Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pic) has hit out at Putrajaya today, telling British daily The Telegraph that it is hiding information on missing flight MH370, as the country’s radar system would have detected the aircraft’s turn-back.
Anwar, who recently had his acquittal on a sodomy charge overturned in what he claimed was a political smear, said he was "baffled" why the sophisticated Marconi radar system that he authorised as finance minister in 1994 had failed to immediately detect the plane's deviation.
In an interview with the newspaper, Anwar said he had authorised the installation of one of the most sophisticated radar systems in the world near the South China Sea, which covered the peninsula’s east and west coastlines.
He added that it was “not only unacceptable but not possible, not feasible” that the plane had not been sighted by the Marconi radar system immediately after it changed course.
The radar, according to Anwar, would have instantly detected the Boeing 777 as it travelled from east to west, across “at least four” Malaysian states.
“I believe the government knows more than us. They have the authority to instruct the air force or Malaysia Airlines.
“They are privy to most of these missing bits of information critical to our understanding of this mysterious disappearance of MH370,” he told The Telegraph.
“We don’t have the sophistication of the United States or Britain but still we have the capacity to protect our borders.”
Anwar also defended the aircraft’s pilot, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, who is a PKR member and someone whom Anwar has admitted knowing personally.
“After personally having been subjected to such unjust accusations, I strongly feel that you should not cast aspersions against people until you have evidence to support it,” Anwar told The Telegraph.
“If you say or suggest that the pilot may have been involved, what about the concealing (of information)? He could not have concealed the radar readings. He could not have instructed the air force to remain completely silent. Or the prime minister to remain completely silent. The investigations have got to be far-reaching and open.”
On reports that Zaharie was a political fanatic, Anwar was quoted as saying:
“To condemn a person because he is a supporter of democracy is totally unjustified. Having said that, there’s nothing stopping the police or the authorities from conducting an open and fair investigation into anybody – including the radar operators, the defence minister – why are they concealing this information?”
The opposition leader, who was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998 and was imprisoned for corruption and sodomy, called for an international committee to take over the Malaysian-led operation because the integrity of the whole nation is at stake, the report said.
Meanwhile, a source close to the government told The Telegraph that Anwar was trying to exploit the MH370 tragedy for his own political mileage.
“The international media’s response, completely condemning Malaysia, is unfair. It’s been partly orchestrated by Malaysia’s opposition,” the source was quoted as saying.
“The government has a duty to the families not to release uncorroborated information that leads to false hope or wild goose chases which hamper the investigation. At every step, international investigation protocols have been followed.
“Far from avoiding questions or withholding information, since day one the Malaysian authorities, including ministers, military chiefs, the department for civil aviation and Malaysia Airlines have made themselves available to the media daily. As soon as information has been corroborated, it has been released.”
The Telegraph reported that Malaysian authorities had not responded officially to requests for comment on Anwar’s accusations, but previously accused him of politicising the crisis. – April 4, 2014.
