiu) on underage rape cases.

He added that police investigations found that statutory rape cases were mostly caused by access to pornographic material available easily on the Internet.

He said other reasons for underage rape included young people being influenced by friends and also the urge to give sex a try.

Wan Junaidi said that although there was a reduction in the number of cases, it was still a worrying trend as young people aged between 13 and 16 accounted for 90% of underage rape victims.

To a question from Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PAS-Rantau Panjang) on whether weak enforcement was a factor, Wan Junaidi said parents were duty bound to ensure the safety of their children and not leave it to enforcement agencies. – March 18, 2014.

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Chinese MH370 relatives threaten ‘hunger strike’

Some of the relatives had stopped going to MAS briefings, given how long they had been waiting for information.

BEIJING: Desperate relatives of Chinese passengers aboard flight MH370 threatened to…

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Some of the relatives had stopped going to MAS briefings, given how long they had been waiting for information.

BEIJING: Desperate relatives of Chinese passengers aboard flight MH370 threatened to go on hunger strike Tuesday as they demanded answers about the missing aircraft from Malaysian officials.

“Now we have no news, and everyone is understandably worried. The relatives say they will go to the (Malaysian) embassy to find the ambassador,” said Wen Wancheng, whose son was aboard the missing flight.

“The Malaysian ambassador should be presenting himself here. But he’s not,” Wen said, updating reporters after a regular meeting between Malaysia Airlines officials and family members at a hotel in Beijing.

“Relatives are very unsatisfied. So you hear them saying ‘hunger strike’,” added the 63-year-old from the eastern province of Shandong, speaking as the search entered its 11th day.

Two-thirds of the passengers on the flight, which had 239 people on board, were Chinese.

Outside the meeting room, a woman clutching a placard reading “Respect life. Give us back our families” told reporters that the relatives were going on hunger strike.

She declined to say how many were doing so, or give her name.

“Since they haven’t given us the truth about those people’s lives, all of us are protesting,” the woman said furiously.

“All the relatives are facing mental breakdowns,” she added.

Wen also said some of the relatives had stopped going to the meetings, given how long they had been waiting for information.

“It doesn’t mean giving up,” he added. “It’s normal to return home. Like me, I have been out for a long time.”

A poem was hung on a wall directly outside the relatives briefing room, credited to “Xue Song”, although it was not clear whether it was put up by a family member.

“On Malaysia Airlines our relatives have ridden, we don’t know where the plane is hidden,” said the poem.

“The Malaysian spokesman statements make us guess, and turn the search into a great big mess.

“Let down, accusing and deep frustration, our families are left in desolation.

“We just long to meet one more time, counting seconds flowing like tears in a line.”

Beijing has been critical of Malaysia’s sharing of information, with state media and China’s huge army of netizens in expressing anger at the handling of the incident by Kuala Lumpur.

MAS to look into hunger strike claims

Meanwhile in Sepang, Bernama reports that Malaysia Airlines is looking into reports which claimed that relatives of Chinese passengers onboard the missing MH370 are threatening to go on a hunger strike in Beijing.

MAS chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said he would look into the claims and was in regular contact with the MAS team in Beijing.

“Should there be anything like that happening, MAS will certainly look into the matter immediately.

“Within all we can, we ensure that we have given sufficient assistance, information and care to all the family members in Beijing,” he told a daily press conference on the missing flight here today.

AFP

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Anwar: Don’t link pilot’s PKR ties to missing jet

Political allegiance of the MH370 pilot has nothing to do with the missing plane unless there are facts to support the hijack theory.

KUALA LUMPUR: PKR de facto leader Anwar…

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Political allegiance of the MH370 pilot has nothing to do with the missing plane unless there are facts to support the hijack theory.

KUALA LUMPUR: PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said today it is unfair to link the pilot of MH370 to a possible hijack just because he is a PKR supporter.

Anwar urged the government and pro-Umno bloggers not to cast aspersions unless there were facts to support the theory.

He said Zaharie was present at the Court of Appeal to express anger against the judgment in the sodomy trial on March 7. The appellate court had overturned Anwar’s acquittal and sentenced him to five years jail for sodomy.

“This does not mean he will bring his emotion to work,” he added.

