MARCH 21 — It's weird that many people are willing to believe in their own imagination and tips of unidentified sources.
You might have heard plenty of such insanely spread hearsay which you might believe or might be sceptical but are not aware what's wrong with it.
Rumour 1:
MH370 was already hit by the Malaysian air force because it was about to slam itself to the twin towers. The government deliberately delayed disseminating the news to give it more time to clear up the debris at the scene. The government has not admitted to doing this for fear of retaliation from China.
Flaw: No traces of explosion have been detected by even the most sophisticated radar systems and satellites while no debris from the doomed airplane has yet been found by the multinational search teams.
The Twin Towers? Are you serious? MH370 was never near them, and what makes anyone so unhappy with the towers by the way?
Rumour 2:
MH370 was hijacked and is now lying concealed somewhere on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
Sounds reasonable. Indeed, if MH370 were to fly westward, the island is indeed one of the few places the airliner could land and the fuel was enough to bring the plane this far, where a 3km runway long enough for the B777-200 awaits.
Flaw: There is indeed this airport on Diego Garcia, but this is not a no-man's land but an important US naval base in the Indian Ocean perennially guarded by military personnel complete with the most state-of-the-art devices including radar surveillance system.
If MH370 had turned back for Diego Garcia, it would have been spotted and intercepted in no time. But if it were to make a forced landing, it would make international headlines instantly.
Rumour 3:
Washington was well aware that MH370 had landed on Diego Garcia but had concealed it to bargain with China.
Flaw: The US government is no terrorist outfit; neither is Obama Osama. There are no reasons for both the US and China to go to war, so why the intimidation?
Rumour 4:
MH370 landed in Afghanistan and is currently in the hands of the Talibans.
Flaw: The MAS flight would have to fly past a number of countries before it reached Afghanistan, including India and Pakistan. While these two South Asian neighbours are not wealthy developed states, they ar pretty advanced in their defence technology. Any intruder into their air space would have been detected.
Moreover, Afghanistan is no more controlled by the Talibans today. A modern government in compliance with major international protocols has been established, and there is no way for such a regime to offer asylum to hijackers.
Perhaps many of the Talibans are themselves still hiding from the government and NATO forces in the mountains. As one of their leaders has said, if they have the ability, they really hope they can do so (hijacking a plane)!
Rumour 5:
Malaysia-bound family members of Chinese passengers on-board MH370, were sent to India instead.
Flaw: Those who wanted to come to Malaysia would have arrived in KL long ago. No one has been left behind in India.
Rumour 6:
These family members from China were segregated for collective supervision, not allowed to move about their own, as soon as they arrived in KL.
Flaw: This accusation has been denied by the families, declaring in an open letter that they have not been monitored or confined. On the contrary, they have been offered the necessary assistance and care.
Of course, the next rumour would accuse them of issuing the public letter under threat.
Have the producers and disseminators of such information and rumours ever thought that they were actually rubbing salt into the wound of the passengers' families? Besides, what they have done may also jeopardize the otherwise cordial bilateral relationship between countries as well as mutual trust and friendship among their people.
Of course, what they did has also exposed their severe dearth of common sense, logical thinking and compassion. — Sin Chew Daily
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.
