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MH 370, Rewards and Whistleblowers

by Binoy Kampmark
Counterpunch
June 09, 2014

The Lure of Conspiracy

It has been unendurable for those families who remain none the wiser for what happened to the Malaysian Airlines flight MH 370, which vanished on March 8 with 239 people on board. In such a vacuum of uncertainty, theories form and hypotheses develop. If one of the most extensive aviation searches in history cannot uncover the remains of a vanishing flight, the reasons may lie elsewhere. Well, that is at least what is being proposed by such individuals as Ethan Hunt, whose namesake from Mission Impossible suggests tasks more foolhardy than constructive.

For Hunt, the absence of a plane equates to the presence of conspiracy, and that old faith in the malice that is human kind asserts itself. “The mystery is unprecedented in the history of aviation, and we need to work as a collective community with one goal of finding the truth, the plane and the passengers.”

There are those of like mind. Former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, never averse to blending demagoguery with conspiracy when in office, suggested that the CIA, Boeing and the media were bound by a wicked design. “Clearly Boeing and certain agencies have the capacity to take over ‘uninterruptible control’ of commercial airliners of which MH 370 B777 is one.” In a blog post, he expressed puzzlement that, “For some reason the media will not print anything that involves Boeing or the CIA” (Breathecast News, May 26). Instead, Malaysian authorities were being singled out as the inept bogeymen of a badly directed mission. Continue reading “MH 370, Rewards and Whistleblowers”

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MH370 search area ‘to shift again’ amid new doubts over speed and altitude

By Andrew Marszal
The Telegraph
09 Jun 2014

“Inescapable uncertainties” over speed, flight path and altitude of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 mean search area will shift again, reports claim

The search for MH370 looks set to expand further as authorities on Monday signalled another major shift in the search area, in what is already set to be the most costly search in aviation history.

New doubts over previous calculations concerning the missing Malaysia Airlines flight’s speed, flight path and altitude have caused authorities to refocus their efforts on new sections of the vast Indian Ocean, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Describing all calculations concerning the plane’s final location as “educated guesses”, people familiar with the process told the newspaper that search teams are likely to shift “significantly south or southwest” from the areas of the ocean bed scoured in May.

An announcement on the location of the new area is expected by mid-June. Continue reading “MH370 search area ‘to shift again’ amid new doubts over speed and altitude”

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Liow Tiong Lai and Mah Siew Keong should ask Najib to put on hold any Cabinet reshuffle as MCA/Gerakan will not be part of BN Cabinet …

The Malay Mail Online has reported that the Umno Selangor Assemblyman for Sungai Air Tawar Kamarol Zaki Abdul Malik has submitted a motion to push for the implementation of hudud law for the forthcoming Selangor State Assembly beginning next week.

The Malay Mail Online has also reported that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak may carry out a major Cabinet reshuffle as early as Friday, which will include bringing in the MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and the Gerakan President Datuk Mah Siew Keong.

Liow and Mah should ask Najib to put on hold any Cabinet reshuffle as MCA and Gerakan will not be part of Barisan Nasional Cabinet until UMNO can give an undertaking that it will not push for implementation of hudud law whether at federal or state level, as this will be against the founding principles of the founders of UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan as well as the Malaysian Constitution that Malaysia is a secular democratic nation. Continue reading “Liow Tiong Lai and Mah Siew Keong should ask Najib to put on hold any Cabinet reshuffle as MCA/Gerakan will not be part of BN Cabinet …”

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A generation of Malaysians have lost their trust in Putrajaya, says Anglican bishop

by Jennifer Gomez
The Malaysian Insider
10 June 2014

Malaysia is “losing a generation” that no longer trusts the government, authorities and even each other, given the current trend of religious extremism, says Anglican Bishop Datuk Ng Moon Hing.

Ng, the newly minted president of the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM), said his greatest fear for Malaysia is a societal break-up due to hate speeches, racial hatred and religious extremism that is not being monitored.

“This nation has begun to lose a generation of people who no longer trust the government, the authorities, the elders, the religious leaders, and more so each other,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

Ng said trust and confidence in Putrajaya have plunged to its lowest level with unresolved issues affecting Malaysia’s multi-religious society, including the seizure of Bibles and the controversy over the use of the word “Allah” by Christians. Continue reading “A generation of Malaysians have lost their trust in Putrajaya, says Anglican bishop”

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Umno reps mull push for hudud in Selangor

By Zurairi AR
The Malay Mail Online
June 10, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 ― After Kelantan, Selangor Barisan Nasional (BN) is now eager to see hudud roll out in Malaysia’s most developed state, which is likely to open another can of worms.

The state opposition coalition is meeting today to decide whether or not to propose a study to push out the controversial Islamic penal code at the next sitting of the Selangor legislative assembly, which starts next Monday.

Selangor State Assembly Speaker Hannah Yeoh confirmed the study on hudud to be among four proposals she received from BN for debate.

“I have yet to decide on them, whether to allow or not for them to be debated,” she told The Malay Mail Online in a text message.

Umno’s Sungai Air Tawar assemblyman Kamarol Zaki Abdul Malik, who mooted the study, told The Malay Mail Online that his proposal was submitted last week.

“It was submitted around a week ago, but it was sent on my behalf by Inmind,” Kamarol said over the phone, referring to Institut Perkembangan Minda, an agency which acts on behalf of BN assemblymen in the state. Continue reading “Umno reps mull push for hudud in Selangor”