MH370: No mention of 'crash' or 'no survivors' by PM - Hishammuddin

This was clarified by acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein during a routine media conference today, following demands of apology from the families of Chinese passengers, from the Malaysian government.

"Part of the reason for that request is an allegation that the prime minister or the government had stated that the plane had actually crashed and that there were no survivors.

"That is totally erroneous... There was no mention of a crash or no survivors," he said quoting Najib's statement on March 24.

The Malaysian Boeing 777-200ER, with 239 passengers and crew on board, vanished on March 8, about an hour after the Kuala Lumpur-Beijing flight took off from the KL International Airport at 12.41am.

On March 24, Najib had announced that (the flight path of) Flight MH370 ended in a remote region of the southern Indian Ocean based on detailed analyses of satellite data.

The announcement had sparked frustration among many relatives of passengers on board the missing aircraft, urging the authorities to arrive at concrete evidence in its findings.

Hishammuddin, who is also the Defence Minister, said the search for debris spotted by satellite that could be possibly linked to the Malaysia Airlines jetliner would continue.

A day after the Prime Minister’s speech, Malaysia Airlines Chairman Tan Sri Md Nor Md Yusof summarised the announcement saying there was no hope for survivors.

“Based on this evidence, the Prime Minister’s message was that we must accept the painful reality that the aircraft is now lost and that none of the passengers or crew on board survived,” he said

Though the debris recovered from the Indian Ocean was found to have no relation to the missing plane, Hishammuddin said there would be no timeline for the search operation.

"We need to be fair to the families (of the passengers and crew). No letting up at the moment. What happens later, we have discussed but it is not appropriate to share with the public," he said.

During the media conference, several foreign press have asked Hishammuddin to clarify the graphic information of the air turn back made by MH370 released during the family briefing in Beijing.

"I cannot confirm. I'm not going to debate about it here. The family briefing was closed-door," answered Hishammuddin.

On every technical question on MH370, Hishammuddin reiterated that it could only be answered when the blackbox is found.

"Time is running out, as far as the signal coming out from the blackbox, if it is indeed in the southern Indian Ocean," he said.

Hishammuddin also thanked the Australian authorities for their cooperation and commitment in leading the search operation in the southern corridor.