By P. Prem Kumar
KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysia's transport minister denied accusations Friday that a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane "shot down” near Russia's border with Ukraine should not have been in the area, and it was only flying the route as a "short cut" to cut costs.
Liow Tiong Lai told a packed press conference at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport that the same route had been used by many other airlines for decades.
“In [the] hours before the incident, several other civil carriers had used the same route,” he said, adding that at least 15 of the 16 airlines in the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines fly the same route over Ukraine almost every day.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed on Friday afternoon with 298 people – 283 passengers and 15 crewmembers - on board. There are no reports of any survivors.
Since then Ukraine authorities have claimed that the plane was brought down by "terrorists" - a term Kiev uses to describe pro-Russia separatists it is battling who are seeking to unite the east of Ukraine with Moscow.
In May, Malaysia Airlines announced its biggest quarterly loss in over two years following a sharp drop in passenger traffic after the mysterious loss of a flight carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing. Despite the most intensive search in commercial aviation history, Malaysia's efforts to find the plane have been heavily criticized by media and the family of passengers.
Earlier Friday, Malaysia’s prime minister referred to Ukrainian accusations that the plane had been brought down by Russian rebels near the two countries’ tense eastern border - promising that any perpetrators would be brought to justice.
"No stone will be left unturned,” Najib Razak said during an emotional press conference. “If the plane has indeed been shot down, Malaysia will insist that the perpetrators be swiftly brought to justice.”
Transport Minister Liow said Friday that Malaysia will dispatch a 30-man Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance & Rescue Team (SMART) to the crash site, but has no plans to fly the next of kin to Ukraine, just yet.
In total, 62 people — 30 SMART team members, 15 medical staff, ten Royal Malaysia Air Force representatives, five Malaysia Airlines staff, and two Department of Civil Aviation staff — are travelling to the Ukraine capital.
The minister, who only took the position from incumbent Hishammuddin Hussein three-weeks ago, also reiterated Razak’s comments that Malaysia condemns any such action that may have brought down the plane in the strongest possible terms, while calling for those responsible to be swiftly brought to justice.
“In recent hours, officials in the US and the Ukraine have indicated that Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down. Should this be confirmed, it would contravene international law, and be an outrage against human decency,” he added.
Liow said that the Ukrainian government will institute an investigation into the circumstances of the plane's crash, and be responsible for the conduct of the investigation.
“Updates on the investigation will be provided to the next of kin by the investigating authority, as per the ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organisation’s Annex 13] guidelines.
“Malaysia offers its full and unqualified support to the investigation,” he said. "Malaysia has been formally invited to participate, and will send two senior accredited representatives to assist. We also welcome calls for an independent international investigation into the incident, and urge all parties to co-operate to ensure such an investigation can be completed,” Liow added.
The minister also reminded all parties that preserving the integrity of the crash site is vital, out of respect for the investigation and for those who have died.
On reports that both black boxes of the Boeing 777 aircraft had been confiscated by a pro-Moscow rebel group and sent to Russia for investigation, Liow said Malaysian officials have yet to be informed of the development.
“We are still verifying reports that MH17 black box had been sent to Moscow for investigation by unidentified group,” he added.
www.aa.com.tr/en
