MARCH 29 — They must feel as though they have descended into hell. Devastated, they struggle to deal with their emotions and hold back tears.
Emotionally stretched, the trio carries with them the heavy responsibilities of meeting with loved ones of passengers and crew of the missing Flight 370 and informing the world at daily packed press conferences about the latest in the disappearance of the Boeing 777.
Today, they would be at it for 528 hours or 22 days after the passenger jet vanished on March 8, two hours into an overnight flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia Airline System Berhad group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya and Department of Civil Aviation director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman have stood up to face this mammoth challenge even as the keyboard mob and opportunists claw to bring them down.
Every rumour or theory, every possible sighting or satellite image has been a massive emotional up or down for the loved ones of the missing 239 passengers and crew, these three gentlemen and the whole world.
Behind their veneer of ‘ultra-cool’ control during press briefings, the three men face a barrage of questions and criticism from the media in front of the whole world, something so mentally monumental that even the toughest among us might collapse.
Imagine being in their position when whispers become gossip, gossip becomes rumour, rumour becomes news and clock-ticking desperation becomes a disastrous outpouring of distress.
Hishammuddin, the man who terrifies his political competitors with buccaneering, forthright style has a heart-warming way of healing troubled minds and has burnished his image as a ‘regular family kinda guy’, but to me it’s under-fire Ahmad Jauhari (AJ) who provides an endearing image of a boss, a father and a brother in misery during press briefings.
Here’s a boss who has to raise the spirits of his 22,835 employees to cope with enormous sorrow and pain. Here’s a boss whose company has been badly affected by the loss of 13 staff.
He cried when the prime minister announced that MH370 had crashed in the south Indian Ocean after 17 days of agony. The expression of sadness on his face reflects the gloom that has clouded the nation.
It’s the greatest mystery in our lifetime, and Malaysia is in an extraordinary and difficult time. It’s treacherous to be in the position of the three men.
While skeptics may view my hymn of praise as a puff piece amid a thickening MH370 plot, let me just say AJ was one my bosses in The New Straits Times when he was senior group general manager (production and circulation) in 1990 and two years later deputy managing director.
My ex-colleagues agree with me that he was never the self-indulgent, self-justifying sort and that the nation must have all confidence in his ability to lead Malaysia Airlines through the worst crisis in its history.
Hard decisions lie ahead for MAS in efforts to rebuild the brand and all stakeholders must be on the same page if this national institution is to survive this crisis.
Hitting a man when he is down is cruel. The National Union of Flight Attendants (Nufam) is totally out of line to demand AJ’s resignation now as it is opportunistic. The union is upset because he did not bow to its previous demands.
An unfortunate incident has caused hardship to everyone and here we are criticising the MAS chief and our own country while the world is watching.
It has to be said, though — and without sensationalism or exaggeration — criticism of how Malaysia handled the disaster is justifiable to an extent.
But opportunists and hashtag snipers claiming a cover-up and forcing leaders to resign is unkind unless someone precisely knows that they had done something horribly wrong.
There were, of course, mistakes and these three men know there is potentially a huge political and social disaster hurtling down the tracks towards them. But we should all stand solidly behind them and ensure they don’t fall because we owe them.
*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
