Day: April 21, 2014

The outpouring of grief and respect by a sea of humanity at Karpal Singh’s funeral in Penang yesterday was a reaffirmation of Malaysians’ support for justice, the rule of law and democracy – the very ideals which Karpal had fought for in his whole life.

For four days, Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, age or gender, grieved at the sudden and shocking death of Karpal at an accident at the North-South Expressway near Gua Tempurung.

The nation-wide grief and shock over Karpal’s death was so great and overwhelming that over these four days, the great tragedy of MH370 with 239 passengers and crew vanishing without any clue since March 8 and the shocking ESSCOM security situation with a tourist from China abducted at the Singamata Reef Resort off Semporna on April 2 were momentarily edged aside.

But Karpal, if still alive, would want proper closure for these two shocking events. Continue reading “Outpouring of grief and respect by sea of humanity at Karpal’s funeral reaffirmation of Malaysians’ support for justice, rule of law and democracy – the very ideals Karpal fought for in his whole life”

The Malay Mail Online
April 21, 2014

SEPANG, April 21 — Passengers of a troubled MAS flight to Bengaluru (Bangalore), India, praised the pilot for having turned back and landed the aircraft safely at the KL International Airport early today.

Passenger Masluhuddin Khan, 30s, an Australian national of Indian descent, said that though it was the most frightening experience of his life, he was glad that the pilot made a ‘perfect’ emergency landing.

MAS Flight MH192 left KLIA at 10.09 pm yesterday for Bengaluru but detected a right landing gear malfunction, turned back and made an emergency landing at KLIA at 1.56am today.

The plane, carrying 159 passengers and seven crew, was piloted by Capt Nor Adam Azmi, with Prakash Kumar as the co-pilot.

Masluhuddin said the pilot kept the passengers informed through the intercom system every 20 minutes of the measures he was taking as the aircraft maintained a holding pattern for about four hours.

“All the passengers were cool and calm on board; everything went well inside the cabin,” he said when met by reporters. Continue reading “Passengers praise MAS pilot for landing troubled flight safely”

COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
April 21, 2014

The late DAP leader Karpal Singh’s funeral in Penang yesterday has been the biggest outpouring of grief in Malaysia since Tunku Abdul Rahman’s funeral in December 1990.

The crowd lining the George Town roads yesterday roared the prominent lawyer and politician’s name. Thousands others followed the cortege with Karpal’s body to the Batu Gantung crematorium for his final journey.

Penang wept for its favourite son, Malaysia cried for the loss of an influential lawmaker, lawyer and leader. Continue reading “Grief over Karpal reflects Malaysians’ affection for principled people”

by Muzliza Mustafa
The Malaysian Insider
April 21, 2014

Passengers on Malaysia Airlines flight MH192 bound for Bangalore, which had to return to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport a few hours later after its departure last night, praised the crew for handling the situation calmly.

Passengers said the aircraft had a “bumpy” take-off when it departed from KLIA about 10.15pm yesterday.

Marta Alonso, a telecommunication engineer from Spain, said she knew something was not right as soon as the plane took off.

“It was bumpy and shaky. Not long after that the pilot announced we needed to make an emergency landing. It was frightening,” she said at the airport today.

Alonso was one of the 159 passengers and seven crew members onboard of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

She said the cabin crew, however, remained under control.

“It was calm. The pilot did a good job by giving a constant update on the situation,” she said. Continue reading “Passengers on MH192 praise pilot’s calm handling of situation”

By David Learmount
Flightglobal
17 April, 2014

The least unlikely cause for the disappearance of MH370, based on what little we know about the final flight, is that a person with a sharp mind and a plan, but who was emotionally unbalanced, took control of the aeroplane.

It could have been one of the pilots, or someone else on board who had the means to persuade the pilots to depart from official cockpit security procedures, possibly in a friendly way.

Cabin crew? Nobody knows, and there is certainly no direct evidence. Continue reading “Why MH370 probably won’t be found”

Koh Jun Lin
Malaysiakini
1:51AM Apr 21, 2014

Passengers on board Malaysian Airlines Flight MH192 faced a four hour terror ride after the landing gear malfunctioned shortly after take off, forcing a turnback and several attempts at an emergency landing.

At about 2am, the plane successfully made an emergency landing. There were 166 people on board.

Flight MH192 departed at 10.09pm for Bangalore last night. The Boeing 737-800 aircraft was supposed to have arrived at 2.35am (Malaysian time) today.

In a press release after the plane had landed, MAS said the right main landing tire had burst during take off.

“The captain was alerted by Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control that tyre debris were found on the runway and immediately contacted Malaysia Airlines Operations Control Centre (OCC) at 10:25pm.

“As safety is of utmost priority to Malaysia Airlines, the aircraft was required to turn back to KLIA,” said MAS. Continue reading “Suspense as MH192 makes dramatic emergency landing”

by Greg Botelho and Ed Payne, CNN
April 20, 2014

(CNN) — The underwater drone scanning for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 finished its seventh mission Sunday, having covered about half its intended territory without finding any sign of the missing plane.

This has been the case for 44 days now, which seems like an eternity for the relatives of the 239 passengers and crew on board, still hoping for a miracle or, at least, closure.

The Bluefin-21 drone started its eighth mission soon after the previous one ended Sunday morning, surveying the bottom of the southern Indian Ocean for traces of the Boeing 777.

These efforts may be a main focus of the search, but they aren’t the only part. Continue reading “Flight 370: Underwater drones find nothing after scouring half of search area”