-
IP addresses are NOT logged in this forum so there's no point asking. Please note that this forum is full of homophobes, racists, lunatics, schizophrenics & absolute nut jobs with a smattering of geniuses, Chinese chauvinists, Moderate Muslims and last but not least a couple of "know-it-alls" constantly sprouting their dubious wisdom. If you believe that content generated by unsavory characters might cause you offense PLEASE LEAVE NOW! Sammyboy Admin and Staff are not responsible for your hurt feelings should you choose to read any of the content here. The OTHER forum is HERE so please stop asking.
MALAYSIAN Airlines flight en route to China is missing.
- Thread starter GoldenPeriod
- Start date
Press Conference starting in 5 minutes.
No country is going to admit to shooting down the plane as it was heading for one of their economic targets.
First you have to pacify china, second it looks bad come election time. Third, it makes you an even bigger target for the future.
I can certainly see the need to keep that a secret even though it upsets 235 families and their friends.
The greater good has been served if a major incident was averted.
First you have to pacify china, second it looks bad come election time. Third, it makes you an even bigger target for the future.
I can certainly see the need to keep that a secret even though it upsets 235 families and their friends.
The greater good has been served if a major incident was averted.
Re: MALAYSIAN Airlines flight en route to China is STILL missing.
highly likely. then al wreckage taken away.
highly likely. then al wreckage taken away.
Re: MALAYSIAN Airlines flight en route to China is STILL missing.
The Mats may have looked like bumbling fools on certain issues in regards to this unprecedented incident.. But can't really blame all on the Mats.. Few other countries yet to get back to the Malaysians for the results of the passengers background checks.
The Malaysians also now need to ask all those central Asian countries for info.. This takes time and skillful diplomatic maneuvering needed to seek their cooperations..
What can Malaysia do if those countries are not co operative?
The Mats may have looked like bumbling fools on certain issues in regards to this unprecedented incident.. But can't really blame all on the Mats.. Few other countries yet to get back to the Malaysians for the results of the passengers background checks.
The Malaysians also now need to ask all those central Asian countries for info.. This takes time and skillful diplomatic maneuvering needed to seek their cooperations..
What can Malaysia do if those countries are not co operative?
Re: MALAYSIAN Airlines flight en route to China is STILL missing.
Just a continuation.
1. Aware convicted for sodomy
2. Pilot support Anwar
3. Many gays are botak
4. Gay support gay
Is this going to be the new spin?
Just a continuation.
1. Aware convicted for sodomy
2. Pilot support Anwar
3. Many gays are botak
4. Gay support gay
Is this going to be the new spin?
Re: MALAYSIAN Airlines flight en route to China is STILL missing
Malaysia says pilots’ homes searched and flight simulator examined
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 3:39pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 7:02pm
Agence France-Presse in Kuala Lumpur
Pilots Zaharie Ahmad Shah (left) and Fariq Abdul Hamid were described as respectable, community-minded men.
Malaysia said on Sunday that police had searched the homes of a missing airliner’s two pilots and were examining the captain’s home flight simulator, but warned against “jumping to conclusions”.
“Police searched the home of the pilot on Saturday, 15 March,” a statement by the transport ministry said, referring to Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53.
“Officers spoke to family members of the pilot and experts are examining the pilot’s flight simulator.”
The statement added: “On 15 March, the police also searched the home of the co-pilot.”
Journalists stand outside the home of Fariq Abdul Hamid, the co-pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: AP
Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, was co-pilot of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, which vanished eight days ago, sparking a massive international search across a huge swathe of Asia.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Saturday the plane appeared to have been deliberately diverted from its flight path after it dropped off radar. He said satellites continued to detect it for hours afterwards, an announcement which raised fears of a hijack or rogue action by pilots or crew.
The revelation has prompted fresh scrutiny of the two pilots.
Zaharie is said to have assembled his own complex flight simulator at home but nothing has emerged to cast suspicion on him.
