KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek today dismissed claims allegedly made by the international media that Malaysia had provided inaccurate information pertaining to a lost Malaysian airliner.
He said the participation of 26 nations in the search for the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 showed that other countries trusted the information provided by Malaysia and the way it handled the situation.
“There have been people who were looking for excuses and trying to find a scapegoat,” he told reporters after officiating at the ministry-level 2013 Excellent Service Awards event at the Angkasapuri Complex here.
At the event, Ahmad Shabery presented excellent service awards to about 30 staff from various departments and agencies under the ministry.
Also present were ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Abdul Rahim Mohamad Radzi; Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) general manager Datuk Yong Soo Heong and representatives of the various departments and agencies under the ministry.
Ahmad Shabery was asked to comment on foreign news reports that faulted the government over the information on the MH370 tragedy and on reports that Chinese celebrities threatened to boycott Malaysian products and tourism after the MH370 incident.
He said varying communications systems and the transparency of a government in providing information could have led to these accusations.
“For instance, in this country, we answer everything openly and it is disseminated over the social media such as Facebook and Twitter. The situation is different with countries which do not have a system similar to ours.
“So, of course, there would be presumptions that we (the government) are hiding facts. In this context, there are still those who believe in baseless theories which are hyped up either by the foreign media or people in our own country,” he said.
Flight MH370, with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board, was on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it disappeared from the radar one hour after departing the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 12.41am on March 8.
It was scheduled to arrive in Beijing at 6.30am the same day.
Based on analysis of satellite data provided by Inmarsat, a British satellite communications company, and the Air Accident Investigation Branch in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced on Monday that flight MH370 “ended in the southern Indian Ocean”.
Ahmad Shabery lauded the Information Department which co-ordinated the media centre and press conferences in an organised manner from the day that Flight MH370 went missing.
“I will review the template we used and how it can be applied to current needs. It demands creativity, innovation and a new formula, which is working together as a team, and how this formula can become the standard operating procedure for each new and unprecedented problem that arises,” he said.
On the excellent service awards, Ahmad Shabery said he hoped that all staff at every level would co-operate and discharge their duties with excellence.
At the ceremony, 762 staff from various levels in the departments and agencies under the ministry, including 29 from Bernama, received the 2013 Excellent Service Awards. — Bernama
