CYBERJAYA: Those spreading wild speculations and false news on the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 that disappeared since March 8 last year are ignorant and lack of knowledge, said Communication and Multimedia Deputy Minister Datuk Jailani Johari.
As chairman of the Communications and Media Relations Committee on the MH370 tragedy, he said the government did not cover up any facts in the aircraft’s search.
On claims that Russia was involved and that the aircraft was brought to Antarctica, he said these were made by certain quarters that wanted to be popular with sensational news.
Hence, he urged those who continued to make speculations or spread inaccurate information on the incident to stop doing so.
“Stop speculating and have faith in the government that has much bigger responsibility in this aircraft search mission,” he said when met by reporters after officiating the Creative Youth League 2015 at the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) here.
Flight MH370, which was carrying 239 passengers and 12 crew, vanished from radar about one hour after departing KL International Airport (KLIA) to Beijing at 12.41 am last March 8.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on March 24 last year announced that Flight MH370 ended in a secluded spot in the southern Indian Ocean.
On Jan 29 this year, the Civil Aviation Department (DCA) announced the disappearance of Flight MH370 as an accident and that there were no survivors.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai on Feb 24 was reported to have said the search would continue and data provided by Inmarsat and Air Traffic Control Centre indicated that Flight MH370 headed towards the southern Indian Ocean.
Jailani said Internet facilities that were provided must be utilised to spread authentic information.
“Wherever a piece of information is being spread, we must be selective and not believe in it instantly. We must have a check and re-check before making the news viral,” he said.
In another development, Jailani said MCMC was currently undergoing a comprehensive study on several improvement aspects on amendments to the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998, particularly relating to cyber offences that were frequently committed at present.
On the Creative Youth League 2015, he said it was a competition on the best local publication content, which should be in the form of video, mobile application, Internet portal or Arduino and Raspberry Pi.
“This competition is opened to all secondary school students nationwide aimed at instilling interest in creativity in content development and generate enthusiasm among teens on the potential and opportunities in the content industry,” he added. — Bernama