‘Give us back our families:’ Anger as relatives storm media briefing
Print Edition
ANGRY Chinese relatives tried to gatecrash Malaysia’s tightly controlled daily media briefing on the missing plane yesterday in chaotic scenes underlining the frustrations surrounding the 12-day search.
Shouting and crying, a handful of relatives of passengers on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 unfurled a protest banner reading: “Give us back our families.” They accused Malaysian authorities of withholding information and doing too little to find the plane.
The dramatic protest unfolded just before Malaysian officials arrived for the briefing, at which they announced no progress in determining what happened to the plane.
“They give different messages every day. Where’s the flight now? We can’t stand it anymore!” one woman wailed as reporters crowded around her and other relatives.
Shortly afterward, Malaysia staged a shorter-than-usual press conference during which officials indicated the investigation was zooming in closer on the pilot.
Relatives of the passengers are becoming increasingly agitated at the failure of the airline and Malaysian government to explain what happened, especially the families of the Chinese nationals aboard.
Security had to intervene to stop the uproar at the press venue in a hotel near Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Family members were bundled out of the room, with two of them physically carried out, still protesting and shouting.
“I fully understand what they’re going through. Emotions are high,” Hishammuddin said. But he had no progress to report.
Earlier yesterday, Indonesia acknowledged it had only just provided clearance for surveillance aircraft from Australia, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia to overfly its territory, while saying its own vessels were awaiting instructions from Kuala Lumpur.
India’s navy has suspended its search in the Andaman Sea for several days, citing a lack of instructions.
Hishammuddin confirmed that some search resources were “awaiting diplomatic clearance to begin operations.”
“Once we receive formal clearance, we can then speed up the deployment of assets along the search corridors,” he said.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking down on the 30 days during which the aircraft black box can transmit a signal.
Malaysia has sought help including radar and satellite analysis, and vessels and aircraft, from 26 countries.
But many of the countries involved are not used to such close cooperation — especially when it comes to sharing possibly sensitive data.
Paul Yap, an aviation lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore, said Malaysia faced a giant challenge getting partners to share sensitive data that could divulge a country’s radar capabilities.
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