MH370: Next-of-kin get USD50K advance payment

Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin said today said they were six from Malaysia and one from China.

Before the payment, we have to verify the legal next-of-kin. We have to make sure they are the legal one. It will take certain time.

On final payment, we have to wait until the issue on MH370 is over. Whether the plane is found or we announce the plane is lost, we will make the announcement, he told a news conference after chairing the MH370 passengers next-of-kin committee here.

He said another 40 claimants of the next-of-kin from China were in the process pending verification from the Chinese government while those from other countries had appointed lawyers before the committee dealt with them.

On March 8, the Beijing-bound Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with 239 passengers including 12 crew members and 153 Chinese citizens on board disappeared from radar screens about an hour after leaving the KL International Airport at 12.41 am.

On March 24, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that the flight path of MH370 was believed to have ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

On Voice 370, a group claiming to represent families of those on board MH370, which demanded to meet Najib, Hamzah urged the group to be "transparent" and disclose and identify themselves.

I have their email that does not carry any signature and I am asking the sender to explain himself. How many next-of-kin are they representing, he said.

As the chairman of next-of-kin committee, Hamzah said he was willing to represent the prime minister and Acting Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussien to meet Voice 370.

He said the committee had meet family members individually either through MAS or the technical committee.

For the Chinese families in Beijing, he said MCA vice President Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun, had been appointed as the special officer to meet them while ambassadors from Malaysia were also meeting passengers from other countries.

We have been actively engage with family members from China. Almost everyday we received almost 20 calls and sometimes the family members come personally to meet us with an average of 30 family members every day.

So far we have engaged almost all family members from China I dont understand why Voice 370 wanted to meet the prime minister, he said.

He added that the Welfare Department had 43 meeting sessions with next-of-kin in Malaysia.