DAP MP wants deputy minister face rights committee over ‘confusing’ MH370 statements

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dap-mp-wants-deputy-minister-face-rights-committee-over-confusing-mh370-sta (BY EILEEN NG, MARCH 31, 2014)

A DAP MP today said Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri should be referred to the Parliament's Rights and Privileges Committee for his "confusing" statements on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 last week.

Lim Lip Eng (DAP-Segambut) was referring to statement last Wednesday by Abdul Rahim that the military did not respond when it saw an unidentified flight on its military radar as they had assumed that the air traffic control in Subang had ordered the plane to do a turn back.

A day later, he issued a terse two paragraph statement admitting that he had  assumed that the air traffic control asked the lost flight to turn back, adding his assumption was not accurate.

The reply was among many contradictory statements by Malaysian officials over the Boeing 777, which went missing on March 8 with 239 people on board, triggering the largest ever search involving 26 nations and their armed forces.

"I want to know which version is correct? The House should refer him to the Rights and Privileges committee as we do not want a repeat of such incidents in the future," Lim said today, adding that Abdul Rahim's remarks on Wednesday is available in the Hansard.

Deputy Speaker Datuk Ronald Kiandee said it would require time to look through Hansard before requesting Abdul Rahim to appear before Parliament to explain his differing statements.

"Let him make an explanation in the House," he said.

It was reported that Malaysian military radars spotted a non-hostile aircraft flying right across the country's air space in the early hours of March 8. The aircraft was later confirmed to be the missing MAS flight MH370.

Contact with the Beijing-bound flight MH370, which took off from Kuala Lumpur at 12.40am on March 8, was lost at 1.40am, shortly after it left Malaysian air space over the South China Sea.

Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that the plane had ended in the southern Indian Ocean, with MAS saying there could be no survivors.

Investigators are now trying to ascertain what brought MH370 to a remote area in the southern Indian Ocean, where search operation is currently focused. They are also probing whether the plane was deliberately crashed or flew on autopilot. – March 31, 2014.

Related news: Pakatan MPs want deputy minister censured for MH370 ‘turnback’ slip http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/pakatan-mps-want-deputy-minister-censured-for-mh370-turnback-slip#sthash.Kn0xoKwt.dpuf

Pakatan wants 'turn back' dep minister to face music http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/258658