MH370: "The same mistake must not be made again" - Najib

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak admitted to the flaws the Malaysian government had done in managing the case of the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370.

Najib in his article entitled Malaysia’s Lessons from the Vanished Airplane, published on The Wall Street Journal, today, stated that “My government didn’t get everything right. Yet other parties too, must learn from MH370 – and make changes.”

In his this article Najib started off with his chronicle of the “bizarre” and “unprecedented” event that took place under his watch as the Prime Minister and that he understands the plight and the terrible anguish for the families of those on the plane especially with the lack of definitive proof or physical evidence like the wreckage from the aircraft that made it harder to bear.

Najib also credited the efforts by all for doing their level best under near-impossible circumstances and this is a huge attainment for a developing country like Malaysia to overcome diplomatic and military sensitivities and bring together 26 different countries to conduct one of the world's largest peacetime search operations.

However, Najib wrote, ”But we didn't get everything right. In the first few days after the plane disappeared, we were so focused on trying to find the aircraft that we did not prioritize our communications.”

Najib also acknowledged the fact that there was a huge confusion especially when the plane vanished instantaneously between two countries’ air traffic controls and that it took air-traffic controllers four hours to launch the search-and-rescue operation and this requires investigation.

The Prime Minister wrote “None of this could have altered MH370's fate. And I pledge that Malaysia will keep searching for the plane for as long as it takes. We will also continue facilitating the independent investigation so we can learn from any mistakes. We have already tightened airport security, and investigators are looking for other measures to improve safety.”

Najib highlighted that this ordeal faced by Malaysia in this era of modernity must not be taken lightly and that the nation is not the only party that must learn from MH370.

He ended the article by saying “The global aviation industry must not only learn the lessons of MH370 but implement them. The world learned from Air France but didn't act. The same mistake must not be made again.”