The government statement said engineers who may have had contact with Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 before it took off on March 8 were also part of the probe into the missing jet, but called this “normal procedure” for such an event.
“We appeal to the public not to jump to conclusions regarding the police investigation,” it said.
It reiterated that all crew and passengers on board the flight were being investigated for possible leads. Nothing that suggests a motive had yet surfaced, it said.
The plane disappeared from civilian radar less than an hour into its journey from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Najib also said investigators believe that systems relaying MH370’s location to air traffic control were manually switched off before the jet veered westward.
An Australian television programme earlier broadcast an interview by a South African woman who alleged that she and a friend were invited into the cockpit of a 2011 flight co-piloted by Fariq, in breach of post-9/11 security rules.
Malaysia says pilots’ homes searched and flight simulator examined
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 3:39pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 7:02pm
Agence France-Presse in Kuala Lumpur
Pilots Zaharie Ahmad Shah (left) and Fariq Abdul Hamid were described as respectable, community-minded men.
Malaysia said on Sunday that police had searched the homes of a missing airliner’s two pilots and were examining the captain’s home flight simulator, but warned against “jumping to conclusions”.
“Police searched the home of the pilot on Saturday, 15 March,” a statement by the transport ministry said, referring to Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53.
“Officers spoke to family members of the pilot and experts are examining the pilot’s flight simulator.”
The statement added: “On 15 March, the police also searched the home of the co-pilot.”
Journalists stand outside the home of Fariq Abdul Hamid, the co-pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: AP
Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, was co-pilot of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, which vanished eight days ago, sparking a massive international search across a huge swathe of Asia.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Saturday the plane appeared to have been deliberately diverted from its flight path after it dropped off radar. He said satellites continued to detect it for hours afterwards, an announcement which raised fears of a hijack or rogue action by pilots or crew.
The revelation has prompted fresh scrutiny of the two pilots.
Zaharie is said to have assembled his own complex flight simulator at home but nothing has emerged to cast suspicion on him.
The government statement said engineers who may have had contact with Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 before it took off on March 8 were also part of the probe into the missing jet, but called this “normal procedure” for such an event.
“We appeal to the public not to jump to conclusions regarding the police investigation,” it said.
It reiterated that all crew and passengers on board the flight were being investigated for possible leads. Nothing that suggests a motive had yet surfaced, it said.
The plane disappeared from civilian radar less than an hour into its journey from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Najib also said investigators believe that systems relaying MH370’s location to air traffic control were manually switched off before the jet veered westward.
An Australian television programme earlier broadcast an interview by a South African woman who alleged that she and a friend were invited into the cockpit of a 2011 flight co-piloted by Fariq, in breach of post-9/11 security rules.
Re: MALAYSIAN Airlines flight en route to China is STILL missing
The 3 pieces of evidence that point to possibility that Malaysia Airlines plane was taken over
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 7:44pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 7:44pm
Associated Press in Kuala Lumpur
Young children write messages on banner filled with signatures and well wishes for all involved with the missing jetliner at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Photo: AP
New revelations about a missing Malaysia Airlines plane have left anguished relatives contemplating the prospect that those on board endured a terrifying, high-altitude hijack ordeal that may have lasted nearly eight hours.
But while the disclosures have led to increased speculation of a terror plot or pilot suicide, for some they offered a glimmer of hope - that the Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 239 passengers and crew may have landed safely and that, somehow, loved ones may be alive.
Three pieces of evidence that aviation safety experts say make it clear the missing Malaysia Airlines jet was taken over by someone who was knowledgeable about how the plane worked:
Transponder
One clue is that the plane’s transponder - a signal system that identifies the plane to radar - was shut off about an hour into the flight.
Relatives of passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 meet in Beijing. Photo: Reuters
In order to do that, someone in the cockpit would have to turn a knob with multiple selections to the off position while pressing down at the same time, said John Goglia, a former member of the National Transportation Safety Board. That’s something a pilot would know how to do, but it could also be learned by someone who researched the plane on the internet, he said.