“Most of the taxi drivers are our supporters, but they did not hijack their company’s vehicles to Kajang,” he said at a press conference in Parliament lobby today.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said last Saturday that somebody on board on the Malaysia Airlines jetliner has deliberately switched off the main communication devices and turned back the plane after it reached Malaysia-Vietnam airspace border.

British tabloid Daily Mail reported that Zaharie was a fervent supporter of Anwar and was upset over the Court of Appeal’s conviction of Anwar on the sodomy charge.

The report said Zaharie went straight to the airport for the MH370 flight bound for Beijing after the court hearing.

Foreign media and pro-Umno bloggers had speculated that Zaharie had allegedly wanted to send a political message by taking over the Malaysia Airlines plane.

Related to Anwar

Meanwhile, Anwar admitted that Zaharie was related to his daughter-in-law and he could recall meeting Zaharie several times at party functions.

“He is a family man and has a strong passion for justice,” he said.

He urged the authorities to give space to Zaharie’s family and focus their investigation on locating the plane.

When the investigators turned their focus on the pilots of the missing jetliner, numerous PKR leaders had similarly warned against linking Zaharie to any misdeed that could have happened to the vanished plane.

Some PKR leaders even drew a distance between the party and Zaharie, with some rejecting reports that the pilot had been at the Court of Appeal on the day Anwar’s acquittal was reversed.

PKR vice president Tian Chua was reported in Astro Awani as saying that there was no evidence to suggest that Zahariae was there at the court, adding that it did not matter what his political leanings were.

Tian Chua was today questioned by the police under the Sedition Act for tweeting: “Najib sentenced Anwar to 5-year imprisonment – the people will bring down Najib in 5 months, that I promise you!!.”

Anwar disgusted

This morning, Anwar told AFP he was “disgusted” by what he saw as an attempt to smear Zaharie and somehow implicate the opposition leadership in the disappearance of Flight 370.

He condemned speculation that Zaharie – a member of Anwar’s party – may have been driven by political motives to sabotage the plane.

“Is it a crime for anyone to be a member of PKR? To me it is an attempt to deflect the government’s incompetence,” Anwar told AFP.

“I of course did not take the news reports seriously but I am speaking out because I sympathise with the pilot and his family,” he said.

“The mysterious disappearance of MH370 reflects not only an incompetent regime ruling the country but an irresponsible government,” he added.

The Malaysian authorities have had to defend themselves against repeated accusations that they withheld key information during the early stages of the search for the missing aircraft.

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Missing MH370: Anwar has seen Zaharie but has no links to him

(The Star) - Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pic) has seen Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah at PKR meetings but does not know him personally.…

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(The Star) - Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pic) has seen Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah at PKR meetings but does not know him personally.

Anwar criticised attempts to link Zaharie’s political affiliations to the plane’s disappearance on March 8.

“I don’t recollect the name, but when the photographs were shown I remembered I had seen him at party meetings,” the South China Morning Post quoted Anwar as saying.

“He doesn’t hold positions in the party, but is an active member in the sense that he has been seen with the party’s parliamentary leaders, taking photographs with them.”

Anwar said they had had no personal contact, but Zaharie was a follower of his Twitter account.

Anwar said that instead of trying to associate the missing plane with him, the focus should be on carrying out transparent and objective investigations.

He also said China’s condemnation of Malaysia’s handling of the search for the Boeing 777 was “absolutely justified”.

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Prove non-Malays ‘more accepting’ of child rape, deputy minister told

(MM) - DAP MP Gobind Singh Deo challenged today Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar to back his claim that Malaysia’s minorities were more tolerant of statutory rape.

The deputy home…

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(MM) - DAP MP Gobind Singh Deo challenged today Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar to back his claim that Malaysia’s minorities were more tolerant of statutory rape.

The deputy home minister had told Parliament earlier during Question Time that “non-Malays are maybe more accepting” of sexual violations involving underaged children, earning Gobind’s wrath.

“This is absolute and utter rubbish,” Gobind said in a statement.

The Puchong MP said Wan Junaidi’s statement was a very serious allegation and “casts a most damning insinuation” on all Malaysians as if to suggest there were racial groups in society that condoned child rape.

Gobind, who is also a criminal lawyer and the DAP’s head of legal affairs, described the deputy home minister’s statement as “most shallow, irresponsible and outrageous”.

