Representative groups for the families of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370’s victims sent out a letter of thanks to the governments and teams involved in the three month long search for the jetliner … but left the government of Malaysia conspicuously off their list.
The letter, jointly issued by the Voice 370 and MH370 Family Association groups, expressed their appreciation to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) cheif coordinator Angus Houston and the teams working with them for their efforts in trying to locate the vanished aircraft.
“This incident has no such precedent through the history of aviation, and we would like to highlight the progress made toward understanding the events unfolding in the morning of March 8 and fate of the plane in the face of innumerable obstacles and complications,” The Malay Mail Online quotes the letter as stating.
“It is here that we would like to applaud the relentless efforts of the men and women of the search crews directly involved in the search operations for MH370 and those involved in the analysis of the flight path of the plane; this letter is a medium insufficient to convey the depth of the gratitude felt by all affected families toward your endeavours.”
The families thanked Abbott and Houston for “their gracious assumption of responsibility for the coordination of the search” in the southern Indian Ocean where the plane is believed to have ended its flight.
“Their calm and able handling of the situation has assured the families that this responsibility has been passed to capable hands,” said the letter.
The groups also mentioned the “considerable assistance” given to the search efforts by the governments of China and the United States.
“As the search for the flight begins another transition into a new phase, we hope that the unstinting efforts by all parties involved in the search and rescue operation will be able to yield an answer to the enigma surrounding the fate of our loved ones for the safety of the flying public and the relatives of those on board,” they added.
The omission of Malaysia’s government from the list of thank-yous reflects the still-palpable dissatisfaction of the families of MH370’s victims towards Putrajaya’s perceived poor handling of the investigations, and their alleged refusal to share and distribute critical information pertaining to the case.
Victims’ families have also accused Putrajaya and Malaysia Airlines of neglecting them.
Several families have taken to crowdfunding site Indiegogo to raise USD5 million (RM16 million) to fund their own investigation efforts, with a campaign called “Reward MH370: The Search For The Truth”. The project also seeks to hand out cash bounties to any whistleblowers who come forward with information critical to the search for Flight MH370.
See Also:
Families of MH370 victims want to raise RM16 million on Indiegogo to reward whistleblowers