Acars
Another clue is that part of the Boeing 777’s Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) was shut off.
The system, which has two parts, is used to send short messages via a satellite or VHF radio to the airline’s home base. The information part of the system was shut down, but not the transmission part. In most planes, the information part of the system can be shut down by hitting cockpit switches in sequence in order to get to a computer screen where an option must be selected using a keypad, said Goglia, an expert on aircraft maintenance.
That’s also something a pilot would know how to do, but that could also be discovered through research, he said.
But to turn off the other part of the ACARS, it would be necessary to go to an electronics bay beneath the cockpit. That’s something a pilot wouldn’t normally know how to do, Goglia said, and it wasn’t done in the case of the Malaysia plane. Thus, the ACARS transmitter continued to send out blips that were recorded by the Inmarsat satellite once an hour for four to five hours after the transponder was turned off. The blips don’t contain any messages or data, but the satellite can tell in a very broad way what region the blips are coming from and adjusts the angle of its antenna to be ready to receive message in case the ACARS sends them. Investigators are now trying to use data from the satellite to identify the region where the plane was when its last blip was sent.
Guided flight
The third indication is that that after the transponder was turned off and civilian radar lost track of the plane, Malaysian military radar was able to continue to track the plane as it turned west.
The plane was then tracked along a known flight route across the peninsula until it was several hundred kilometres offshore and beyond the range of military radar. Airliners normally fly from waypoint to waypoint where they can be seen by air traffic controllers who space them out so they don’t collide. These lanes in the sky aren’t straight lines. In order to follow that course, someone had to be guiding the plane, Goglia said.
Goglia said he is very sceptical of reports the plane was flying erratically while it was being tracked by military radar, including steep ascents to very high altitudes and then sudden, rapid descents. Without a transponder signal, the ability to track planes isn’t reliable at very high altitudes or with sudden shifts in altitude, he said.
The 3 pieces of evidence that point to possibility that Malaysia Airlines plane was taken over
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 7:44pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 7:44pm
Associated Press in Kuala Lumpur
Young children write messages on banner filled with signatures and well wishes for all involved with the missing jetliner at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Photo: AP
New revelations about a missing Malaysia Airlines plane have left anguished relatives contemplating the prospect that those on board endured a terrifying, high-altitude hijack ordeal that may have lasted nearly eight hours.
But while the disclosures have led to increased speculation of a terror plot or pilot suicide, for some they offered a glimmer of hope - that the Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 239 passengers and crew may have landed safely and that, somehow, loved ones may be alive.
Three pieces of evidence that aviation safety experts say make it clear the missing Malaysia Airlines jet was taken over by someone who was knowledgeable about how the plane worked:
Transponder
One clue is that the plane’s transponder - a signal system that identifies the plane to radar - was shut off about an hour into the flight.
Relatives of passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 meet in Beijing. Photo: Reuters
In order to do that, someone in the cockpit would have to turn a knob with multiple selections to the off position while pressing down at the same time, said John Goglia, a former member of the National Transportation Safety Board. That’s something a pilot would know how to do, but it could also be learned by someone who researched the plane on the internet, he said.
Acars
Another clue is that part of the Boeing 777’s Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) was shut off.
The system, which has two parts, is used to send short messages via a satellite or VHF radio to the airline’s home base. The information part of the system was shut down, but not the transmission part. In most planes, the information part of the system can be shut down by hitting cockpit switches in sequence in order to get to a computer screen where an option must be selected using a keypad, said Goglia, an expert on aircraft maintenance.
That’s also something a pilot would know how to do, but that could also be discovered through research, he said.
But to turn off the other part of the ACARS, it would be necessary to go to an electronics bay beneath the cockpit. That’s something a pilot wouldn’t normally know how to do, Goglia said, and it wasn’t done in the case of the Malaysia plane. Thus, the ACARS transmitter continued to send out blips that were recorded by the Inmarsat satellite once an hour for four to five hours after the transponder was turned off. The blips don’t contain any messages or data, but the satellite can tell in a very broad way what region the blips are coming from and adjusts the angle of its antenna to be ready to receive message in case the ACARS sends them. Investigators are now trying to use data from the satellite to identify the region where the plane was when its last blip was sent.
