YOURSAY ‘I’m totally appalled at how these families are treated.’

Angry Chinese nationals barge into briefing room

Magnus: The Malaysian relatives are understandably also in pain. Everyone knows that and that fact is not disputed in any way. Only the Almighty really knows what they are going through.

But the Malaysians are in their own country and in familiar surroundings in their own homes and with family members around them for support.

The Chinese nationals are in an alien place in alien surroundings and cooped up with people they have only just met because of this disaster.

Many cannot speak anything other than Chinese. They are therefore in a more stressful situation. Therein lies the obvious gaping difference between the two sets of grieving peoples.

If I am not mistaken, these Chinese nationals were invited to come to Malaysia by MAS and wait around for news of their lost relatives. So it is ‘kurang ajar’ (bad behaviour) to treat them in such a manner in public.

Why is someone not thinking ahead and taking the right proactive measures to prevent more such foreseeable actions which might draw more public embarrassment to Malaysia and cause more reputational damage?

Why not keep those relatives informed and keep asking them how one can help them? Keeping them cooped up and just giving them shelter and food is not enough.

I hope the BBC and other foreign reporters now understand what really goes on in Malaysia and will act appropriately.

Local Malaysians, including members of the trying-to-be-free press, have been powerless against their abuse for so long that the authorities have unfortunately learned to become blasé to such unacceptable public behaviour.

I feel sorry for all decent Malaysians watching these fiascos unfolding before them and for all those directly affected by this tragedy.

Each is an individual and each will have one’s own best ways of coping with their personal tragedies and some may understandably sometimes lose their self-control.

Malaysian hospitality is still world renowned so please do not destroy that image along with almost everything else.

Whatsup: What a disgrace! I’m totally appalled at how these grieving families are treated.

SRMan: It is not just the next-of-kin of the plane passengers/crew but the whole world as well who are waiting with bated breath for the outcome of the search as the clock ticks away.

Much precious time has been unnecessarily wasted initially in finding a non-existent needle in the South China Sea haystack.

The authorities should tackle the matter as if their loved ones are on the missing craft. If we are not capable, let others take over as every second counts.

MissPandora: It is indeed heart wrenching to watch the families losing control over their grieve. I asked myself this question: Is there dignity in grief?

Looking at Maira Nari, the 17-year-old girl grieving for her father, I must answer with a resounding ‘yes’. Like these families here, she wants answers to her questions too. She wants her father, too.

But in her own way of grieving, she has shown us all what dignity, grace and strength is. Her father would be proud of her. We are proud of her.

Mushiro: If they want to speak to the press, let them. The journalists will decide if their messages are newsworthy or otherwise. It is not right to lock them up and assign someone to 'assist' (meaning control) them all the time.

If Malaysia has nothing to hide, then allow the relatives of the Chinese victims speak to the press.

EvenSteven: Why can’t they be allowed to air their grievances to the reporters? The bottom line at the end of each briefing is that the plane remains missing. Let them vent their anger rather than make them even more angry and frustrated.

After all, they are not going to cause anyone bodily harm. Allow them to let off steam and maybe after an hour or so at the most they'll all calm down.

Appum: Malaysia is sending a 'high powered' team to China to appease the Chinese there. Why not ask if some of the relatives here would like to go back to their homeland to wait instead of suffering here?

It’s better to wait in China. All they need to do is to have all documents ready and be on stand-by to be flown back here again if and when the time arrives.

LKT: Will the Chinese authorities place the high-level team from Malaysia in the same condition as the Malaysian authorities have been treating the family of the passengers until the plane is found?

Tpn: The Chinese nationals must understand that the authorities and other countries are trying their best to locate the plane. There is not much of a lead and a lot of conflicting reports.

I understand the situation they are in. No one wants to be in their position. So do the authorities.

GodBless: These affected relatives are led into (probably by the Chinese media) believing that the Malaysian government has a hand in the plane crash.

One interesting fact when I read Chinese media on this incident is most readers believed it is a Malaysian conspiracy and our government lied and intentionally held back information, while in western media, commentators in general believed that the conflicting information provided are due to government incompetency instead of conspiracy.

If one billion of mainland Chinese think we are deceitful and are at fault in this incident, then Malaysia will really be affected in trade and tourism-related areas in the long run.

FairMind: As if the pain of losing their loved ones is not enough, the police must be heartless in treating them this way. Maybe the police have forgotten that they are not Chinese Malaysians but Chinese nationals.

Anonymous$&@?: Now the whole world can see the high-handed tactics used by the Malaysian police. This is how the local journalists are treated and especially so if they are not from  a government media agency.

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