MH370 KUL - PEK VIEWS DAY 20! If you are open to alternative views, read on! [ Malaysia didnt only lose a plane. The search for Flight 370 has also set the country on a potentially lengthy path to repair its reputation. Malaysian authorities have faced a barrage of criticism over perceptions that their search efforts were woefully disorganized, that they were releasing conflicting information, and that they were too slow to reveal crucial new data. The complaints have stung a government seldom used to such global scrutiny, and this week, authorities appeared to seek a new course. The government called reporters for a rare late-evening news briefing, in which Prime Minister Najib Razak explained how outside experts had just concluded from a new satellite-data analysis that the plane had gone down in a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean. The statement was uncharacteristically forthright, and the new information was released unusually fast—and the backlash was just as intense. Where the premier sought to offer grieving families some closure, relatives found cause for more pain, uncertainty and anger. Lost at Sea: Profiles from Flight 370 They swung the pendulum back too far the other way, said Mike Smith, a crisis-management expert at Australia-based Inside Public Relations Pty. Ltd. Malaysia needs to find some equilibrium and control, but thats not going to happen overnight. Enlarge Image Malaysian Defense Minister and acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein speaks during a news conference on March 22. European Pressphoto Agency Some 18 days after Flight 370 vanished, a picture is beginning to take shape of what Malaysia got right in handling the crisis, and what it got wrong. Along the way there have been false leads, tense exchanges with China, and a series of sometimes-testy showdowns with a large slice of the worlds media. The prime ministers cousin, Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein on Tuesday, in response to a question about how information had been released, cited the governments commitment to openness and respect for the relatives, two principles which have guided us in our investigations. On Wednesday, Mr. Hishammuddin defended Malaysias response to the crisis, saying that not all countries could persuade over two dozen nations to set aside their differences to help the search for Flight 370. History will judge us well, he said at a news conference. Crisis-management experts say the search for Flight 370 will likely be regarded as a case study in the field for years to come. In some of the initial stages, Malaysias state-owned airline got some things right, experts say. It tried to comfort relatives and made a point of making regular announcements, even if there wasnt much to say. Over time, though, too many questions couldnt be answered. Many still cant be addressed over two weeks later, creating a vacuum sucking in speculation and conflicting theories that appear to be worsening the emotional toll on the passengers relatives. Malaysias acting transport minister said that new satellite images showed more than 122 objects possibly linked to Flight 370 at a press conference on Wednesday. Photo: Getty Images Every airline should be asking the question: What is our Black Swan—our worst-case scenario? said Hamish McLean, a professor at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia. And if it happens, what is our response? How do we manage communication with other organizations and governments? Do we have the resources to respond effectively over significant periods of time? What Malaysias critics describe as secretiveness bred by the ruling partys 56 uninterrupted years in power, government officials prefer to call caution. In some instances, Mr. Najib acted quickly. An avuncular, 60-year-old aristocrat who often taps out his thoughts on Twitter, he dismissed the Malaysian armys warnings that the country shouldnt reveal sensitive military data to speed up the search. Mr. Najib overruled armed forces Chief Gen. Zulkefli Zin, who was opposed to the release. He was quite adamant. He said this absolutely had to be done, one person familiar with the matter said. Neither Mr. Najib nor Gen. Zulkefli could be reached to comment. People familiar with the investigation say Malaysias chief quandary was how to handle satellite information relating to the movements of Flight 370. Malaysian investigators on March 12 received information provided by British satellite company Inmarsat ISAT.LN +2.30% PLC that suggested the missing plane had continued flying for several hours, widening the potential search area by thousands of kilometers. Malaysian authorities, though, insisted that every piece of information should be checked with overseas agencies such as the National Transportation Safety Board and Britains Air Accidents Investigation Board before being released. It wasnt until March 15 that Mr. Najib announced that the satellite data—a series of hourly handshakes—pointed to the plane flying for much longer than previously suspected. By that time, U.S. and other search teams had already begun deploying assets to the Indian Ocean and media reports of the new data were trickling out. Mr. Najib was much quicker to move on Monday. Shortly after Britains AAIB briefed him on the latest analysis of the search data, he called the late-night news briefing, saying that Flight 370s journey ended in the frigid waters in the southern Indian Ocean. Some Malaysian government officials privately said they hoped that by quickly releasing the new information, Malaysia would end complaints that its investigation into Flight 370 was opaque. They said they wanted to show that the country was releasing as much information as it could, when it could. Mr. Hishammuddin further explained the basis of the new satellite analysis Tuesday. He said small changes in the frequencies of hourly electronic handshakes or log-ins received from the plane, much like the change in pitch one hears from a train as it approaches and passes, indicted the planes speed and direction of travel. Many family members werent convinced. And Mr. Hishammuddin acknowledged that they would require more tangible, physical evidence such as debris to accept that the plane is lost. Until we know that, it is very difficult to have closure for the families, he said. The recriminations have continued, though. In China, more than 100 family members of Flight 370 passengers marched to the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing in protest of Malaysias handling of the probe. Many carried banners or chanted as Chinese officials separately demanded that Malaysia hand over the satellite data that it says concludes that the plane landed into the ocean. Malaysia provided that information Wednesday. The ill will had been building for weeks. Families were put up in a hotel 20 minutes drive from Beijing Capital International Airport, but Malaysia Airlines 3786.KU -2.22% officials struggled at first to provide sufficient information for relatives or help buffer them from the news media, who pushed cameras and microphones in their faces for comment. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Airlines executives faced questions this week on how they had chosen to inform family members of the passengers that the plane was lost: through a text message. Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya explained that the airline sent the messages so that family members who couldnt be reached wouldnt first hear the Malaysian governments conclusion about the fate of the plane from the news media. Throughout the search he has emphasized that families of passengers on the missing plane have been the companys top priority. A source close to the investigation, though, said Malaysian government officials were aghast that Malaysia Airlines had opted to use text messaging to notify family members, underscoring how the airline and the government have sometimes struggled to coordinate their efforts. Some experts suggested that Malaysia and its national airline might still be able to recover from fallout of the search for Flight 370 if it regains control of the information flow. But Malaysia is still in a bad place, said Mr. Smith, the crisis-management expert. Theyll be scrutinized no matter what they do. —Laurie Burkitt and Esther Fung contributed to this article. ]
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 03:11:14 +0000
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