PUTRAJAYA, Jan 29 — Waiting for months for new updates, the families of those on board the missing MH370 said today that they were upset at receiving word late for a media briefing by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA).

Lim Wee Hoon, whose brother-in-law was on the plane, said she was upset at not being informed earlier and was told less than an hour by Malaysia Airlines (MAS) before the briefing to tune in to a live television broadcast.

“For me, I received a call at 2.44pm. How do you expect me to have TV all the time?” she asked, saying she had taken emergency leave from work to listen to the news.

Lim also pointed out that the then Malaysia Airlines (MAS) CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya had promised the next of kin last year that their feelings would be taken care of and they would be given first-hand information.

“We’ll be the first persons to be informed prior to any announcement to the public,” the 41-year-old said of the promise, saying that some of the family members have received unofficial word of the briefing from the media.

With her was her husband Wesley Walter, who wanted to find out about the plane that had carried the husband of Lim’s sister, Chan Huan Peen.

Syafinaz Hasnan, 26, whose brother Rain Hasnan was a crewmember, said she only received word at 2pm.

Coming with Rain’s wife Intan Maizura and toddler, Syafinaz said she was tipped off by reporters.

The DCA called off the media briefing scheduled at 3.30pm after officials spotted the family members among the attendees.

About five adult family members were seen, followed by an announcement by a Putrajaya spokesman that only the media was allowed in the briefing room, that was not heeded.

Lim said the family members had not intended to disrupt the media briefing, pointing out that many of them had chosen to lie low instead of speaking to the media.

“My intention is not to make a mess for them, not to stop their plan but I think it’s time for us as next of kin to voice out our disappointment. We are totally being forgotten,” she said, claiming that she had not been contacted by the caretaker assigned by MAS for around three months.

She also said she was uncertain over what the expected declaration of the plane as being lost would achieve, saying that many insurance companies had last year already “been given orders and instruction to proceed with compensation” after the Malaysian prime minister declared the flight “ended” in the ocean.

The families left disappointed at the loss of opportunity to hear the announcement first hand.

The DCA later said in a statement that it had made arrangements to contact the families of the victims separately.

Late the same evening, Malaysia officially declared missing MAS Flight MH370 as an “accident” and its passengers and crewmembers deceased today, just under 11 months after the ill-fated jetliner’s mysterious disappearance on March 8, 2014.

The declaration was made by the DCA today pursuant to International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) Chicago Convention, allowing the family members of the 239 passengers onboard to proceed with their claim for damages.

Yesterday, Voice370 - the self-styled support group for families of those onboard the missing plane – addressed rumours that the Malaysian authorities’ would make a major announcement about the flight, saying they will not accept such declarations from Putrajaya without physical evidence of the plane’s fate.

On March 24 last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak confirmed that the missing MAS jetliner MH370 “ended” its journey in the southern Indian Ocean, but stopped short of saying that the Boeing 777 aircraft had crashed into the vast ocean.