Guided flight
The third indication is that that after the transponder was turned off and civilian radar lost track of the plane, Malaysian military radar was able to continue to track the plane as it turned west.
The plane was then tracked along a known flight route across the peninsula until it was several hundred kilometres offshore and beyond the range of military radar. Airliners normally fly from waypoint to waypoint where they can be seen by air traffic controllers who space them out so they don’t collide. These lanes in the sky aren’t straight lines. In order to follow that course, someone had to be guiding the plane, Goglia said.
Goglia said he is very sceptical of reports the plane was flying erratically while it was being tracked by military radar, including steep ascents to very high altitudes and then sudden, rapid descents. Without a transponder signal, the ability to track planes isn’t reliable at very high altitudes or with sudden shifts in altitude, he said.
Re: MALAYSIAN Airlines flight en route to China is STILL missing
'Deliberate act' took missing plane off course, says Malaysia PM Najib Razak
Malaysian PM stops short of blaming hijacking, as search refocused on two specific flight corridors
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 5:13am
UPDATED : Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 10:23am
Adrian Wan in Kuala Lumpur and Danny Lee
Indonesian Search And Rescue personnel head out into the vastness of the Andaman Sea, exemplifying the difficulty crews face in finding missing flight 370. Photo: EPA
The mystery of missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 has taken a dramatic new twist, with the country's prime minister, Najib Razak, confirming the disappearance of the Boeing 777 jet was the result of a "deliberate act".
Investigators now believe that someone on board the plane deliberately shut off its communications and tracking systems, turned the plane around and flew for nearly seven hours after it vanished, Najib said yesterday.
As the unprecedented search for the plane and its 239 passengers and crew enters its second week, Najib said the hunt for wreckage around the scheduled flight path to the east of Malaysia was being called off.
While he stopped short of calling it a hijacking, Najib said: "The Malaysian authorities have refocused their investigation into the crew and passengers on board."
Of the 227 passengers, 154 are from China.
Reports from Malaysia said the homes of those on the flight deck of the missing plane - including Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53 - were raided shortly after the prime minister spoke at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.
The hunt for the aircraft has narrowed to two specific corridors where it may have flown.
"Despite media reports that the plane was hijacked, we are still investigating all possibilities as to what caused MH370 to deviate from its original flight path," Najib said.
The plane's last satellite contact - at 8.11am on March 8 - revealed it flew more than seven hours after dropping off civilian radar. Two flight corridors are now the focus of the search - one from northern Thailand to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and a southern corridor from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.
According to satellite data, if the plane headed north, it would have flown over sensitive and disputed border regions in Asia. If it went south, it would have crossed parts of the Indian Ocean several thousand metres deep.
Najib said new satellite information had had a significant impact on "the nature and scope of the investigation ... the search for MH370 has entered a new phase".
Najib called on "relevant foreign embassies" to help share sensitive military data to pinpoint the aircraft.
Investigators now know that the missing airliner's communications were deliberately disabled and that it turned back from its flight path to Beijing and flew across Malaysia.
The disappearance of the plane on March 8 triggered a vast international search operation.
Search teams have yet to find any wreckage despite trawling thousands of square kilometres of open water.
According to a report in The New York Times, citing an unnamed American official, radar readings indicated the plane's altitude changed several times soon after it disappeared from civilian radar screens.
The Boeing 777-200 Extended Range climbed to 45,000 feet - above the approved altitude limit for such aircraft - then descended unevenly to 23,000 feet on the western fringe of the Malay Peninsula, below cruising altitude, before climbing to 29,500 feet over the Strait of Malacca.
Families of missing Chinese passengers said they hope they are still alive but are angry at the handling of the crisis.
Wen Wancheng from Shandong , whose son is a passenger on board, told the Sunday Morning Post: "I think this is a conspiracy. Malaysian authorities didn't treat us honestly … The time they gave wasn't right and the location was not correct.
