Families of Chinese passengers on Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 who arrived from China today vented their frustrations at Malaysia, demanding for ‘truth’ over what they believe was a ‘government cover up’.
At an emotionally charged press conference at the Holiday Villa hotel in Subang Jaya where they are staying this afternoon, they asked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to retract his March 24 statement that concluded that the flight path of the airliner Boeing 777-200ER airliner had “ended” in the southern Indian Ocean.
"The Malaysian government has concluded the end of MH370 based on speculation. We cannot accept this. Tell us the truth, we want our missing family members back or evidence the aircraft crashed." said a family member representing over 39 families of 18 passengers who were on board the ill-fated flight.
Chanting “We want the truth! We want our relatives! We want evidence!” , the families also held up banners which read "Hand us the murderer. Tell us the truth" "Return our relatives of MH370" and “Relatives of MH370 strongly condemn Malaysian government's delay of rescue time”.
The Chinese families claimed that there were flaws in the investigations demanded meetings with the technical team investigating the case.
It was learnt that MCA vice-president Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun and former MCA president Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting who are heading a high-level delegation to mediate the case, had met the Chinese families earlier with China's ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang.
The high-level team from Malaysia is periodically briefing the Chinese families but many are still unhappy over the alleged slow dissemination of information and Malaysia allegedly not revealing everything about the incident.
The Malaysian government and MAS have been criticised for their handling of the disappearance of MH370 on March 8, which vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Among the 239 passengers were 153 Chinese.
The families from China have been the most vocal, sparking a tit-for-tat between Malaysian and Chinese citizens especially online.
Last Tuesday, Chinese relatives had a scuffle with security personnel outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing
Astro Awani
Sun Mar 30 2014
Chinese relatives of passengers from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 display banners and the Chinese flag at a hotel in Subang Jaya on March 30, 2014. --AFP PHOTO
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