KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — A notice issued by Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein inviting only Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmakers to a special briefing on the MH370 crisis by the Ministry of Transport tomorrow drew uproar from opposition MPs today.
PKR’s Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh questioned why the briefing was only for BN legislators when the crisis of the missing plane is a national matter.
She further pointed out that the Transport Ministry had a duty to answer to Parliament and not only for members of the ruling coalition.
“How can this happen when this is a national matter? This is regretful. The minister is supposed to answer to the House, not just to a group of special MPs.
“It doesn’t matter if it is the opposition or BN, we are mandated to represent the people and the people have the right to know,” she said when debating the Parliamentary Royal Address.
A picture of the notice, which had the ministry of transport’s letterhead and Hishammuddin’s signature, was made available to the media after it was distributed in the Dewan Rakyat today.
The closed-door briefing will be held at the upscale hotel, Aloft, at KL Sentral at 8pm tomorrow.
“It is a national tragedy and all MPs should be briefed thoroughly.
“At this critical time, Hishammuddin as transport minister is still playing partisan politics and we are sad and disappointed,” PKR’s Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin said, commenting on being locked out of the briefing.
Both Fuziah and Sim said Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers are united with the public in praying for the safety of those aboard Flight MH370.
“The onus now is on the government to do the same and walk the talk,” Sim said.
BN legislators refused to comment on the matter when approached by The Malay Mail Online.
The plane has yet to be found 10 days after it fell off civilian aviation radar on March 8 but investigators believe it was diverted by someone with deep knowledge of the plane and of commercial navigation.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said on Saturday evidence pointed to a deliberate diversion of the flight, given the controlled way it was apparently turned around and flown far to the west of its original route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
The Malaysian government has also come under heat for allegedly being slow to release information, and critics have also claimed such information that has been made public is often conflicting, fuelling speculation that Putrajaya was trying to hide something.
The opposition had previously criticised the Barisan Nasional government for what it described as a chaotic lack of coordination in managing the crisis.
Malaysian officials have denied the allegations.
