Malaysia says no sighting of MH370 in Maldives, people on board innocent till proven otherwise Skip to main content

Malaysia says no sighting of MH370 in Maldives, people on board innocent till proven otherwise

Published on Mar 19, 2014
Malaysia's acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein (L) speaks during a news conference about the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport March 18, 2014. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

By The Straits Times Malaysia Bureau
 
SEPANG - Malaysia's Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Maldives has clarified that it was not true the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was sighted in its airspace.

He also told reporters on Wednesday that the passengers and crew of MH370 are innocent till proven otherwise.

"Regarding reports that the plane was sighted in the Maldives, I can confirm that the Malaysian Chief of the Defence Force has contacted his counterpart in the Maldives, who has confirmed that these reports are not true,'' he told a press briefing.

He also said Malaysia has received background on all passengers from Russia and Ukraine, but so far no significant data has been found.

"I would like to take this opportunity to state that the passengers, the pilots and the crew remain innocent until proven otherwise. For the sake of their families, I ask that we refrain from any unnecessary speculation that might make an already difficult time even harder,'' he added.

The search now covers 2.24 million square nautical miles and stretches from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in Central Asia to southern Indian Ocean.

The plane disappeared on March 8 while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. There were 239 passengers and crew on board, most of them are China citizens.

As for support to families of the missing Chinese passengers, Mr Hishammuddin said a high-level team would be deployed to Beijing.

"I would like to announce that in addition to the team that is already on the ground, Malaysia is currently assembling a high-level team that will immediately travel to Beijing. The team will give briefings and updates to the next of kin on the latest situation, and on search and rescue plans,'' he said.

The team will include representatives from the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Royal Malaysian Air Force, the Department of Civil Aviation, and Malaysia Airlines.

The team will be led by Lieutenant General Dato Sri Ackbal bin Haji Abdul Samad, Air Operation Commander, Royal Malaysia Air Force. He will be assisted by Mr Ahmad Nizar bin Zolfakar, director of Air Traffic Services, Department of Civil Aviation.

http://www.straitstimes.com/
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in Moulmein. Supposedly the first Burmese-language newspaper, it continued up until the first year of the second Angl
Post a Comment
Read more

ARSA claims ambush on Myanmar security forces

Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on Sunday claimed responsibility for an ambush on Myanmar security forces that left several wounded in northern Rakhine state, the first attack in weeks in a region gutted by violence. Rakhine was plunged into turmoil last August, when a series of ARSA raids prompted a military backlash so brutal the UN says it likely amounts to ethnic cleansing of the Muslim Rohingya minority. The army campaign sent some 650,000 Rohingya fleeing for Bangladesh, where refugees have given harrowing accounts of rape, murder and arson at the hands of security forces and vigilantes. Myanmar's military, which tightly controls information about Rakhine, denies any abuses and insists the crackdown was a proportionate response to crush the "terrorist" threat. ARSA have launched few attacks in recent months.  But the army reported that "about ten" Rohingya terrorists ambushed a car with hand-made mines and gunfire on Friday morning
Post a Comment
Read more

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do
1 comment
Read more