KUALA LUMPUR: It is hard to get to the truth of what happened to MH370 as long as the aircraft or its wreckage is not found, says Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador.
The Inspector-General of Police, who was part of the investigation team when he was in the Special Branch, said police had investigated all angles, including theories of terrorism and hijacking.
“We have collected various information regarding the missing airplane.“The case might be re-opened if the aircraft is found, ” he said at a press conference after attending the ceremony for the replacement of elevators for the Police Training Centre and Pantai police station here yesterday.
He was asked to comment on a claim by former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott that Malaysia’s top leadership considered from the outset the disappearance of MH370 in 2014 a mass murder-suicide by the pilot.
Abbott said this in a two-part documentary that first aired on Sky News yesterday.
“My very clear understanding from the very top levels of the Malaysian government is that from the very, very early in here they thought it was murder-suicide by the pilot, ” he said in a clip from the documentary, the second part of which will be shown tonight.
Abbott, however, declined to name any individuals to support his claim on the flight that vanished on March 8,2014 en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 230 people on board.
The IGP said Abbott had the right to share with the media what he purportedly been told by Malaysia’s top leadership.
“However, in terms of the law, I cannot comment further as long as the aircraft is not found, ” he added.
Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that no one should blame the pilot for the tragedy until the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recording are found.
He told a portal that there had yet to be conclusive proof that pilot Capt Zaharie Ahmad Shah had committed mass murder-suicide.
“It would have been unfair and irresponsible since the recorders had not been found, and hence, there was no conclusive proof whether the pilot was solely or jointly responsible, ” said Najib.
Najib was further reported to have said that such a possibility was never ruled out during the search effort and investigations.
“The pilot is a known active opposition party member who had attended various political activities and the opposition leader had admitted later that the pilot was related to him, ” said Najib, while not identifying the opposition party member.
Sembrong MP Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who was the acting Transport Minister at the time of the tragedy, said every single lead and possibility regarding the missing aircraft which included speculation, theories and any relevant information at that time was looked into with the full cooperation of international authorities.
“Over the course of the investigation, new information and leads surfaced on a constant basis and I have always maintained consistently then that all information needed to be properly verified and all evidence corroborated before further action was taken, ” said Hishammuddin in a statement, where he added that there were also daily media briefings and interviews.“Being transparent, releasing corroborated developments and establishing what actually happened had always been my priority.
“Revealing anything which has not been corroborated would have affected the ongoing investigations and would be unfair to the families of the passengers onboard MH370 and the general public.
“It would have been an irresponsible and insensitive thing to do.
“Unfortunately, until the end of my tenure as acting Transport Minister, the investigation team did not report to me any conclusive answers on the exact cause of the missing plane, ” said Hishammuddin, who also expressed his appreciation for those involved in he investigation, including the Australian government.
Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, who was the director-general of the Civil Aviation Department (now Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia) when the plane went missing, said it was not right for Abbott to make claims over an unproven theory.
“I met Abbott during the course of MH370 investigations but I have never confirmed such theories nor spoken to him personally.
“He claimed the top leadership in Malaysia then told him so – ask him who those people are.
“I am surprised he is raising this theory now – for what purpose, I do not know, ” said Azharuddin, who was also the chairman of the MH370 High-Level Technical Task Force.
DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang called for an international commission of inquiry into MH370 following Abbott’s allegation.
“It would appear an international commission of inquiry into the MH370 disappearance would be necessary as a result of Abbott’s revelation, ” Lim said in a statement. – The Star