1,000 Melaka government employees hold special prayers seeking recovery of missing plane

About 1,000 employees of the Malacca government held special prayers Thursday, seeking the recovery of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which disappeared last Saturday.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron, State Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk Othman Muhamad, state executive councillors and senior state government officers participated in the prayers conducted at the Dewan Seri Negeri and led by State Mufti Datuk Rashid Redha Md Saleh.

Idris said the congregation also prayed for rain and the eradication of dengue.

"All the mosques in Melaka will have special prayers after the Friday prayers tomorrow. We hope that our efforts will help the recovery of MH370," he told reporters.

Idris also urged all Malaysians not to employ methods which were against the teachings of Islam, such as using the services of shamans, in seeking the recovery of the plane.

The Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, was reported missing about one hour after taking off from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 12.41 am last Saturday.

It was to have landed in Beijing at 6.30 am on the same day.