flight MH370 – making world history

UPDATED ON 24.3.14:  intereseting info-graphic on the mystery of MH370

i wanted to blog about this about a week ago but somehow or other i cannot access my blog, so can't do it. now that i can, i better quick start to blog about it. 

hey, this is something so important, a major world disaster that had gone down in history that happened to my own counrty, so, for sure i MUST blog about it. 

first of all, some thought on the flight MH370 incident.

granted that there were instances what malaysia has not been handling this incident well but all in all, i would say they are ok. seeing so many criticisms hurled at malaysia especially at hishamuddin, in a way, i feel it is not fair. they are doing their best. their positions are not easy positions for anyone to be. it's easy for us to be arm-chair critic but try looking at things from where they stand.

whenever there's any situation, weigh in on both sides before the first thing you do is to shoot angrily at malaysia. at least, see the other side first before you start criticising malaysia. for example, the recent press conference, where police dragged out the family members from china. sure security should not have dragged them out but in the first place the family members shouldn't be there as it was a press conference for media only. they barged in (sort of gate-crashed). i can understand how they feel, how they so much want answers and the security were wrong to drag them out but before you critcise malaysia for what they did, look at what happened first. some people said they did not get a chance to speak to journalist but bear in mind that was a press conference by the authorities, they were intruding. also, on the contrary, most of them refused to speak to journalists actually and some of the security had been shielding them from the journalists. 

many malaysians seems to 'glorify' the foreign press and agree with what the foreign press said of malaysia. true, the foreign press are more direct and i do agree at times they were correct on their views of malaysia (the criticism) but then why all of a sudden, when disaster struck, they are so forthright with their criticism, as one nicholas quah pointed out here in this article 'the media's shameful malaysian airline coverage: gawking at a foreign disaster.'  

another thing, i wonder why so much focus on the chinese nationals relatives? yes about two thirds of the passengers are chinese nationals but then we have passengers from other countries too, including our own of course. they demand this and that. they make noises here and there. yes i do understand how they feel but same thing also goes for the malaysian relatives (and other nationals) but nothing much about them making noises and getting out of hand.

i'm sorry to have to say this… but i'm saying it anyway, not to be a hypocrite…. that all along i have never really like china. china is a country that come to me as arrogant. i remember the time when malaysia said something like they have to check the background of all passengers and crew as all passengers and crew are suspects, china then said something like that they trust their passengers, their passengers cannot be hijackers or what. wasn't that kind of smack of arrogance? straight away they believe their own people are goody type while the others may be suspect. it's only fair if they want to say ALL are suspects, means ALL, including the china nationals.

yes the foreign media has been focussing so much on the chinese nationals, as someone by the pseudonym 'kijangmas perkasa' stated so well in his article 'MH370 exposes the ulgy side of the foreign media'.  to quote:

The Western Media is focusing almost exclusively on families of Chinese passengers, almost reveling in the dramatic expressions of sorrow and anger by these people. These unbridled emotions have long degenerated into bouts of Malaysia-bashing, with wild and outrageous accusations thrown at our officials and our nation by what has became a rude, noisy, unreasonable and hostile mob bent on venting their personal frustrations at something, somewhere, somehow.

yes, also earlier i was talking about where security dragged out some of the chinese nationals, it was also mentioned here:

The Western Media, including CNN, BBC, ABC, CBS and NBC, have been broadcasting again and again, almost in loop tape fashion, the near riot in the MH370 media briefing room yesterday. Malaysia's portrayal as a villainous state, with evil officials hoarding information and telling untruths with impunity is now complete.

indeed. that was how i felt too. the video (event) was true of course but do they have to over-emphasis on it? so much so, that even many of our locals get into the action to push ALL blame on malaysia. malaysians should not believe (or worst, glorify) the foreign press too much.

"I’m angry at Malaysia for not telling the truth. From the start they were buying time, withholding facts, and now they’re distorting the truth.'"

Really?

The truth?

What then do you call the media briefings of the 12 days? Pack of lies by Malaysia? Untruth? Buying time? Withholding facts?

Why?

So what "truth" do you want?

That the plane crashed? No, you won't accept it. The plane was hijacked? No also. The plane landed somewhere? Again No. The plane is lost and will NEVER be found? A big No No.

i was also perplexed. why only the chinese nationals acted thus, why they keep asking for the truth. what truth they want? doesn't the other relatives also wanted to know the truth? 

So why must only you people display this unbridled anger and frustration over something beyond the control of anyone, any airline, any search party, any national leader, any country, even the planet itself?

exactly what's on my mind too. 

i think i will post the whole article here, instead of just putting in the link since it is so good to me. (see below, after my blogging chat.)

ok no more about the article then but my own thoughts again.

today, as i just started to blog on this issue, much had been happening already. today is the 16 days of the search and rescue operation in progress, involving 26 nations. it is said to be the longest search and rescue operation in modern passenger-airline history. 

there had been much speculations going on about what happened, even conspiracy theories of course, some of which, seems ridiculous. what i don't like most is the suspicion on the pilot being the 'rogue'. i would like to think more of him being the  hero, as in a theory exposed by an experienced pilot, chris goodfellow.

to recap on what happened earlier, with the events leading up to the disappearance on 8 march, you can read here from CNN, with pictures gallery too.

the latest news, as of yesterday was about australia spotting some debris, which they thought might be from flight MH370. anyway it is not confirmed yet as the search is still going on. 

well in a way i hope those are not debris of the plane… so that meaning, there's still hope for the passengers to be alive but on the other hand, it is also good if they found the debris as it will be a closure for the family and relatives. whatever it is, let's just continue to pray and hope. i'm glad to note that so many places, so many people had been praying for MH370 or sending messages (as you will see in some of these pictures here).

