Mystery of missing flight MH370 makes payouts to passengers next-of-kin likely

Mystery jet... A Malaysia Airlines plane on the tarmac at Kuala Lumpur airport. Picture: Zaki Zulfadhli Source: AP

THE lack of any evidence indicating what caused flight MH370’s disappearance raises a legal conundrum that is expected to force Malaysia Airlines into out-of-court settlements with angry next-of-kin, aviation law experts say.

More than two months since MH370 disappeared, no wreckage has been found to even confirm a crash, let alone apportion blame. But relatives of the 239 people on board can still pursue Malaysia Airlines because under international aviation law it is an airline’s responsibility to prove it was not to blame for an accident.

“On the surface, (Malaysia Airlines) is responsible,” said Jeremy Joseph, a Malaysian attorney specialising in transport law. The “burden of proof” rests on the national carrier to clear its name, he added.

Under International Civil Aviation Organisation rules, next-of-kin in an air crash are entitled to an automatic minimum of about $190,000 per passenger, regardless of fault, payable by an airline’s insurance company.

But Malaysia Airlines is also vulnerable to civil lawsuits for potentially greater damages by hundreds of relatives already infuriated over the lack of information.

The Beijing-bound plane disappeared on March 8 and is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean. Theories on what happened include a terrorist act, rogue pilot action, or mechanical problems.

No significant legal moves have yet been made as families closely monitor an immensely difficult search in vast ocean depths that has so far found nothing.

Family pain... A relative of missing passengers of Malaysia Airlines MH370 shows her grief. Picture: Azhar RahimSource: AP

“When there is no cause identified, it is hard to see how the airline has or has not shown the absence of fault,” said Alan Tan, a professor of aviation law at the National University of Singapore.

The size of any damages would depend on where lawsuits are filed.

Next-of-kin can file in the country where an airline is based, where tickets were purchased, where the passengers were headed or where they lived.

Since most passengers were from China or Malaysia, most cases could be filed in the two countries, where courts are more conservative in awarding damages than in countries such as the United States.

Damages are typically based on the lost lifetime earnings of a victim and thus could total in the hundreds of millions for all passengers combined.

“In the US, settlements usually are in the $US1 million-$US3 million range. For Malaysians or Chinese, salaries are lower, and hence, recoveries will be lower,” said Paul Stephen Dempsey, director of the Institute of Air and Space Law at Canada’s McGill University. A US law firm is already planning a “multimillion-dollar” lawsuit against Malaysia Airlines and aircraft maker Boeing, on behalf of an Indonesian passenger’s family.

Under pressure... Malaysia's Minister of Transport Hishamuddin Hussein at a press conference. The country still has no answers to what happened to the missing jet. Picture: Wong Maye-E Source: AP

But legal experts said few cases will likely end up in court. They expect undisclosed out-of-court settlements between families and Malaysia Airlines and its lead insurer, German giant Allianz. “Because of its unprecedented nature, the courts are going to look at (MH370) very carefully. That is something the airline will try to avoid unless settlement expectations from the victims families are perceived by Malaysia Airlines as unreasonable,” said Joseph.

In the case of Air France flight 447, which crashed in the Atlantic Ocean with 228 people aboard in June 2009, the airline’s insurers made compensation payments to relatives.

A combination of mechanical failure and pilot error were eventually blamed.

Malaysia Airlines has begun making some payouts to families but has declined to reveal details.

Lawsuits must be filed within two years of an accident. Families are holding off for now as they await news on the search.

“If today someone cut off your limb, can you buy your limb back?” Yik-Kiong Hue, an MH370 next-of-kin, said in an email to AFP.

MB T'ganu dilapor letak jawatan

Anggota Dewan Undangan Negeri Seberang Takir dijangka mengangkat sumpah sebagai menteri besar Terengganu malam ini.

Menteri besar dua penggal, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said pula dipercayai menyerahkan surat peletakan jawatan kepada Sultan Terengganu pada hari ini, lapor The Star.

Perkembangan terkini itu sekali gus menyebabkan berakhirnya spekulasi berterusan yang melanda negeri itu.

Sebelum ini dikatakan terdapat perjanjian antara Ahmad dengan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak bahawa beliau hanya akan memegang jawatan itu selama setahun selepas pilihan raya umum ke-13.

Sementara itu, Setiausaha agung Umno Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor dalam satu laporan Bernama mengesahkan pertukaran menteri besar tersebut.

Beliau bagaimanapun tidak mendedahkan nama pengganti Ahmad Said.

Saya datang jumpa ADUN (Anggota Dewan Undangan Negeri) ...seperti dimaklumkan ada pertukaran (Menteri Beasr), saya maklum balas dan mereka terima dan tiada masalah, memang betul ada pertukaran.

