March 27, 2014
A relative of a passenger aboard Malaysia Airlines MH370 reacts as she leaves a room after a briefing by the Malaysian government, at the Lido Hotel in Beijing yesterday. New satellite images have revealed more than 100 objects in the southern Indian Ocean that could be debris from a Malaysian jetliner missing for 18 days with 239 people on board, Malaysia's acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday.
Reuters pic, March 27, 2014.Malaysia should take most of the blame for the fallout of missing flight MH370 as it has dragged the painful incident for too long, an opinion piece in a leading Chinese daily said today.
English-language Global Times said Putrajaya's approach in handling the aftermath of the tragedy had raised doubts from international watchers.
"This mysterious accident is being followed by the world, as are China's reactions. In the eyes of some Western observers, China is 'doing its best to foster a sense of aggrievement' and 'exploiting international incidents for domestic gain'.
"The grievances of the Chinese people didn't come from nowhere," the article written by Wang Wenwen said.
The article is the latest published by Chinese media which had mostly been critical of Malaysia's handling of the crisis.
Malaysia's Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi last night blamed the Chinese print media for "stoking the anger" of the victims' families, especially those from China.
"The prime minister and acting transport minister have tried their best to resolve this. But, unfortunately, the papers have manipulated this and played up the sentiments until the families, especially those from Beijing, are upset.
"This is an accident which no one wants to see happen," Zahid said when winding up the King's royal address in Parliament.
However, he did not specify whether he was referring to media from China or local Chinese dailies.
The article titled "Don let extreme feelings preempt MH370 findings" said the families of passengers on board the Boeing 777-200ER have the support of the Chinese people, with many expressing doubts over the information released by Malaysia and criticising Putrajaya on China's social media.
When Victor Wong, a Chinese-Malaysian singer well known among the Chinese public, expressed his condolences to the relatives of the victims on his Sina Weibo account, a flurry of comments followed, blaming him for being hypocritical and calling for a boycott of his performances in China, the article said.
It said many Chinese believed that Putrajaya had mishandled the search for the missing aircraft and wanted Beijing to take a tough stance towards Malaysia.
The article said while it was too early to let public opinion lead the way, the future of Beijing-Kuala Lumpur relations will depend to some extent on how the government will act between diplomatic manoeuvring and public opinion.
"The past few years have seen the Chinese government facing increasing pressure from the public in making diplomatic decisions.
"There is a worrying sign that the public mood might be fanned by some opinion leaders at the price of ruining good people-to-people relationship between the two countries," the article said.
The article cited analyses in the foreign media speculating on a strained relationship between China and Malaysia, despite the fact that Malaysia was the first Asean country to establish diplomatic ties with China in 1974 and that Malaysia is China's largest trading partner among Asean countries.
It said China's tourist agencies have also reported a sharp decline in the number of Chinese travellers choosing to visit Malaysia.
Frustrated relatives of Chinese passengers aboard flight MH370 had been demanding answers from Putrajaya.
A briefing by Malaysian officials at Beijing's Lido Hotel yesterday, which lasted for four hours, saw angry relatives deriding Malaysian ambassador, Iskandar Sarudin, and demanding that Putrajaya retract Monday's announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that the flight had ended in the southern Indian Ocean as there was no firm evidence.
"There is no sign of the plane. So for what reasons are you so ready to confirm that it has crashed?" one man shouted angrily at the Malaysian officials.
"We demand you retract that the plane has crashed into the sea," said another.
The Malaysian officials said the authorities had relied on evidence from the Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch and British satellite company Inmarsat, and gave a presentation on the findings to which some family members responded with derision.
"Have you got no other information other than those bloody slides?" said one of the family members present at the session with the officials.
Two-thirds of the 239 people on board the missing aircraft are Chinese citizens.
The showdown at Beijing's Lido Hotel yesterday came a day after scores of emotional family members had descended on the Malaysian embassy, linking arms and voicing their dissatisfaction over the handling of the search for MH370.
Many family members at yesterday's briefing continued to cling to conspiracy theories as well as the hope that the lack of physical evidence might mean their loved ones are still alive.
At one point, a lieutenant general of the Royal Malaysian Air Force told the crowd he had not ruled out any possibility, including hijacking.
"If you have not ruled out any possibility... that includes the possibility that our loved ones are alive, right?" one relative said.
But another relative waved his hand at the officials, shouting: "Our relatives died because they were killed by your country." “ March 27, 2014.
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