NOTE:  updated – regarding the press conference (as given link at 5th paragraph, the woman had came out to say she was not mistreated.)

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Malaysian Digest
Published on 21 March 2014 09:30

MH370 exposes the ugly side of foreign media

THE case of Malaysian Airlines MH370 has opened a big can of worms, and this has evoked mixed reactions among the families of those in the missing aircraft.

This incident turned out to be a playground for the foreign media, who at the moment, is having a field day bashing and thrashing Malaysia for something that it has no control over.

Fed up with all this crazy accusations, a concerned Malaysian under the pseudonym of “KijangMas Perkasa” wrote an article that brought to light the ugly side of these foreign media and it is now being circulated in the social media networks. The article pretty much sums up the feelings of majority Malaysians who think that this country is just a punching bag for the foreign media.

mD feels that it is time for Malaysians to unite.

Below is the article:

The Western Media, including CNN, BBC, ABC, CBS and NBC, have been broadcasting again and again, almost in loop tape fashion, the near riot in the MH370 media briefing room yesterday. Malaysia's portrayal as a villainous state, with evil officials hoarding information and telling untruths with impunity is now complete.

Malaysia bashing is on overdrive !

NOW, while the world is gripped by the possible discovery of MH370 debris in the southern Indian Ocean, let me state something:-

NO country has a monopoly on grief.

Malaysia lost 50 of its citizens. These are fathers, wives, siblings and children of quietly grieving families across our land. Indonesia lost seven people, Australia six, India five, with others spread over 11 other countries and territories.

BUT . . .

The Western Media is focusing almost exclusively on families of Chinese passengers, almost reveling in the dramatic expressions of sorrow and anger by these people. These unbridled emotions have long degenerated into bouts of Malaysia-bashing, with wild and outrageous accusations thrown at our officials and our nation by what has became a rude, noisy, unreasonable and hostile mob bent on venting their personal frustrations at something, somewhere, somehow.

And Malaysia became this punching bag.

While a little "thank you for your concern, support and hospitality" may be beyond these guests of Malaysia Airlines, we didn't expect a noisy demo in the media briefing hall either. And not least the Malaysia-bashing banner which read: “We protest against the Malaysian government withholding information and wasting time and hampering search efforts.”

NOW . . . you people know what happens if you do THIS in your homeland, China? Yes, I'm sure you do.

As for the Western Media, the LA Times quoted a typical line — with the same flavor repeated again and again among their compadres — this time purportedly by a grieving family member in Beijing:-

"I’m angry at Malaysia for not telling the truth. From the start they were buying time, withholding facts, and now they’re distorting the truth.'"

Really?

The truth?

What then do you call the media briefings of the 12 days? Pack of lies by Malaysia? Untruth? Buying time? Withholding facts?

Why?

So what "truth" do you want?

That the plane crashed? No, you won't accept it. The plane was hijacked? No also. The plane landed somewhere? Again No. The plane is lost and will NEVER be found? A big No No.

Then what do you really want to hear? Do you even know WHAT you want to hear?

So what is "truth" then?

NOW, you want the truth? You really want the truth? Ok . . . . .

The truth is — until about a couple of hours ago with the Australian preliminary interpretation of the commercial satellite imagery — NOBODY KNOWS. Not Malaysia, not China, not America, nobody knows. That's why everyone and his uncle from almost 30 countries plus millions online worldwide have been searching millions of square km of land and the deep blue ocean.

Sure, I sympathize with your grief. But again, others lost their loved ones too and suffer from the same uncertainty as well. I repeat, Malaysia lost 50 passengers and crew, including some of our best and brightest. And passengers from 13 other countries and territories were also on that flight and suffered the exact same fate as your loved ones. BUT I don't see Malaysians, Indonesians, Australians, Indians or Americans go berserk and throw bottles at Malaysia Airlines staffers and verbally abuse caregivers.

Did grieving Malaysian next-of-kin throw bottles and spit at your embassy officials and representatives in KL over the irrelevant satellite image furnished in the name of your government, which led to the deployment of our SAR assets in the middle of the South China Sea to unravel a lead that turned out to be a sick prank among many untruths and distortions spewed by your country's social media?

So why must only you people display this unbridled anger and frustration over something beyond the control of anyone, any airline, any search party, any national leader, any country, even the planet itself?

Still not satisfied?

Still want to bash Malaysia at every turn while you partake in all the free food, 4-star accommodation, counseling and transportation provided by Malaysia Airlines although the bulk of your kin's tickets were actually purchased from China Southern Airlines in a Code Share? What has China Southern Airlines done? Next to nothing. Zilch.

My message to these people: there is something called Compassion Fatigue. Your antics in Beijing and KLIA beamed over the global media have pushed many genuinely caring Malaysians towards this state of mind.

AND to the Western Media, remember, there are 239 souls on MH370, not just 152. The world has witnessed the antics of the families of the 152. Why don't you people now focus on the other 87 families who by and large handled this very difficult times with dignity underlined by brave acceptance of God's will.

#PrayForMH370

~KijangMas Perkasa~