He noted that the police statistics Wan Junaidi had cited in his parliamentary reply cannot be used to support any statement that race played a role or stretched to mean non-Malays were less sensitive to child rape compared to Malays.

“Can he show us how many of such rapes have occurred and gone unreported until now because those affected were of a certain race who ‘were less sensitive towards it’ or ‘could accept it’?” Gobind asked, of Wan Junaidi.

The opposition lawmaker demanded Wan Junaidi retract his statement and apologise immediately if he was unable to furnish proof to support his theory.

Wan Junaidi had suggested that Malays were more intolerant of their youths who preyed sexually on minors compared to Malaysians of other ethnicities, when asked about the high number of reported statutory rape cases involving the country’s biggest community.

“This doesn’t mean the cases mostly involve Malays. Because Malays are culturally more sensitive about its youth so there are more police reports about it.

“Non-Malays are maybe more accepting about it so the margin (is lower),” Wan Junaidi said in reply to Setiu Barisan Nasional MP Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh.

The Santubong MP said that in 2012, there were 1,550 reported incidents of statutory rape, with Malays taking the top spot at 48 per cent, followed by the Chinese at 5 per cent and Indians at 3 per cent, and added that the number last year had dropped to 1,424 cases.

Wan Junaidi also said close to 90 per cent of the cases reported involved those aged between 16 and 19.

Malaysia was rocked in the past two years by several high-profile cases of men having sex with underage girls, some barely in their teens, which raised questions over the Penal Code.

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Bernama KPS Interview

EXCLUSIVE: Did MH370 crew succumb to fire catastrophe?

by Aimee Turner

The former head of security for the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration insists that rather than portraying the crew of the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 as…

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by Aimee Turner

The former head of security for the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration insists that rather than portraying the crew of the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 as saboteurs, the pilots struggled heroically to save their aircraft until overcome by smoke from a catastrophic cargo fire.

Billie Vincent who served as the FAA’s civil aviation security chief played a key policy and crisis management role in the handling of all hijackings of US aircraft in the 1980s. He was also in charge of the agency’s armed Federal Air Marshals and served as an expert witness in the trial of the Pan Am 103 terrorist bombing.

After leaving the FAA he led an international consulting firm which was contracted in the 1990s to design and implement the security system of Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport where Flight 370, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, started its journey at 12.41 am on March 8 before disappearing from civilian radar en route to Beijing at 1.21 am.

Officials in Malaysia claim that, based on ‘pings’ sent from the aircraft to an Inmarsat satellite, the aircraft was deliberately diverted and may have flown as far north as Central Asia or south over the Indian Ocean. They suspect that someone on board the aircraft first disabled one of its communications systems – the Aircraft and Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) around 40 minutes after takeoff before switching off the aircraft’s transponder in a systematic effort to render the aircraft invisible to air traffic surveillance.

Speaking exclusively to Air Traffic Management, Vincent dismisses the likelihood of a bomb being detonated on board which would have ruptured the pressure hull of the aircraft citing the fact that the aircraft was tracked by a series of satellite ‘pings’. That would indicate that Flight MH370 flew for up to seven more hours which would not have been possible if it had been compromised.

“The data released thus far most likely points to a problem with hazardous materials. This scenario begins with the eruption of hazardous materials within the cargo hold – either improperly packaged or illegally shipped – or both,” says Vincent.

In his view, a fire which started in the cargo hold progressively and serially destroyed the aircraft’s communications systems; toxic fumes quickly overwhelmed the passenger cabin and the cockpit where at least one of the flight crew managed to don an oxygen mask allowing them to turn the aircraft back to Kuala Lumpur.

Flight 370 is reported to have climbed to 45,000ft which Vincent believes could have been due simply to the inability of the flight crew to clearly see and set the controls for a return to Kuala Lumpur.

Vincent guesses that control could have been regained and the aircraft sent back to a lower altitude of around 23,000 ft – which is a diversion altitude set by manufacturers of large transport aircraft to prevent a fire taking further hold and which both allows better survivability for those on board and vents the avionics bays.

The final report of a UPS B747 crash in Dubai in 2010, details how that crew similarly attempted to depressurise the freighter aircraft to slow down the fire 30 seconds after the loss of aircraft systems and flight controls. In that accident, the time interval between fire detection and the onset of aircraft system failures was around two and a half minutes.
The last verbal communication from Flight 370 was issued at 1.19 am as the aircraft left Malaysian airspace. It then disappeared from air traffic controllers’ screens at 1.21 am whilst flying over the South China Sea.

