Hishammuddin told the Australian Broadcasting Corp in an interview aired on Monday that the Malaysian military had been told to keep an eye on the plane but allowed it to disappear off their radar after considering it to be non-hostile.
His statements have drawn much flak from the families of those on board the ill-fated jetliner, who said he has only fuelled more questions instead of providing answers to the incident.
They also said the statements by Hishammuddin, who is also Defence Minister, smacked of incompetence and that more honest people should be allowed to lead the investigation into the aircraft’s disappearance, instead of covering up the military’s and the government’s flaws.
Indian national Pralhad Shirsath whose wife was a passenger on the plane, questioned how the plane was allowed to pass through Malaysian airspace without any action taken, when the military knew that M370 was missing or in trouble.
He said the minister’s statement only showed that it was part of “a plan” to make the plane disappear with some purpose.
“Mr Transport Minister said, ‘If you're not going to shoot it down, what's the point of sending it up?’
"Well, he should understand that sending up military planes does not always mean shooting it down, but rather investigating risk and taking action (when it was already identified as a commercial jet and non-hostile but travelling through Malaysian territory without authorisation) in terms of giving feedback to those to whom the plane belongs (I assume military did not know it was Malaysian flag carrier at that time),” Shirsath told The Malaysian Insider when contacted.
“Or is it OK to fly over Malaysian territory without prior permission or clearance?” he asked.
Shirsath believed that the latest revelation only proved that the Malaysian government was hiding more information from the families and the public.
“If they have reason to hide information, they should tell us and probably we will try to understand them," he said.
Shirsath also said Malaysia’s image has been dented by the way the government has dealt with the tragedy. He was puzzled as how the people who ruled the country and those in charge of the search and rescue operation managed to remain in power.
“How can Malaysian people tolerate these blunders? These leaders must step down and more honest people should lead the investigation,” he said.
“It is not too late, they should tell us all truth, stop misguiding the media and families and make sure passengers and crew return to their homes safely and we will forgive them,” he added.
A Twitter posting by relative of an MH370 passenger, criticising Hishammuddin over his interview with Australia's Fourcorners programme. Sarah Bajc, the partner of passenger Philip Wood, echoed Shirsath’s sentiment, saying it is both absurd and perilous for any civilian or military flight observer to disregard an unidentified airplane.“I believe the Malaysian people and the investigation into MH370 would be well served by Hishammuddin’s resignation.
My guess is that most feel that way but I would not presume to speak for others,” she said.
Meanwhile, Syafinaz Hasnan, the sister of M370 crew Mohd Hazrin, described Hishammuddin’s statements as insensitive.
“I am saddened by the way the government has dealt with the military issue.
They are also very confused with their own twisted information.
Now everyone knows how incompetent they are and how vulnerable our country can be,” she said.
K.S. Narendran, husband of Chandrika Sharma, one of the five Indian nationals on board MH370, found the minister's stance and the defence "outrageous".
He said what occured showed total neglect and incompetence on the part of the various authorities in handling the incident, and urged Hishammuddin to stop defending the indefensible by covering up military flaws.
He also said the public was not easily taken in, regardless of whether Hishammuddin had appeared sombre or savvy, contrite or confident,collaborative or combative on television.
"The families and the world deserve to hear the truth and the only way the government can hope to redeem themselves is by refusing to be the agents of those who want to protect their interests, seeking forgiveness for specific lapses and making amends," said Narendran.
Lokman Mustafa, whose sister was on board the plane, said the lack of action from the military only revealed the mentality which resulted in the Lahad Datu intrusion.
“Either our military men were not inquisitive enough, or just plain lazy, which of course means a dereliction of duty. Or worse, could this be a conspiracy to hide something?” he asked.
“Let’s put it this way, if we hear strange sounds on our roof, do we get out to check what’s causing it?
“We may, or may not... but because our military men are paid to ensure our safety, they have to determine whether its hostile or otherwise.
Just because ‘we're not at war with anybody’ does not mean we should allow any aircraft to trespass into our airspace and quietly glide out to sea, because it might be Lahad Datu intruders again, or MH370. But I guess some people never learn,” he said.
In the interview with ABC, Hishammuddin said the military did not send a plane up to investigate as "it was not deemed a hostile object and pointless if you are not going to shoot it down".
He said this in defence of the military’s failure to scramble a fighter jet after flight MH370 had disappeared from civilian radar on March 8 when its transponder stopped transmitting around 1.21am during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
The military radar tracked it after it made a turn-back and turned in a westerly direction across the peninsula.
"If you're not going to shoot it down, what's the point of sending it (a fighter) up?" Hishammuddin told ABC.
Delays in pinpointing the Boeing 777-200ER’s location led to days of searching in the South China Sea before analysis from British satellite firm, Inmarsat, pointed to the Indian Ocean as its likely course.
Hishammuddin had also said that had the jet been shot down with 239 passengers and crew on board, "I'd be in a worse position, probably".
He said he was informed of the military radar detection two hours later and relayed it to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who then ordered a search in the Malacca Strait.
This was the first time that Malaysia has said that civil aviation authorities told the military to keep an eye on the aircraft – a fact which was not mentioned in the five-page preliminary report on the plane's disappearance released by the Ministry of Transport on May 1.
The much-criticised preliminary report made no mention of the instructions from the civil aviation authorities to the military to monitor the plane.
Instead, the brief report, which was sent to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), revealed a chaotic four hours after communications between Malaysia air traffic controllers, Malaysia Airlines and other regional air traffic controllers, before a hunt was initiated.
The Malaysian authorities have been severely criticised over their handling of the investigations into the missing jetliner with the international media, family members of passengers and crew, with the public accusing them of hiding and delaying information.
A survey commissioned by The Malaysian Insider last month showed that more than half of Malaysians polled believed that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government had been hiding information about flight MH370's disappearance. – May 23, 2014.
Source : http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/fed-up-families-demand-hisham-step-down-over-mh370-military-blunder
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