Malaysian authorities are under increasing scrutiny and criticism as Search and Rescue (SAR) operations for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 enter their second week, with investigators getting no closer to finding the jetliner and the 239 people on board.
The popular perception in foreign media and governments is that the official response to the jetliner’s disappearance has been weak, this making a difficult job all that much harder. The criticism has been loudest in the Chinese media, as 153 of th 227 passengers on board Flight MH370 are Chinese nationals.
In an editorial, the China Daily newspaper questioned the late announcement from Kuala Lumpur that the flight’s disappearance may have been “deliberate” and that the jetliner flew on for several hours after leaving its original flight path. The announcement came on Saturday, a full week after MH370 disappeared.
“The contradictory and piecemeal information Malaysia Airlines and its government have provided has made search efforts difficult and the entire incident even more mysterious,” the newspaper wrote.
“What else is known that has not been shared with the world?” it asked.
Yao Shujie, the head of the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham, wrote in an op-ed in China’s state-run Global Times newspaper that Malaysia “has lost authority and credibility” due to its chaotic response.
“The lack of national strength and experience in dealing with incidents has left the Malaysian government helpless and exhausted by denying all kinds of rumours,” Yao wrote.
He added: “If the search continues to be fruitless even following the new information, Malaysia would be better off handing over its command in the international rescue operation.”
The aircraft’s disappeanrace also remained the most hotly depbated topic on Sina Weibo, China’s equivalent to social media network Twitter. “Why is it only now that they’ve confirmed it may have been hijacked?” one Sina Weibo user wrote this morning in response to the latest revelations by Kuala Lumpur. “Malaysia, what else are you hiding?”
The Wall Street Journal reports that US lawmakers have likewise complained of a lack of information from Malaysian investigators and their resistance to allowing international laaw enforcement agencies to participate in the investigations.
“It’s frustrating because of the lack of knowledge and because we’re dealing with the Malaysian government and we’re not getting a lot of info,” it quoted House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R., Texas) as saying.
Story: The Malay Mail Online