Vincent guesses that the crew did manage to stabilise the aircraft and set it on a new course before once again succumbing to either a loss of oxygen or the remaining toxic fumes.

“The airplane then continues flying until no fuel remains and crashes – most likely into the ocean as there has been no report of any Emergency Locater Transmitter (ELT) signal which can be received by satellite if the crash were on land,” says Vincent.

Vincent insists other scenarios involving hijacking and sabotage are improbable. “For instance, there is no indication that either of the pilots was criminally involved in the disappearance of this airplane. Neither has Malaysia released any data indicating anything amiss in the security clearance of the passengers for this flight. The one question raised about the two passengers travelling on stolen passports has been cleared indicating that they were planning on illegally claiming refugee status in another country, probably Germany.”

“I have yet to see anything released about the nature and content of the cargo carried in the cargo hold of Flight 370. Hazardous cargo can be legally carried on passenger aircraft. However, the amount and type of such hazardous materials are strictly controlled,” says Vincent.

While all hazardous materials must be properly contained and labelled – and declared to the airline transporting it, Vincent notes that hazardous materials have been – knowingly and unknowingly – labelled improperly for carriage on passenger aircraft in addition to having been carried on board unlawfully by passengers.

Though entirely within the law, a 2013 report by the UK’s Royal Aeronautical Society warned that passengers flying on a typical single aisle jet could be bringing more than 500 potentially lethal batteries on board – both in the cabin and the hold – to power personal gadgets.

The report documents how a fire occurred in April 2012 on a flight from Toronto to Minneapolis at 28,000ft when the battery from a passenger’s air purifier device combusted. A cabin crew member wet paper towels to put out the fire before submerging the smouldering battery in a cup of water. On the flight deck, meanwhile, the captain, smelling a strong burning electrical odour, declared an emergency and diverted to Michigan.

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Public nominations for Human Rights Awards 2014

The Sun

PETALING JAYA: The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) is calling for public nominations for its Human Rights Awards 2014.

The award will honour Malaysians in five categories…

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The Sun

PETALING JAYA: The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) is calling for public nominations for its Human Rights Awards 2014.

The award will honour Malaysians in five categories namely individual awards, organisation or group awards, media awards, as well as awards for government agencies and business entities.

Suhakam chairman Tan Sri Hasmy Agam said this provides a broader opportunity for the Commission to pay tribute to those who have dedicated their time and energy towards upholding human rights in their own meaningful ways.

Nominations will close on 30 June 2014. Nomination forms and other relevant information can be obtained from the Commission's official portal at www.suhakam.org.my.

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Statement By Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Tuesday On Missing MAS Plane

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) -- Following is the statement by Defence Minister and acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein at a press briefing on the search for…

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KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) -- Following is the statement by Defence Minister and acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein at a press briefing on the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370, in Sepang, Selangor, Tuesday:

Introductory Statement

Yesterday, I stated that the search for MH370 had entered a new phase, which brings new diplomatic, technical and logistical challenges.

Today, I would like to give you an update on the logistical and diplomatic aspects of the search.

The search and rescue operations have taken on a new international dimension. The search is still coordinated by Malaysia, but our partners have taken an increasing role in organising and carrying out operations, both within their own territory and also within agreed search sectors. My colleague, the Foreign Minister, Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, will give a more detailed statement on our diplomatic efforts in a moment.

On the logistical front, over the past 24 hours we have been working hard with other countries to narrow the search corridors. Our focus is on four tasks: gathering information from satellite surveillance, analysis of surveillance radar data, increasing air and surface assets, and increasing the number of technical and subject matter experts.

On satellite surveillance, I cannot disclose who has what satellite capability, but I can confirm we have contacted every relevant country that has access to satellite data.

On analysis of radar data, in the southern corridor Australia and Indonesia have agreed to take the lead of their respective parts of the search corridor.

In the northern corridor, China and Kazakhstan have agreed to lead in the search areas closest to their countries.

On air and surface assets, I have spoken to almost all Asean leaders to request further support, including assets with deep ocean surveillance detection capabilities. We are also asking international partners who have assisted us before to take another look at their primary radar data.

