MH370 – Many questions to answer

At this point in time, all fingers are pointing to a hijack. This prompts many questions on how a hijack could take place. Presumably there must be a pretty big team of hijackers to be able to over power and control 239 passengers. And they must be heavily armed.

So, how could so many hijackers board the aircraft and were they in the passenger’s list,  and went about unnoticed? Also, how could the firearms be smuggled into the aircraft? I am presuming they have firearms to be able to control so many passengers. Were they aided in some way by the ground crew? It is not easy to bring so many pieces of weapons on board.

And on Mar 8, when was the aircraft discovered to be missing, and what were really seen on the radar screen? Were they really detected on the radar screen, civilian air traffic radar or military radar? Could someone be telling lies and misleading everyone?

KLIA’s radar is unlikely to see the aircraft. Military radars could be off for the weekend or on skeleton crew, and in a relaxing mood as it is peace time and no intrusion is expected. It would be pure good luck for an operator sitting in front of a screen and monitoring all the happenings to MH370, a routine flight when there could be other civilian aircraft in the air.

What was real and what were speculation and misinformation?

While I was pondering over the above, I heard over the news that Najib had more or less confirmed that MH370 flew towards Penang and then northwest towards the Indian Ocean at about 29,000 ft. The information seemed to be confirmed and the aircraft actually was seen on military radars, probably one in Kota Bahru and then seen again by the radar in Butterworth. He also said that it was confirmed that someone deliberately switched of ACARS and the transponders in the aircraft.

What he did not say but implied was that the aircraft was deliberately flown to wherever it wanted to and to be seen on military radars and to be tracked. This is something that is contrary to the view that the aircraft was doing all it could to avoid being seen on radars. Over the last few days it was reported that the aircraft was not seen by radars at least from the spot when it last disappeared and all the way to Penang and only appeared over Pulau Perak. Now it is reported that it was seen flying from where it last disappeared, yes reported disappeared but was seen flying to Penang, tracked by military radar!

If the information is true, Malaysia is doing the right thing to search in the west and stop all searches in the South China Sea. But if the information was fake or misleading, it could be misled to search exactly away from where it should be searching.

Interviews with an ex FBI agent Steve Cutler and a Singaporean expert Paul Yap, both still believed that whoever was flying the aircraft he was trying to avoid radars. How to explain the new facts that the aircraft flew into the thick of radars in Penang and Butterworth and even seen by the one in Kota Bahru? They are now claiming to be seeing the aircraft all the while since it last disappeared or reported to have disappeared up to the Indian Ocean?

What is going on?

Policies Good, Politics can do better

This is what sums up the views of Chua Mui Hoong about what’s happening in Parliament and what the Govt has been doing. Before anyone starts to throw chairs and tables at her, let me make a point here. What she wrote is just her opinion. And this is what she called herself, Opinion Editor. Her title says it and you are free to disagree and also you may have your own opinions that may not agree with hers. I think that is fair.

How many of you agree with her that the Govt policies are good? I am stretched to find any. Maybe I will do a contortionist act by agreeing with a few that are good depending on who you are. High ministerial pay is good and helps to fight corruption too. And it gives our President a lot of dignity too.

High property prices are good as they turned Sinkies into millionaires without having to work and can collect higher rentals.

All the changes regarding CPF are good as they made Sinkies smiled at their monthly or quarterly statements that informed them how rich they are till they died. The money is guaranteed to be there, and would not runaway even if preventing the owners from squandering it.

Allowing medical cost to go unchecked is also a good policy as it means the quality must be damn good as good things don’t come cheap. Our medical fees are now like branded goods, paying for quality for those who can afford it. For those who can’t, just stand far far away to admire.

Our policies on foreign talents are even better, starting from paying for their education with generous scholarships to giving them high paying jobs to replace Sinkies that are not good enough despite world class university education that emptied their savings. And fakes are also excellent for the economies, don’t disturb them as long as the employers are happy with them, and the displaced PMEs are not complaining and happy driving taxis to be their own bosses.

