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Family members of those aboard the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 have cried foul on not being informed about a government press conference on the matter until the last minute.

 

One of them, Lim Wee Hoon, said she was contacted by MAS at about 2.40pm today and was told to tune into the live broadcast of the press conference, scheduled for 3.30pm.

 

"They are expecting me to have a TV in front of me all the time," she chided to reporters attending the press conference.

 

She said the move was disrespectful to families of MH370 victims, and not in keeping with promises by MAS and the government to inform the families first, ahead of any announcement.

 

She added that she has no clue what today’s announcement was about.

 

Another next-of-kin, a Chinese-national who identified herself only as Kelly, said she was “upset” at the way she was notified.

 

She also reiterated the Association for Families of the Passengers and Crew on Board MH370’s (Voice370) call on the government not to jump any conclusions regarding the fate of their loved ones.

 

“We don’t have updates regarding the details of investigation. The search for the MAS aircraft is still ongoing, the Malaysian government cannot make announcement now. We oppose such actions,” she said.

 

Lim said her brother-in-law and Kelly’s husband were among MH370’s 227 passengers.

 

Meanwhile, the wife the MH370 chief steward Patrick Gomes, Jacquita Gonzales, said she had been seeking confirmation on today’s press conference from the authorities over the past two days, but was only officially notified just over 30 minutes before it was scheduled to begin.

 

“From the cabin crew families - whatever you want to announce please tell us. Put us at peace, don’t beat around the bush,” she said.

 

Although it was a media event, at least seven next-of-kin of the MH370 victims came to the press conference venue and sat amongst members of the press.

 

They claim to have heard rumours about the press conference since Tuesday night.

 

'Unforeseen circumstances'

However, the press conference was ultimately called off, with press officer Jagjit Singh announcing that this was due to "unforeseen circumstances".

 

The Ministry of Transport later said the press conference was cancelled because it was not appropriate to continue with the next-of-kin present.

Department of Civil Aviation director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman ( right ) made a televised address instead.

 

Earlier, Jagjit said the press conference was meant for members of the media, and said to all other persons, “I would appreciate if you would leave please.”

 

However the next-of-kin did not budge while members of the media crowded around them to hear their grouses.

No action was taken to compel them to leave, and they continued to speak to the media at the press conference venue well after the press conference was cancelled.

 

The family members also responded to rumours that the announcement was to formally declare that the MH370 passengers and crew were lost in order to proceed with legal formalities such as insurance claims and property transfer.

 

Lim said insurance companies have already been directed to make payments to the next-of-kin soon after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced on March 24 last year that MH370 had “ended” in the South Indian Ocean.

 

However there are still hiccups with other issues such as the transfer of Employee’s Provident Fund (EPF) funds and Social Security Organisation (Socso) funds.

 

When asked if such as announcement would help, she replied, “maybe”.

 

As for Jacquita, she opined that while such a move would be helpful to many families who find themselves cash-strapped after the disaster, what remains paramount was still their loved ones.

 

“That is the least of our worries, we want the person. Yes it help a lot of families, I know, because they are financially strapped and all that. But our main priority is to get back our loved ones,” she said.

 

Meanwhile, Kelly said she would not accept such an announcement because it would lead to a declaration that the victims are presumed dead.

 

“We would rather not deal with those issues (legal formalities) and we don’t want them to declare them missing like this…

 

“We don’t want them to make such rash decisions without evidence,” she said.

 

She also demanded a Chinese translation of the data from the satellite company Inmarsat, which led to the conclusion that MH370 had flown to the South Indian Ocean in its final moments.

 

Otherwise, she said she is left without proof that the aircraft is indeed there and can only surmise that there had been a conspiracy.

 

However, it would later turn out that Azharuddin’s announcement was not to formally declare MH370’s passengers and crew missing, but that they are presumed dead.

 
"Without in any way intending to diminish the feelings of the families, it is hoped that this declaration will enable the families to obtain the assistance they need, in particular through the compensation process," Azharuddin said.

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