MALAYSIANS woke up to the horrifying news of a lost Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on Saturday morning. Taking a flight has become fairly routine for most of us and it has been said that it is safer than being on the road. Thus it would have been a fairly normal day for all those on board, and their families who would have expected to wake up to calls or text messages informing them of the arrival of their loved ones in Beijing.
Unfortunately this was not how the day panned out for them. MH370 which their loved ones were flying on had disappeared. They woke up to the nightmare of losing contact with their husband, wife, child, sister, brother, mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, friend, colleague or acquaintance. And five days later they are still praying and waiting for some positive development. The plane has yet to be found and this itself injects some kind of hope that the aircraft and all those on board are safe and sound, waiting to be found somewhere.
It has not been an easy task, with so much information and misinformation being divulged. In a time and age where people are so used to information being relayed in seconds, it has been a long and arduous wait for answers.
At times like this it doesn't help to have overnight aviation engineers and experts, overnight media and security specialists, and conspiracy theorists clogging our time and space with their baseless theories and input.
While constructive input is welcome, the last thing we need at this moment is to waste our time with rude, uncouth, unintelligent and unconstructive input.
One example is a guy demanding on social media to know why information from the plane's black box had not been released. The response from a friend on his query was spot on: "Geez…they haven't even found the plane, Sherlock!"
Then there is another Facebook user linking the missing plane to the background of the co-pilot and the political alliance of the state of Kelantan where the pilot comes from. Come on, have some thought for what the families are going through.
Ironically this insensitive person also thought it fit to capture and highlight comments by two other insensitive social media users with a heading that reeks of racism – one complaining that she was deprived of watching her favourite TV shows as her parents were glued to the news channels for updates on the missing flight MH370, while the other came up with the insensitive statement that Allah invited the passengers for nasi lemak.
It's baffling how some people can come up with such uncouth and hurtful comments at a time like this, and it was befitting that they got slammed for it by other social media users.
Instead of offering some hope and comforting words for families who are anxious for the safety of their loved ones, they seem to think it fit to use this incident to stir up and widen racial, religious and political gaps.
Then there are others who claim that the missing plane is allegedly a means to divert attention from other controversial events in the country. Are you listening to yourself and do you even know how ridiculous you sound?
But thankfully these individuals are the minority. It really heartening to see that the majority of Malaysians from all backgrounds have come together to support the families involved in any way they can. Those who cannot provide any physical help have lifted the people in that flight and their families up in prayer at mosques, churches and temples all over the country, and offered kind words of comfort and encouragement.
This crisis is one that the authorities involved would have dreaded, but it has happened and it has not been an easy one to handle, especially with a missing aircraft and anxious family members to address with so little information and success in search and rescue efforts. It is an unenviable task to take on.
In addition to the discrepancies in statements by the different agencies involved, they have also been bombarded with questions over how two men with stolen passports managed to board the plane. This is of course a grave matter and one that calls for the stepping up of border controls.
It is not enough to say that the authorities concerned – the immigration and airport authorities had complied with all protocols and international requirements, because if they had done so, the falsified documents would have been detected. The loopholes that allowed these men to slip through must be addressed.
But for now the priority is for the plane, passengers and crew to be found. Hopefully the families concerned will be able to rejoice over some good news and whatever the outcome, it will be a much needed closure for them, Malaysians and people all over the world who are praying for MH370.
Source: Maria J Dass, FZ
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