7 March 2014 I received a private message from a Facebook friend "Quiet Day Today...". This message is so profoundly was on hind sight the most wrong thing to say. Because the very next day we were shocked by a Press Release by Malaysia Airlines.
Sepang, 8 March 2014: Malaysia Airlines confirms that flight MH370 has lost contact with Subang Air Traffic Control at 2.40am, today (8 March 2014).
Flight MH370, operated on the B777-200 aircraft, departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am on 8 March 2014. MH370 was expected to land in Beijing at 6.30am the same day. The flight was carrying a total number of 227 passengers (including 2 infants), 12 crew members.
Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft.The airline will provide regular updates on the situation. Meanwhile, the public may contact +603 7884 1234 for further info. "
Its now been 14 days or two weeks since and we have no idea of the fate of flight MH370.
What we have found so far is a lot of conjecture, tonnes of speculations and way out theories. And what is even more interesting is that this tragedy have exposed the worse in the following:
1. The foreign press - trying to pick holes in the press conferences by Malaysian authorities when really there was none The quality of international and the lack thereof of any form of integrity and principle;
2. The political opposition - having nothing better to do apart from cracking jokes, making inane remarks on Twitter and at Press Conferences, doing what they do best looking for blame instead of coming together in this difficult times. Adding fuel to the fire even further not helping one tiny bit on the Search and Rescue Mission. (Of course the fact that their head honcho is on the way to jail for some personal indiscretion and his road to the State is now thwarted by the decision of the Court of Appeal exacerbates matters....)
3. Supporter of the political opposition - that follows the tenet of "you jump I jump" of the opposition leaders thus singing the same tune no matter how silly, repeating the statements and claims no matter how ridiculous, questioning the flow of information....
Open Parentheses [Do they have any idea of the effort it takes to coordinate raw information coming from over 20 nations, each with armed forces of their own, each with agencies of their own, and some with satellite data feeds, trying to separate the truth and the false and facts against speculation AND make it into an acceptable by ALL statements AND presented into a twice daily press conference and briefing to the families.
I respect the men and women that is involved in the Search and Rescue both on land and at sea, the backroom people that probably have very little sleep away from their family, children and friends who is just as worried for their well-being and health. In such powder keg situation, ANYTHING can happen. ] Close Parentheses.
To our friends the international party that participated and is participating in the Search and Rescue missions. As a Malaysian I saw thank you very much. A friend made a very profound statement on Facebook, I quote " The equipment that's being designed for death and destruction is now being used for humanity ". I love this most profound. Copied the item below from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_370. along with the assets(equipment of death and destruction) used.
- Australia: air force P-3 maritime patrol aircraft and C-130 Hercules;[95][96] navy ship HMAS Success dispatched after possible debris sightings.[97]
- Bangladesh: navy frigates BNS Bangabandhu and BNS Umar Farooq; navy Dornier Do 228 maritime patrol aircraft.[98]
- Brunei: Darussalam-class offshore patrol vessel.[99]
- Cambodia: Harbin Z-9 helicopters and P46-type navy ships.[100][101][102]
- China:
- France: a team from the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (BEA).[103]
- India: surface and airborne assets from the Andaman and Nicobar Command and Eastern Naval Command:[104] navy ships INS Satpura,INS Sahyadri, INS Saryu, INS Batti Malv, INS Kesari and INS Kumbhir; coast guard vessels ICGS Kanaklata Baruah, ICGS Bhikaji Cama and ICGS Sagar;[105][106] navy Boeing P-8, Dornier Do 228 and Tupolev Tu-142 maritime surveillance aircraft;[104][107][108] air force C-130[109][110] and Mil Mi-17.[110] Rukmini naval satellite.[110][111][112] A navy Boeing P-8 and an air force C-130 were deployed to Malaysia to join the international search force.[106]
- Indonesia: corvette KRI Sutanto, patrol boat KRI Siribua and fast patrol vessels KRI Matacora, KRI Tarihu and KRI Krait;[113][114] IPTN NC-212 maritime patrol aircraft.[115]
- Japan: naval defense force P-3 Orion and air defense force C-130 Hercules aircraft;[116][117] coast guard Gulfstream V;[118] and a disaster relief team.[119]
- Myanmar: naval vessels in Gulf of Martaban and the Bay of Bengal.[120]
- New Zealand: air force P-3 Orion.[121]
- Norway: a Norwegian RoRo merchant ship, the Höegh St. Petersburg.[71]
- Pakistan: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak asked Pakistan for help in tracing Malaysian airline's missing Boeing 777 and Pakistan assured Malaysian authorities of its cooperation.[122]
- Philippines: navy ships BRP Gregorio del Pilar, BRP Emilio Jacinto and BRP Apolinario Mabini; air force Fokker F27 and navy Britten-Norman Defender aircraft; and navyAgustaWestland AW109 helicopter. A Hamilton-class cutter vessel and a C-130 Hercules on standby.[123][124][125][126][127]
- Russia: Resurs-P No.1 satellite.[128]
- Singapore: South China Sea/Malacca Strait: air force C-130 Hercules;[129][130] navy Formidable-class frigate with one Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk helicopter; a submarine rescue ship with divers; Victory-class corvette;[131] an air force Fokker 50 maritime patrol aircraft.[132] Indian Ocean: all previously-deployed ships and aircraft stood down and the armed forces' Information Fusion Centre activated.[133][134]
- South Korea: navy P-3 Orion and air force C-130 Hercules aircraft.[135]
- Taiwan: air force C-130 Hercules; ROCS Tian Dan and a La Fayette-class frigate; two coast guard patrol vessels.[136]
- Thailand: Dornier Do 228, AgustaWestland Super Lynx helicopter and patrol ship HTMS Pattani. Other ships on standby.[137]
- United Arab Emirates: two military search and rescue aircraft.[138][139]
- United Kingdom: a team of Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigators.[140] HMS Echo – a multi-role hydrographic survey ship.[141]
- United States: Navy Lockheed P-3 Orion and Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft; Navy ships USS Kidd and USS Pinckney with Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopters;[142][143][144] a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) team.[145]
- Vietnam: Antonov An-26, CASA C-212 Aviocar, de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, Mil Mi-171, and ships from the navy, coast guard, fisheries control, and Maritime Search & Rescue Coordination Centre.[146][147]
To the family and friends of the crew and passengers of MH370 I hope I understand the torment and anguish that you are going through especially not knowing the fate of one's loved ones. I do hope and pray that the family, friends, search and rescue teams, leaders and fellow Malaysians would achieve closure very soon.
I may not have any family or friends on board but each day of not knowing chips away the hope and builds up the anxiety. If people like me can feel this way what about the family and friends. My father a soldier's soldier himself shed some tears when the news of a large debris was found by the RAAF with the possibility of the first clear signs of what may have befallen the crew and passengers of flight MH370.
My message to the media and journalists. I know you need to sell your newspaper, news, channels and so forth but do have a heart after all you are human too along with your own friends and family. To the Opposition and their supporters be kind and be supportive when the nation is in a time of need. Now is not the time to play politics and one upmanship. It is time to stick together not bash the nation in front of the media and journalists. To my fellow Malaysians learn to give messages of hope, building things and not destroying it.
To build takes decades and centuries, to destroy just takes a day.
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