KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia cannot act unilaterally in the search for the missing MH370, despite claims of new leads on the location of the aircraft based on research documents by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong.
Instead, he said, Malaysia would have to discuss with the Chinese and Australian governments, as in the agreement and understanding made by the three countries in the search for the aircraft.
“We are ready to work with any party ... We need to verify the findings with a competent body. Credible evidence must be found … If there is credible evidence, solid evidence, then we have no objection to continuing (the search mission).
“This is the agreement between the three countries … It cannot be determined unilaterally by Malaysia. There is a tripartite agreement. The three countries have worked hard. Any mission, we have to discuss among the three countries,” he told a press conference after opening the Malaysia Maritime Week 2022 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre today.
The Transport Ministry, in a statement issued earlier, stated its readiness to work with the ATSB on a document released by British aeronautical engineer Richard Godfrey on claims of new leads in identifying the location of the missing MH370.
ATSB had earlier released a statement stating that ATSB had requested a third party to review the data it obtained from the search to re-validate that no items of interest were detected in prior searches in lights of Godfrey's “MH370 Flight Path” paper and workings.
According to ATSB, the findings of the review are expected to be released in the next few weeks, while stating that any decision to conduct further searches for MH370 would be a matter for the Malaysian government.
It added that ATSB was not aware of any requests to support a new search for the missing aircraft. – Bernama, February 22, 2022
