Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan today asked the authorities for speedy closure for the families of those onboard the missing MH370 aircraft.

 

Lim urged the government and Malaysian Airlines (MAS) to address the various reports and queries especially on social media, the Internet and news portals.

 

“These must be given attention as they do affect the image of the country and the airline," he added.

 

"There's too much speculation on the missing plane. Hope we get some answers soon. This is not only important for Malaysia but for the rest of the world, especially for families of the victims," Lim told reporters in Penang today after giving out RM100 cash awards to senior citizens.

 

In one of Malaysia's worst tragedies, an aircraft headed to Beijing carrying 227 passengers, including two infants and 12 crew members, vanished from radar after taking off from the KL International Airport at 12.41am yesterday.

 

Lim said the Penang government is deeply saddened by the incident as the pilot of the airplane, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, is a Penangite.

 

"We offer our condolences to his family. It is not only a loss to MAS but Penang and Malaysia as well,' he said.

 

With 18,365 flying hours behind him, Zaharie joined MAS in 1981.

 

Accompanying him on the flight was First officer Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, who joined MAS in 2007 and has 2,763 flying hours.

 

Lim ( right ) said the Penang government offers its deepest sympathies to the families of those onboard, which come from 14 nations.

 

Lim said he returned from Berlin on a Lufthansa flight yesterday and coincidently, he sat beside an aeronautical flight engineer.

 

The engineer told him that the 777-200 series airlines have very good safety measures in place and has no record of crashes.

 

The 777-200 is even safer than the 747 series, a larger aircraft, according to the engineer, Lim added.

 

The plane was also supposed to be at its safest point when cruising after two hours, when it left Kota Bharu enroute to Vietnam, the engineer added, Lim said.

 

"Something unusual would have happened. Flying into a storm is not a factor - the plane would simply climb to a higher altitude. The engineer told me if there was a crash, it would be the first in his memory," Lim added.

 

Meanwhile, Health deputy minister Dr Hilmi Yahaya urged all quarters to put aside their political differences and pray that the missing plane would be found soon by the rescue mission.

 

"Respect the feelings of the families involved in this incident," said the Balik Pulau MP in his Facebook page today.