"I feel deeply upset for what [the Malaysian government] have done. They should be more honest to us and other countries that made tremendous efforts to rescue [those on board]."
Another, Bian Weiliang, whose elder brother is on board, said: "I think this press conference was basically telling us that it's a hijacking. My question is will Malaysia Airlines continue to take care of us? Or will they abandon us since they kindly said it's not their responsibility."
Malaysia Airlines representatives in Beijing told passengers' families it could not answer questions as a criminal investigation was under way.
China's foreign ministry said it paid "very close attention" to the latest development.
Pan Zhiping , director of the Institute of Central Asia at the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, said: "It's likely that the plane was hijacked, or subject to some kind of attack."
But he said it was unlikely the incident was linked to Uygurs, a Turkic minority in Xinjiang. Some Uygurs are known to have joined the separatist East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM).
"The attacks carried out inside China do not involve the use of high technology," he said.
"I doubt if the ETIM is capable of hijacking a Boeing 777 plane, and hiding it in an area that cannot be found."
Additional reporting by Keith Zhai, Teddy Ng and Andrea Chen in Beijing
'Deliberate act' took missing plane off course, says Malaysia PM Najib Razak
Malaysian PM stops short of blaming hijacking, as search refocused on two specific flight corridors
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 5:13am
UPDATED : Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 10:23am
Adrian Wan in Kuala Lumpur and Danny Lee
Indonesian Search And Rescue personnel head out into the vastness of the Andaman Sea, exemplifying the difficulty crews face in finding missing flight 370. Photo: EPA
The mystery of missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 has taken a dramatic new twist, with the country's prime minister, Najib Razak, confirming the disappearance of the Boeing 777 jet was the result of a "deliberate act".
Investigators now believe that someone on board the plane deliberately shut off its communications and tracking systems, turned the plane around and flew for nearly seven hours after it vanished, Najib said yesterday.
As the unprecedented search for the plane and its 239 passengers and crew enters its second week, Najib said the hunt for wreckage around the scheduled flight path to the east of Malaysia was being called off.
While he stopped short of calling it a hijacking, Najib said: "The Malaysian authorities have refocused their investigation into the crew and passengers on board."
Of the 227 passengers, 154 are from China.
Reports from Malaysia said the homes of those on the flight deck of the missing plane - including Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53 - were raided shortly after the prime minister spoke at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.
The hunt for the aircraft has narrowed to two specific corridors where it may have flown.
"Despite media reports that the plane was hijacked, we are still investigating all possibilities as to what caused MH370 to deviate from its original flight path," Najib said.
The plane's last satellite contact - at 8.11am on March 8 - revealed it flew more than seven hours after dropping off civilian radar. Two flight corridors are now the focus of the search - one from northern Thailand to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and a southern corridor from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.
According to satellite data, if the plane headed north, it would have flown over sensitive and disputed border regions in Asia. If it went south, it would have crossed parts of the Indian Ocean several thousand metres deep.
Najib said new satellite information had had a significant impact on "the nature and scope of the investigation ... the search for MH370 has entered a new phase".
Najib called on "relevant foreign embassies" to help share sensitive military data to pinpoint the aircraft.
Investigators now know that the missing airliner's communications were deliberately disabled and that it turned back from its flight path to Beijing and flew across Malaysia.
The disappearance of the plane on March 8 triggered a vast international search operation.
Search teams have yet to find any wreckage despite trawling thousands of square kilometres of open water.
According to a report in The New York Times, citing an unnamed American official, radar readings indicated the plane's altitude changed several times soon after it disappeared from civilian radar screens.
The Boeing 777-200 Extended Range climbed to 45,000 feet - above the approved altitude limit for such aircraft - then descended unevenly to 23,000 feet on the western fringe of the Malay Peninsula, below cruising altitude, before climbing to 29,500 feet over the Strait of Malacca.
