Kam Raslan’s Talking Edge

(Reprinted from The Edge – Options pullout, 17 March 2014 issue)

Dear Kam,
My question is simple — MH370?
Truly Malaysian

This has been a bad week for Malaysia — the return of the haze, which this time is entirely made in Malaysia, the astonishing “Sodomy 2” ruling and Karpal Singh sedition ruling, and the tragic disappearance of MH370. The fact that I’ve got no water coming out of my taps seems almost irrelevant. We’re supposed to be a fully developed nation in 2020.

At the time of writing, MH370 still has not been found, but hopefully, the situation will be different by the time you read this. The waiting must be a waking nightmare for the relatives of the missing and our hearts go out to them. It seems so hard to believe that in this day and age, an airliner can simply disappear. If I had a loved one missing, I would be utterly distraught and I, too, would be angry.

The official Malaysian response has so far been chaotic, at times incomprehensible (does nobody speak English anymore?), unwilling to release information, patronising, rudely defensive, unable to portray a sense of urgency and probably, most importantly, completely lacking in compassion for other people’s loss. Basically, it’s the kind of response we’re all used to. Unfortunately this time, we’re not just talking to Kajang about the chicken price, we’re talking to the world and the world wants to know about the worst civil aviation disaster in over a decade. Families around the world have been waiting for news about their loved ones, tens of thousands of people are flying every day and they are worried, the fate of MAS hangs in the balance and what remains of the good name of Malaysia is at stake. And yet, the world is being spoken to like it’s an unruly child that dares to question its elders and betters.

Hopefully, things will have changed by the time you read this. Hopefully, MH370 will have been found and then perhaps family members might be able to find some kind of peace. And hopefully, our officials will improve their attitude to this devastating human tragedy. All those passengers were, still are, in our care. The airline has our name emblazoned across it. I know we are better than this. Please, I’m begging you, make us proud. Do not ruin our name.

Events keep changing. Like most people, my guesses change with every hour. At first I thought it was terrorism, but right now, I’m thinking the plane might have landed safely on some deserted island. So I won’t say anymore about specifics until there is more information. But we will be coming back to MH370. We have a habit of forgetting too easily and we have a nasty habit of rewarding incompetence. But we will be coming back to MH370.

My wife flew back from Hong Kong on MAS on the same day as the disappearance of MH370. I’ve never been more thankful to see her. My deepest condolences to the families and friends of all the passengers and crew onboard MH370.

Dear Kam,
What’s going to happen to MAS?
Airline Analyst

I’ve been flying on MAS since I was an infant (when it was MSA). I’ve known and am related to many people who work for MAS and I trust them. I have many issues with MAS: its services have been degrading for years, it’s over-staffed and, well, it’s not the MAS I once knew. But it has never crossed my mind to question its safety. Whenever I boarded a MAS flight to return to Malaysia, my heart might sink because I was offered a local newspaper and I’d have to face up to the fact that I was going back to all that nonsense, I’d be disappointed by the food and have to watch the same movies that were on offer the previous month, but I would simply assume that I was safe. Despite the disappearance of MH370, I would still assume that I’m safe on a MAS flight. I do not feel safe on the roads and trains of Malaysia and yet I do with MAS. Events may well change my opinion, but for now, I cling on to that, in my mind, certainty.

Back in the 1990s, I was fortunate to visit the MAS flight simulator centre at Subang, which is supposed to be one of the best in the world. Back then (I don’t know about now), they had flight simulators for just about any aircraft imaginable and pilots came from everywhere to train there. I was a guest of a group of Palestinian pilots who were training to fly the route between the West Bank and Gaza for the Palestinian Authority’s fledgling airline. They were practising on what looked like the smallest flight simulator, for a twin-propeller Fokker (I think). The nearest airport programmed into the computer was Damascus so they landed and took off from there, which is when most accidents occur. At the end of their session, the head pilot let me have a go. I did not succeed. But I was very impressed by the training facilities at Subang.

In the immediate aftermath of the disappearance of MH370, there have been stories emerging about the MAS pilots. A couple of days after the disappearance, I spoke to my mother who is in England and she said reports were suggesting pilot error. For me, this is typical of the disinformation that emerges immediately after a plane crash. If everyone can be persuaded that the individual pilot was at fault, then nobody will blame either the aircraft manufacturer or all the other airlines. The only losers would be that individual pilot and his specific airline. In the case of MAS, it would also tap into a perhaps unconscious racism because, well, can Asians really be given the responsibility to fly planes?

In time, we will discover the truth, but for now, I’m very cautious about suggestions of pilot error. It sells newspapers, it deflects any attention away from the aircraft manufacturers and it makes passengers want to avoid that particular airline.

It might take years for investigations to show the truth of MH370 but the faster this happens, the better for everyone. And it must be the absolute truth and not some Malaysian-style “truth”. Will MAS survive? We’ll have to wait and see. But if it does survive that, it cannot be the same MAS.

Reprinted with the kind permission of