I could go on with another long list of good policies, but that would become too boring.  Let me quote Ignatius Low on Housing. ‘It has been this resolve to move quickly without being encumbered by the decisions of his predecessors that has been the basis of Mr Khaw’s success.’ He went on to ask Boon Wan to take a bow for a job well done. I don’t know how many of you would agree but I don’t think it is such a difficult thing to do when someone shitted and vomited all over the place and one has to clean up the mess. But the stench stayed, a lot of money and effort wasted with many home buyers forced to buy sky high priced properties that would strangle them one day when they lost their jobs. They would be displaced PMEs as a matter of time. And there are many high income earners that were either forced to buy expensive private properties, migrated or still depending on renting properties, booted out from buying cheaper public housing.

The damage had been done and the prices are still in high heavens. Good job done?

And how many would agree that the report card for Health and Manpower be rated as satisfactory? As for Transport, appalling is quite appropriate though the report card said, ‘Can and must do better’.

Anyway it is all about personal opinions and it is good that we can share our opinions on things without being personal. A bit of civility will go a long way.

Kopi Level - Green

TRE – The shadow Parliament

In a way the TRE is looking like the shadow Parliament where national issues are discussed furiously by the people and their representatives. Every issue is hotly debated and reflected the real feelings of the people, the tension, the angst, the misery, the pain and the frustration and exasperation, all came out as real as you can get. Though there might be some fakings, but it is hundreds of times more real than the real Parliament.

Here not only genuine issues are raised, genuine questions are also asked, issues that really affect the lives of the people. There is no time for superficiality and no material issues raised for the sake of raising just for fun.

The people’s representatives here are really the representatives of the people. If they are not and speaking 

against the people, they will be ‘goreng’ and chewed to pieces.

You can imagine how the parliamentarians or MPs and ministers appearing here and talking nonsense or incomprehensible things or things they wanted the people to believe are right or good for the people when they are not? They will be striped naked and whipped and torched here. Oops, cannot say such things like whipped and torched or some people will take it literally. Only figuratively like all the good things they said in Parliament, figuratively also.

What do you think, which is the more real Parliament? Or which Parliament is a talk cock session?

Khobragade won against the American bully

She was an Indian diplomat in New York and accused of making false submission on her maid and even suspected of drug smuggling. To make things more embarrassing, she was arrested in broad daylight in a public area and subsequently subjected to the most humiliating search conducted on a woman by the American police.
 
This sparked a diplomatic row and the Indian govt cried foul, brought her home and then appointed her as a counsellor to India’s mission in the United Nation. This immediately raised her status and protected with diplomatic immunity. Though this was technically foul as it was done after the accusation and charges, so what? This is the only way to deal with American treachery and devious plots against their political target.
 
After months of diplomatic chest thumping, the Americans finally backed off and dismissed the charges. India has succeeded in facing up to the international bully by being tough, as tough as the Americans to win this case.
 
Well done India. Other countries must learn from this episode and take the Americans by the horns when they turned devilish if they are to get an even chance to shrug them off. China better learn from India in how to deal with the American bully.

MH370 and Mas Selamat similarities

When Mas Selamat disappeared from the detention centre, it was like falling out from the radar screen. Troops were activated to search the estates around Bukit Timah. And the search extended to all the parks in all corners of the island. The only area that was left untouched was the water catchment area around the reservoirs. Not a trace was found of the disappearing act.
 
MH370 had disappeared and all the searches were in the area around where it was last seen. This is perfectly logical on the assumption that it had crashed or exploded in mid air. Now these two possibilities have increasingly been written off and the theory of hijacking is gaining prominent. And the search started to cover a wider area and into the Straits of Malacca and Indian Ocean. And like Mas Selamat, the South China Sea is left practically untouched except for the vicinity of the last sighting. And like Mas Selamat, not a trace was found.
 
Both cases are like they have disappeared into thin air a la David Copperfield’s magic show. And there were even leads or false leads pointing towards the Indian Ocean and the Straits of Malacca. Could the aircraft be sitting somewhere safe in Peninsula Malaysia or somewhere in the east, in the islands of Philippines?
 
When a crash is ruled out, the next logical thing is to look at the possible destination of the hijackers and how much fuel the aircraft had and how far this would take it to. It is likely to be an isolated or deserted location that has little human traffic or activities to conceal its presence. And by now, if this theory is to be true, the hostages would have been splitted into smaller groups and scattered in many safe houses very far apart to avoid detection or rescue by any task force.
 
The aircraft and the passengers/hostages could be like Mas Selamat, sitting safely somewhere by now.
 
PS. If the aircraft would to fly another 4 hours as rumoured, the destination is likely to be the Philippines.