Families of missing Chinese passengers said they hope they are still alive but are angry at the handling of the crisis.
Wen Wancheng from Shandong , whose son is a passenger on board, told the Sunday Morning Post: "I think this is a conspiracy. Malaysian authorities didn't treat us honestly … The time they gave wasn't right and the location was not correct.
"I feel deeply upset for what [the Malaysian government] have done. They should be more honest to us and other countries that made tremendous efforts to rescue [those on board]."
Another, Bian Weiliang, whose elder brother is on board, said: "I think this press conference was basically telling us that it's a hijacking. My question is will Malaysia Airlines continue to take care of us? Or will they abandon us since they kindly said it's not their responsibility."
Malaysia Airlines representatives in Beijing told passengers' families it could not answer questions as a criminal investigation was under way.
China's foreign ministry said it paid "very close attention" to the latest development.
Pan Zhiping , director of the Institute of Central Asia at the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, said: "It's likely that the plane was hijacked, or subject to some kind of attack."
But he said it was unlikely the incident was linked to Uygurs, a Turkic minority in Xinjiang. Some Uygurs are known to have joined the separatist East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM).
"The attacks carried out inside China do not involve the use of high technology," he said.
"I doubt if the ETIM is capable of hijacking a Boeing 777 plane, and hiding it in an area that cannot be found."
Additional reporting by Keith Zhai, Teddy Ng and Andrea Chen in Beijing
Re: MALAYSIAN Airlines flight en route to China is STILL missing.
Malaysian aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman the butt of criticism
Missing flight 370 has thrust little-known Malaysian bureaucrat Azharuddin Abdul Rahman into front line of a crisis, and he's struggled
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 5:13am
UPDATED : Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 5:13am
Satish Cheney in Kuala Lumpur
Illustration: Craig Stephens
The past week has been the toughest of Azharuddin Abdul Rahman's hitherto unremarkable career as Malaysia's civil aviation chief.
Once virtually unknown even in his own home country, Azharuddin was thrust into the international spotlight with the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370. He is leading the multinational search for the plane, which vanished without a trace eight days ago with 239 people aboard.
The Malaysian government officials who meander in and out of the search's media centre seem to know little about Azharuddin, other than that he worked as an air-traffic controller and rose up the ranks to become the chief of the Department of Civil Aviation. But they all agree on one thing: He's now in an unenviable position.
Besides facing the wrath of the missing passengers' family members, Azharuddin has been inundated with criticism from the international community and his own countrymen, who have grown infuriated by a week of confusing and contradictory statements about the search.
The toughest part of his routine has been the daily press conference at the media centre at Sama Sama Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
Faced with a barrage of increasingly hostile questions from the world's press, Azharuddin's introduction to media relations has been a baptism of fire.
His inexperience shone through when he made a bizarre reference to Italian footballer Mario Balotelli, as he tried to correct reports that two passengers travelling on stolen Italian and Austrian passports had looked "Asian".
These false reports led many to wonder how immigration officers in Kuala Lumpur had allowed Asian-looking men to go through customs using European passports.
When prompted on Monday to describe the pair's appearances based on CCTV footage, Azharuddin said: "Do you know a footballer by the name of [Balotelli]? He's an Italian. Do you know what he looks like?"
A reporter then asked: "Is he black?" The aviation minister replied: "Yes."
Balotelli is black, born to Ghanaian parents in Italy. Azharuddin was, however clumsily, trying to make a sensible point: that the colour of one's skin has no bearing on nationality.
But the damage was done, and the baffling analogy was reported to worldwide ridicule.
On another occasion, when asked about the widening search area and why certain areas were being looked at, he said enigmatically: "There are some things I can tell you, and some things I can't."
Azharuddin said he did not have time to grant an interview. However, other government officials defended a man they respect and whom they feel has been unfairly portrayed as incompetent by the foreign media.
"The stress is unimaginable," said one government official. "You have no idea what he's going through, no idea of the kind of things he has to deal with before he meets you [reporters]."