1. Operational Update

In the northern corridor, we have divided the search area into seven quadrants. Each of the seven quadrants is 400 nautical miles by 400 nautical miles

or 160,000 square nautical miles in total.

We have also divided up the southern corridor into seven quadrants. Just like in the north, each quadrant covers an area of 160,000 square nautical miles.

The entire search area is now 2.24 million square nautical miles.

This is an enormous search area. And it is something that Malaysia cannot possibly search on its own. I am therefore very pleased that so many countries have come forward to offer assistance and support to the search and rescue operation.

In terms of the deployment of specific assets:

Today, the Royal Malaysian Navy deployed two more ships to the southern corridor. This deployment includes a Super Lynx helicopter, which can operate from either ship. This brings the total number of Malaysian ships deployed to the southern corridor to four, with two Super Lynx helicopters.

Today, Malaysia also deployed two C-130 aircraft to the Indonesian sector of the southern search corridor.

Other countries are also contributing the following assets:

The United States has deployed one P-8 Poseidon, and will redeploy a P-3 Orion aircraft.

Australia, as I mentioned yesterday, has deployed three P-3 Orion and one C-130 Hercules.

In terms of the deployment of specific assets:

Today, the Royal Malaysian Navy deployed two more ships to the southern corridor. This deployment includes a Super Lynx helicopter, which can operate from either ship. This brings the total number of Malaysian ships deployed to the southern corridor to four, with two Super Lynx helicopters.

Today, Malaysia also deployed two C-130 aircraft to the Indonesian sector of the southern search corridor.

Other countries are also contributing the following assets:

The United States has deployed one P-8 Poseidon, and will redeploy a P-3 Orion aircraft.

Australia, as I mentioned yesterday, has deployed three P-3 Orion and one C-130 Hercules.

New Zealand is redeploying a P-3 Orion to support Australian search efforts.

The Republic of Korea has committed one P-3 Orion and one C-130 Hercules.

Japan has committed two P-3 Orion, two C-130 and one Gulfstream jet.

The UAE has committed one C-17 aircraft and one Bombardier Dash-8 aircraft.

The assets from Korea, Japan, and the UAE are currently in Malaysia awaiting orders from their respective governments.

Aside from deploying its assets to the northern corridor, China has also made arrangements with Australia to deploy an aircraft to the southern corridor.

2. ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System)

I would like to clarify what has been said about ACARS and the sequence of events before the air turn-back.

On Saturday, we stated that

and I quote: Based on new satellite information, we can say with a high degree of certainty that the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) was disabled just before the aircraft reached the east coast of peninsular Malaysia.

"Shortly afterwards, near the border between Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic control, the aircraft s transponder was switched off.

These findings were drafted together with representatives from the lead international investigators, based on the information available at the time.

Yesterday, Malaysia Airlines clarified that we cannot determine exactly when ACARS had been disabled, only that it occurred within a specific time range: from 01:07

approximately when the aircraft reached the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, and the last ACARS transmission occurred

to 01:37, which was the next scheduled reporting time. That is indeed the case.

This does not change our belief, as stated, that up until the point at which it left military primary radar coverage, the aircraft s movements were consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane. That remains the position of the investigating team.

It is also important to recognise that the precise time ACARS was disabled has no bearing on the search and rescue operation. We know that the last known position of the plane as confirmed by the international investigations team was in either the northern or southern corridors, which is where our search and rescue efforts are focused. Our priority has always been to find the aircraft.

3. Police Investigation

I am aware there is a lot of interest in the Royal Malaysia Police investigation into the passengers and crew of MH370. I hope you understand that I cannot comment on the specifics of the investigation, which is still ongoing.

I would also like to state that the search for MH370 is bigger than politics. I urge all Malaysians to put our differences aside and unite during this difficult time as we focus on finding the aircraft and the 239 people on board. 4. Concluding Remarks

The search for MH370 remains our top priority. We will continue to provide you with operational updates, including further information about assets being deployed, as soon as they are available.

In the last few days we have been intensively contacting our friends across the search regions. The cooperation we saw in the first phase continues in this new phase. In fact, there is even more commitment to assist us in this much larger and more complex multinational operation.

In the meantime, our thoughts remain with the families and friends of those on board.

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