Malaysia has the capability to detect the plane's movements but it was incompetent, says the Opposition leader
PETALING JAYA: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is baffled as to how the Malaysian government could have failed to detect flight MH370 moving towards the Strait of Malacca when indeed it had the capability to do it.
Speaking in an interview with CNN, hosted by Christiane Amanpour yesterday, Anwar said that the government had procured the Marconi radar system which could detect aircrafts flying in the east and west coasts of Peninsular Malaysia.
“It was purchased when I was the Finance Minister. We have the capability to detect anything up the South China Sea.
“I find it shocking that the government was not able to do it and gave us scanty information. This is clearly a case of incompetence,” he said.
On March 8, air traffic control lost all communications with flight MH370 which was heading from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Two days later, the Malaysian air force said that their primary radar spotted an unidentified aircraft flying towards the Strait of Malacca but Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak only confirmed that the flight was indeed MH370 on March 15.
He also confirmed that the flight’s Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) and transponders were deliberately switched off before the plane was re-routed.
Meanwhile, Anwar said that it was unfair for certain quarters to insinuate that Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah was responsible for the missing flight just because he was his distant relative.
However, the former deputy prime minister reiterated that he only knew Zaharie as a party activist who was passionate about democracy and justice.
“I believe he is professional and a good family man. I don’t think he will do such a thing,” said Anwar.
