MH370: Father hopes search will continue

Despite accepting the fact that the underwater search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has been suspended, the father of passenger Selamat Omar is still hoping for the search to resume in future.

He is hoping that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would consider the possibility of resuming the search in future when there is strong evidence of where the ill-fated aircraft ended its journey.

"I am still hopeful...I am pleading for the Prime Minister's compassion to continue the search when the financial situation has improved and if the effort is not too burdening for the country.

"I know much has been spent for the search operation, what more in the current economic position. As such, I accept the decision to suspend the search," he said when contacted here on Tuesday.

Selamat added that he accepted that the missing of his son Mohd Khairul Amri who was on board MH370 was God's will but as a human he had the desire to know what happened to the aircraft.

"I have resigned to fate, but I am just hoping to find closure. Only when MH370 is found, can we really know what happened and the parties concerned can analyse to ensure that such an incident does not occur again," he said.

Selamat also hoped in future, when the search has resumed, the next-of-kin would be informed by verified statements instead of getting false hopes from unconfirmed statements.

Today, a joint statement by Malaysia, Australia and China announced that the underwater search for MH370 had been suspended after the last search vessel ended its operation after scouring 120,000 sq km in the southern Indian Ocean.

The joint statement said the aircraft could not be detected despite all efforts carried out, using the best scientific knowledge, the most sophisticated technology as well as modeling and advice from highly skilled professionals in their respective fields.

The statement was jointly issued by Malaysia's Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Australia's Infrastructure and Transport Minister Darren Chester and China's Transport Minister Li Xiaopeng.

Flight MH370 with 239 passengers and crew went missing from the radar screen when flying to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on March 8 2014.

-- BERNAMA