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Why so many 'turn-backs' in MH370 investigation?

YOURSAY So, is it truth or speculation that the aircraft flew over the Straits of Malacca?

MH370 detected above Malacca Straits at 2.40am

Odin: In a report of March 8 titled ‘Putrajaya: MAS crash reports unverified’, Department of Civil Aviation director Azharuddin Abdul Rahman clarified that the Subang Air Control Traffic lost radar contact with the aircraft at 1.30am and not 2.40am as stated earlier by MAS.

We have also heard of 1.40am as the time when contact was last made. Now it is back to 2.40am. What gives?

This piece of information only comes today, on the fourth day after the disappearance of the aircraft. Since the aircraft’s last known position is now said to be above Pulau Perak, the search-and-rescue (SAR) teams have been searching at the wrong places all this while. All this clearly illustrates gross incompetency on the part of Malaysia.

Sleepy: “Don't speculate” is a phrase often used. Is the statement from Air Force chief Rodzali Daud speculation or fact? If it’s just mere speculation, don't blame others for doing likewise.

Anonymous_1392781899: This really shows Malaysia is incompetent. All airplanes are tracked by the air traffic controller (ATC). We are not driving a car where we can go anywhere we like. This is a very regulated movement. The pilot cannot simply fly where he likes without the permission of ATC.

It seems the ATC was sleeping at that time or no one was monitoring as it was midnight. The ATC should have noticed the change of course and contacted the pilot to find out his intention. If the military is right, then the ATC is incompetent. If the ATC is right, then the military is incompetent.

Either way, Malaysia is at the losing end. Why can’t they discuss before contradicting each other? Malaysia is a strange place, with ‘endless possibilities’.

Kanasai: If the plane really turned back and was detected at 2.40am but the decision makers were only informed in the morning, what type of organisation does this country have?

If this is true, all those affirmative programmes for the last 50 years have taken their toll. Wonder how the government is going to face those SAR teams of foreign countries. A sick joke indeed.

Caripasal: It took these useless jokers four days to announce the plane had made a U-turn to the Straits of Malacca. No wonder one of the spokespersons brought up the Straits of Malacca two days ago in a misquote – or did he indeed accidentally tell the truth after being instructed to lie?

No wonder they kept saying the information from Vietnam is not true .This is truly a disgrace to the nation.  If there were any survivors, they would be dead by now. What happened to the radar at Subang Airport?

Vijay47: The Subang and military radar systems seem to "sometimes can detect, sometimes cannot detect". And this is when the only war we are in, is the one BN has launched against members of the opposition. What if some country actually attacked us?

Let us say that North Korea, though more likely our neighbours much closer to our borders, sent in their jets to take out Kuala Lumpur. The survivors would be none the wiser even after the smoke clears.

The first defence measure Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein should do is to post ‘his eminence the bomoh sedunia’ at the top of Genting Highlands. Armed with his bamboo ‘Hubble’ telescope, he would be able to detect any hostile aircraft or in-coming wherever they are launched from. I feel so much safer that he is batting for our side.

                        

Dex: If it military radar had detected the aircraft on the first night itself, why was the four star general briefing about search and rescue (SAR) in the Gulf of Siam?

FellowMalaysian: Syabas to Minister Ismail Yaakob for lassoing the 1,788 fishing boats to join in the search.

Maybe they will prove to be more effective than multiple high-resolution imagery satellites or infra-red equipped Seahawk search helicopters or the Orion class SAR vessels, aided by highly-trained personnel from some of the most closely protected nations in the world.

Hmmmmmmmm: Sounds like the whole country is in a 'turn back' mode. If this report is true, I suggest we hand over the whole investigation to foreign experts to avoid more embarrassment and time wasting. Just imagine, we have been searching in the wrong place all along, when time is of the essence.

Cantabrigian: Now I'm beginning to trust that Bomoh King more than the Malaysian authority.

RATBATBLUE: If the aircraft reversed its direction, i.e. instead of going northeast, it turned around to head westwards, it would have to pass over land,(most likely the Southern Thailand/Malaysian border region).

On the Malaysian side at least, there are many airports, both civilian and military. I’m wondering how a large aircraft could slip past all of them without being identified and then being tracked, bearing in mind MH370 was not on its normal course and was in fact, going the other way.

Assuming it had done so, it would have had about six hours of fuel left and this would have opened up the possibility to fly past India and further westward, towards the Middle East.

Perhaps this opens up a large can of worms. With such a formidable search party out at sea, I wonder how any evidence of a crash has not been found as yet. Or has it been intentionally censored from the public?

Something is certainly not right here. This is a modern aircraft with several safety features.

FairMind: Only after four days, the military now comes out to say that the plane was detected near Pulau Perak, in the Straits of Malacca, at 2.40am? People’s lives are at stake here.  

This fact should have been disclosed on the very first day. I just cannot imagine the fumbles that Malaysia made. Earlier, the Home Ministry said that the false passport holders looked Asian, and then the DCA chief said he looks like footballer Mario Balotelli, an Italian citizen of African descent.

Then, the man in the released photo looked nothing like an Asian or African. Next the DCA said five people did not board the ill-fated plane and their luggage was removed. Then the IGP said no such thing occurred. The world is looking at how stupidly Malaysia handles the incident.

It's the same thing with the about-turn on the Sedition Act, the NEP, the word ‘Allah’, and the many court verdicts overturning earlier decisions, etc. Is Malaysia a nation of about-turns?

Gravity: We have state of art technology. First the bomoh and now 20,000 fishermen. Fifty years of Ketuanan sure has taken its toll on this beautiful country.

Haveagreatday: No wonder the relatives of the passengers aboard the missing MH370 are extremely upset with the Malaysian authorities.

Four days after the plane disappeared, this Rodzali chap comes in out of the blue to say the plane was last detected near Pulau Perak.

So, is this an unverified report or is it official now?

Oracle: Maybe it landed safely at KLIA and is now hidden in Air Asia's hangers. Why don't the authorities just hand over investigations to the professional US authorities who have the requisite skills and resources?

After all Egypt did exactly that in the Egyptair 737 crash. They honestly stated they did not have the ability to undertake the investigation.

Our daily demonstrations of bungling buffoonery at the press conferences are not only painful, but embarrassing. But will it happen? No. Why not? Because Malaysia boleh!


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