No freedom of leak to be tolerated in Malaysia:
KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — Authorities must penalise the New Straits Times (NST) over its report that a Flight MH370 pilot had “desperately” tried to call for help now that this was disputed by Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, the DAP said today.
Accusing the Umno-linked daily of a “bare-faced lie” in claiming co-pilot Fariq Ab Hamid had made a “desperate attempt to call for help” on the day the Malaysia Airlines flight disappeared, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said this was later picked up by international media to the country’s detriment.
“Such lies and baseless information may not only affect search operations but also the families of the passengers and the crew of the aircraft.
“The federal government must be both unforgiving and punishing towards NST, more so when it is owned by Umno and a mouthpiece for the [Barisan Nasional] leaders,” Lim said in a statement today.
The Penang chief minister warned that failure to reprimand the newspaper over the report would further dent the country’s image, which was already battered on the global stage due to the repeated contradictions surrounding the investigation and search for MH370.
He also demanded the NST publish a front page apology for engaging in “gutter journalism” in the report.
In a “world exclusive” yesterday, the newspaper published on its front page an article titled “Desperate call for help” based on anonymous sources that claimed Fariq’s mobile phone had made connections to a cellular communications tower.
It is unclear how the newspaper determined a phone call was actually placed or that it was “desperate” in nature, as another source also told the newspaper that the “attachment” to the cellular tower was not indicative of a phone call.
The report also did not specify who, if anyone, Fariq is supposed to have called.
Subsequent to the report, Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin rejected the claim, saying that investigators would have learnt of the matter if it had indeed occurred.
“I cannot comment (on the newspaper report) because if it is true, we would have known about it much earlier,” Hishammuddin, who is also defence minister, was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama yesterday.
He also said it was irresponsible for any quarters to take the opportunity to make a baseless report.
Hishammuddin previously said the government was compiling “false” media reports on the MH370 crisis with an eye on legal action against the responsible news outlets.
But the Malaysian daily also quoted another source saying that while Fariq Abdul Hamid’s “line was reattached”, there was no certainty that a call was made from the Boeing 777...
Investigators last month indicated that the flight was deliberately diverted and its communication systems manually switched off as it was leaving Malaysian airspace, triggering a criminal investigation by police that has revealed little so far....
There have been unconfirmed previous reports in the Malaysian media of calls by the captain before or during the flight but no details have been released.
The NST report said that Flight 370 flew low enough near Penang island on Malaysia’s west coast — after turning off course — for a telecommunications tower to pick up the co-pilot’s phone signal.
The phone line was “reattached” between the time the plane veered off course and blipped off the radar, the government-controlled paper quoted the second source as saying.
“A ‘reattachment’ does not necessarily mean that a call was made. It can also be the result of the phone being switched on again.”
Malaysia’s transport ministry told AFP that it was examining the NST report and will issue a response.
The Malaysian government and media have repeatedly contradicted each other and themselves over details of the search and criminal investigation.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/mh370-co-pilot-made-mid-flight-phone-call-report-507606