PM raps opposition leader on MH370 remark

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak (pix) today rapped a statement by an opposition leader who claimed he could solve the mystery of the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 in one second.

He said the disappearance of the flight MH370 had entered its 39th day and needed the support of countries within and outside the region due to the complexity (of the search) and its unprecedented challenges.

"The remark of the opposition leader is illogical and regarded the people of Malaysia as stupid," he said at the monthly meeting of the Finance Ministry here, today.

On April 5, a Chinese newspaper published an interview by the Southern Weekly magazine with opposition chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim which quoted him as saying that if he were the Prime Minister, he would take one second to solve the issue of the missing MH370.

The flight MH370 with 239 people took off on March 8 from the KL International Airport at 12.41am and went off the radar screens an hour later while flying over the South China Sea. The aircraft should have landed in Beijing, China at 6.30am on the same day.

The mission to find the aircraft involved numerous countries, initially in the South China Sea and later - after the aircraft was detected diverting from its original route - along two corridors, namely, the northern corridor from the borders of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan until northern Thailand and the southern corridor from Indonesia to the Southern Indian Ocean.

Following an analysis of satellite data of a United Kingdom satellite telecommunication company, Inmarsat and the Air Accident Investigation Branch summarised that flight MH370 flew along the southern corridor and its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth.

On March 24, Najib announced that flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

The head of the Joint Agency Coordination Centre, Air Chief Marshal (Retired) Angus Houston today said nine military aircraft, two public aircraft and 11 ships helped in the mission to look for MH370.

Furthermore, the Australian Maritime Security Authority planned to conduct an air search involving 62,063 square kilometres and the location of the target was 2,170km northwest of Perth. – Bernama