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official said there was no communications structure when the search began.
Such a structure could have helped provide clear and non-contradictory information; it was only established "two or three" days after the search began, the official said. But even with this system supposedly in place, mixed messages continued to flow, apparently reflecting a lack of co-ordination between various players.
"You have one side [a government agency] saying one thing, and then you have people from the airlines saying another thing, and then you have someone from the army saying another thing, and you might have someone else say something else," the official said. "Then, you have the media speculating, so how is he [Azharuddin] supposed to do his job properly if other people give him the wrong information?"
The official also alluded to other parties wanting to seize the spotlight and refusing to play second fiddle to Azharuddin. However, he refused to elaborate.
Some members of the local media said it was unfair that Malaysia as a whole was being criticised over the lack of information about the search.
"I think this is the first time Malaysian citizens are aware who Azharuddin is," said local TV news presenter Shadila Abdul Malek. "Before this incident, even I had no idea who he was. I think he is doing his best, but I think there's something they are not telling us and that is probably because of security reasons.
"They should bring more of the media along to witness the search-and-rescue operations, so they can see how tough it is, and how it is not easy to find something in the sea," she said.
Another local journalist covering the search said the world's media had been too quick to judge Malaysia harshly.
"There are so many countries involved in the search mission. So, do they mean all the countries are useless since they can't find the plane? Even the US is involved," he said. "Do they know how hard the people involved in the mission are working? You have no idea until you go and see for yourself, OK?"
The director general of the Department of Information, Haji Ibrahim Abdul Rahman, also defended Malaysia's efforts.
" There was some conflicting information initially but now things have been streamlined," Ibrahim said. " From what we know, we can see the co-ordinated effort, and officials from the US and UK have commended the Department of Civil Aviation's efforts."
One Transport Ministry official said the human tragedy was being lost amid recriminations.
"It's not easy. Which country can ever be prepared for this? The people from MAS, they had friends and colleagues working as crew on the flight," he said. "You think we don't want to find out where the plane is? We are doing everything we can, but you cannot just keep pointing at one or two mistakes."
As pressure over the search mounted, some questioned why Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was not more prominent in the effort.
From last Wednesday, the lead role in the daily press briefings was taken by the prime minister's cousin, Hishammuddin Hussein, who is acting transport minister and defence minister.
Yet Hishammuddin's handling of the media has sometimes been just as cryptic as Azharuddin's.
When one reporter asked about confusion over misinformation regarding the search, Hishammuddin said: " It's only confusion it you want it to be seen as confusion."
Although the fate of the Boeing jet remains a hazy mystery, Malaysia's seeming inability to handle international scrutiny is devastatingly clear.
Malaysian aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman the butt of criticism
Missing flight 370 has thrust little-known Malaysian bureaucrat Azharuddin Abdul Rahman into front line of a crisis, and he's struggled
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 5:13am
UPDATED : Sunday, 16 March, 2014, 5:13am
Satish Cheney in Kuala Lumpur
Illustration: Craig Stephens
The past week has been the toughest of Azharuddin Abdul Rahman's hitherto unremarkable career as Malaysia's civil aviation chief.
Once virtually unknown even in his own home country, Azharuddin was thrust into the international spotlight with the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370. He is leading the multinational search for the plane, which vanished without a trace eight days ago with 239 people aboard.
The Malaysian government officials who meander in and out of the search's media centre seem to know little about Azharuddin, other than that he worked as an air-traffic controller and rose up the ranks to become the chief of the Department of Civil Aviation. But they all agree on one thing: He's now in an unenviable position.
Besides facing the wrath of the missing passengers' family members, Azharuddin has been inundated with criticism from the international community and his own countrymen, who have grown infuriated by a week of confusing and contradictory statements about the search.
The toughest part of his routine has been the daily press conference at the media centre at Sama Sama Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
Faced with a barrage of increasingly hostile questions from the world's press, Azharuddin's introduction to media relations has been a baptism of fire.
