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Not one minute of airtime on MH370, sulks Anwar
Published:  Jun 5, 2014 4:37 PM
Updated: 9:37 AM

MH370 Unhappy with the lack of coverage he was given on the MH370 incident, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has lashed out against local broadcasters on international radio.

He lamented that "not one minute of airtime on radio or television in Malaysia" was given to him, except over his links to MH370 Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah ( left ).

"The only reference made was that I happened to know the captain and therefore there is this link that he was very passionate about reforms.

"He was very supportive of the democratic transition and he was disgusted in the manner that the Court of Appeal and the judiciary were used to convict me for five years," he told the BBC World Service in an interview released today.

Anwar was referring to one of many conspiracy theories surrounding the MH370 mystery, which purports that Zaharie was disgruntled with the Court of Appeal decision on Anwar’s sodomy charge, and then went on to hijack the aircraft.

PKR had confirmed that Zaharie is a party member, but dismissed the allegation as "wild speculation" without any credible source.

The Boeing 777-200ER aircraft went missing without a trace on March 8 with 237 persons on board, just hours after the court decision.

In the interview, Anwar repeated his complaints that Malaysia is not being transparent in handling the tragedy.

He added that there is a "stark contrast" between the local media coverage of Malaysia's handling of the crisis that highlighted praises and international accolades, and the international media coverage that is largely critical.

When pointed out that even other countries could not find the plane, Anwar explained that his complaints are directed at the outset of the incident and not the subsequent search efforts.

"That was deep into the mainland of Malaysia, it is our responsibility. I cannot condone the concealing of evidence," he said.

He pointed out that MH370 had flew across five provinces of the peninsula after its disappearance.

"Until today, the government has not explained (how did this happen). No action has been taken against any incompetent guy dealing with the issue or radar," he said.

Location to be narrowed down

Separately, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) reiterated that MH370 will be found near where it made its seventh and last satellite handshake, and further analysis over the next few weeks will help narrow down its location.

 

This is because the aircraft is believed to have run out of fuel at when it made its last transmission, somewhere within an area in the shape of an arc off Australia’s west coast.

 

“As a result, the aircraft is unlikely to be more than 20 nautical miles (38 kilometres) to the west or 30 nautical miles (55 kilometres) to the east of the arc.

 

“Based on all the independent analysis of satellite communications and aircraft performance, the total extent of the 7th arc reaches from latitude 20 degrees south to 39 degrees south.

 

“Refinement of the analysis in the coming weeks will reduce the underwater search area along this arc to a prioritised 17,500 square nautical miles (60,000 square kilometres). The prioritised length of the Search Area along the arc is expected to be 350 nautical miles (650 kilometres),” the agency said in its website today.

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