SHAH ALAM, 15 Mar: The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, did not confirm media reports on the MH370 aircraft which was hijacked.
Najib said that MH370’s last communication with a satellite was 8.11am, local time, last Saturday (the day the aircraft went missing) in the Straits of Malacca.
He said that investigations show the movement of the passenger aircraft and telecommunication contact was made intentionally, but he denied that it was a hijack.
However, according to Najib, now the search for the aircraft has entered a new phase towards a new corridor in northern Malaysia and another in the south of the country.
The northern corridor is heading to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and northern Thailand, while the south corridor is in Indonesia and the south of the Indian Ocean.
During the press conference, Najib who was reading the text without receiving any questions from the press said that Malaysia will continue search and rescue efforts and hopes that the new information obtained will bring one step closer to finding the aircraft.
Meanwhile, the public has expressed a range of views on social media regarding the emergency press conference by the Prime Minister regarding the delay in the press conference and Najib Razak’s refusal to open a question session to journalists.
They expressed their displeasure with the almost 40 minutes delay in the press conference which was supposed to be held at exactly 1.30pm.
They said that timeliness should be given priority by the Malaysian Government because it involves the country’s image internationally.
Some users of social networking sites raised questions about the aircraft ‘flying’ to Kazakhstan because previously, the media reported that Najib has family relations with the country’s top leaders, which needs further clarification.
According to Latheefa Koya, after denial after denial made by the acting Minister of Transport, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussine, Najib Razak’s presence confirmed the denial made previously.
The Coordinator of youth Solidarity Malaysia (SAMM), Badrul Hisham Shaharin, on his Twitter, wrote that the press conference by Najib Razak had no new information to be presented.
“(He) just said that there were new updates…it is already too late,” Badrul Hisham wrote.
Previously, the Associated Press International News Agency reported that a Malaysian government official said that the speculation that the MH370 aircraft was hijacked is no longer a theory, but is ‘conclusive’.
The officer, who is involved in the investigation, said that they have determined that one of the pilots or someone else who has experience flying had hijacked the plane.
However, the motive is not yet known and it is also still unclear where the plane is.