Captain Zaharie is no Einstein to plan MH370's disappearance, says sister

The sister of the pilot on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 denied that he is responsible for the March 8 incident saying that if he did, he would be “some kind of Einstein.”

This follows a report last month by the UK's The Sunday Times, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah was purportedly responsible for the disappearance of the missing flight. PDRM later denied giving the information and regarded its statement had been distorted.

Captain Zaharie’s sister Sakinab Ahmad Shah appeared on Singapore-based Channel News Asia's special programme entitled “The Mystery of MH370” to reject the notion that her brother was responsible.

“We couldn't figure out why somebody who would want to commit suicide would prolong the agony of flying for four, five, six hours just to land down there. If it was done, if he was the one who planned it, he has to be some kind of Einstein, which he was not.

“He was just a man who took so much to aviation. He loved aviation, he spent a lot of his money buying model airplanes. If he could, I think he would attach wings to himself and fly -- he loved flying that much,” Sakinab told the news channel.

Last month, PDRM expressed its regret over the irresponsible reporting by the Sunday Times which said Captain Zaharie was responsible for the disappearance of the MAS flight.

Inspector-General of Police Secretariat assistant head (corporate communications) ACP Datin Asmawati Ahmad described the report as irresponsible and baseless.

"The Sunday Times, United Kingdom had contacted PDRM to get the latest development on the mystery of the missing MH370 on June 19 and 20.

"We replied that investigations were still ongoing, not conclusive and encompassed all aspects of the investigation. PDRM did not make a statement that Captain Zaharie was the main suspect in the incident," she said in a statement.

The then acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein described the action by the newspaper concerned in publishing the report as irresponsible and that it was only to increase the newspaper's circulation.