His inexperience shone through when he made a bizarre reference to Italian footballer Mario Balotelli, as he tried to correct reports that two passengers travelling on stolen Italian and Austrian passports had looked "Asian".
These false reports led many to wonder how immigration officers in Kuala Lumpur had allowed Asian-looking men to go through customs using European passports.
When prompted on Monday to describe the pair's appearances based on CCTV footage, Azharuddin said: "Do you know a footballer by the name of [Balotelli]? He's an Italian. Do you know what he looks like?"
A reporter then asked: "Is he black?" The aviation minister replied: "Yes."
Balotelli is black, born to Ghanaian parents in Italy. Azharuddin was, however clumsily, trying to make a sensible point: that the colour of one's skin has no bearing on nationality.
But the damage was done, and the baffling analogy was reported to worldwide ridicule.
On another occasion, when asked about the widening search area and why certain areas were being looked at, he said enigmatically: "There are some things I can tell you, and some things I can't."
Azharuddin said he did not have time to grant an interview. However, other government officials defended a man they respect and whom they feel has been unfairly portrayed as incompetent by the foreign media.
"The stress is unimaginable," said one government official. "You have no idea what he's going through, no idea of the kind of things he has to deal with before he meets you [reporters]."
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official said there was no communications structure when the search began.
Such a structure could have helped provide clear and non-contradictory information; it was only established "two or three" days after the search began, the official said. But even with this system supposedly in place, mixed messages continued to flow, apparently reflecting a lack of co-ordination between various players.
"You have one side [a government agency] saying one thing, and then you have people from the airlines saying another thing, and then you have someone from the army saying another thing, and you might have someone else say something else," the official said. "Then, you have the media speculating, so how is he [Azharuddin] supposed to do his job properly if other people give him the wrong information?"
The official also alluded to other parties wanting to seize the spotlight and refusing to play second fiddle to Azharuddin. However, he refused to elaborate.
Some members of the local media said it was unfair that Malaysia as a whole was being criticised over the lack of information about the search.
"I think this is the first time Malaysian citizens are aware who Azharuddin is," said local TV news presenter Shadila Abdul Malek. "Before this incident, even I had no idea who he was. I think he is doing his best, but I think there's something they are not telling us and that is probably because of security reasons.
"They should bring more of the media along to witness the search-and-rescue operations, so they can see how tough it is, and how it is not easy to find something in the sea," she said.
Another local journalist covering the search said the world's media had been too quick to judge Malaysia harshly.
"There are so many countries involved in the search mission. So, do they mean all the countries are useless since they can't find the plane? Even the US is involved," he said. "Do they know how hard the people involved in the mission are working? You have no idea until you go and see for yourself, OK?"
The director general of the Department of Information, Haji Ibrahim Abdul Rahman, also defended Malaysia's efforts.
" There was some conflicting information initially but now things have been streamlined," Ibrahim said. " From what we know, we can see the co-ordinated effort, and officials from the US and UK have commended the Department of Civil Aviation's efforts."
One Transport Ministry official said the human tragedy was being lost amid recriminations.
"It's not easy. Which country can ever be prepared for this? The people from MAS, they had friends and colleagues working as crew on the flight," he said. "You think we don't want to find out where the plane is? We are doing everything we can, but you cannot just keep pointing at one or two mistakes."
As pressure over the search mounted, some questioned why Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was not more prominent in the effort.
From last Wednesday, the lead role in the daily press briefings was taken by the prime minister's cousin, Hishammuddin Hussein, who is acting transport minister and defence minister.
Yet Hishammuddin's handling of the media has sometimes been just as cryptic as Azharuddin's.
When one reporter asked about confusion over misinformation regarding the search, Hishammuddin said: " It's only confusion it you want it to be seen as confusion."
Although the fate of the Boeing jet remains a hazy mystery, Malaysia's seeming inability to handle international scrutiny is devastatingly clear.
Last edited:
Soon, they have to search the whole earth for the plane. Just say to the families MIA.
They will search the sun after sunset maybe??
Similar threads