"Kita tunggu (watikah pelantikan menteri besar baharu) daripada Tuanku Sultan Terengganu (Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin) dengan pengesahan daripada pihak Istana," katanya seperti dipetik dalam laporan itu.

Azmin mahu jawatankuasa baru urus pemilihan

Penyandang Timbalan Presiden Azmin Ali mahu satu jawatankuasa khas pemilihan menggantikan  Jawatankuasa Pemilihan Pusat (JPP) yang dilihat gagal mengurus proses pemilihan dengan efisyen.

Bagaimanapun, katanya, perkara itu masih di peringkat perbincangan PKR Pusat dan akan diputuskan dalam tempoh terdekat.

"Saya telah cadangkan satu unit jawatankuasa khas untuk mengurus proses pemilihan dengan lebih baik.

"Ada baiknya jika jawatankuasa itu bebas dan dibantu pegawai yang profesional," katanya ketika ditemui selepas menghadiri perasmian Bilik Gerakan Keadilan Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Parlimen Bukit Gelugor, di Pulau Pinang.

Berkata juga berkata sudah menjangka kekecohan dan pembatalan keputusan pemilihan lebih setengah cabang parti itu di Selangor akan berlaku.

Bagaimanapun beliau tidak mahu mengulas lanjut mengenai perkara tersebut.

"Kita akan bersabar menantikan keputusan Jawatankuasa Pemilihan Pusat (JPP)," kata beliau kepada Malaysiakini.

Semalam kekecohan berlaku di lebih 13 cabang PKR Selangor ketika pemilihan dijalankan, menyebabkan proses pengundian tidak dapat dijalankan.

Johari akan mengumumkan keputusan rasmi parti berkaitan insiden itu hari ini.

Berdasarkan keputusan rasmi sehingga 4 Mei yang diperoleh Malaysiakini, Azmin mendapat 9,876 undi mendahului Khalid (6,217) dan Saifuddin (5,717).

Sementara itu, sumber rapat dengan Azmin mendakwa sabotaj yang berlaku dibuat sendiri oleh JPP bagi mengekang kemenangan penyandang kerusi itu.

"Menyedari Selangor adalah kubu kuat Azmin Ali dan mempunyai ahli paling ramai, JPP yang dikepalai (Datuk) Johari Abdul dan (Datin Paduka) Tan Yee Kew telah dengan sengaja membatalkan pengundian beberapa seluruh Selangor," kata sumber itu kepadaMalaysiakini.

Johari ketika dihubungi berkata akan memberi komen berhubung dakwaan itu dalam sidang medianya hari ini.

MH370: Expert panel to decide if 4-hour delay acceptable

Malaysian authorities are leaving it to the international panel of experts that it had set up to determine whether Malaysia had been slow to realise that Flight MH370 had gone missing in the early hours of March 8, and even slower to act on it.

Timeline made public yesterday indicated a 17-minute delay before the disappearance of the plane was first noticed by air traffic controllers in Vietnam and Malaysia, and a four-hour gap from that time before search and rescue operation was launched.

Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, in a press conference today, refused to comment when asked on the delay in the activation of the Air Rescue Coordination Centre.

Instead, he pointed out that France took much longer to initiate rescue procedures when Air France Flight 447 disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean back in 2009.

“It is not for us to discuss and decide here because I had informed that in the case of Air France Flight 447, it took them six to seven hours to respond.

“Therefore the benchmark for response time is different based on prevailing conditions. If we want to discuss this via the media, everyone have their opinion,” he said.

K'jaan pusat, K'tan tubuh JK teknikal bincang hudud

Kerajaan pusat hari ini mengadakan pertemuan dan perbincangan rasmi dengan kerajaan negeri Kelantan berhubung isu pelaksanaan undang-undang jenayah Islam (hudud) dinegeri itu.

Kerajaan diwakili oleh Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, manakala Kelantan diwakili Timbalan Menteri Besarnya Datuk Nik Amar Abdullah.

Pertemuan selama lebih dua jam itu antara lain bersetuju untuk menubuhkan sebuah jawatankuasa teknikal di peringkat pusat yang dianggotai wakil daripada kerajaan negeri Kelantan, kerajaan persekutuan dan PAS.

"Jawatankuasa ini untuk menghadam peruntukan (undang-undang) yang sedia, langkah-langkah untuk melaksanakan undang-undang jenayah Islam dilaksanakan dengan mengambil kira dari sudut kebijaksanaan dan keadilan kepada umat Islam.

"Dan mengambil kira tuntutan perlembagaan dan masyarakat bukan Islam di Malaysia supaya keindahan undang-undang jenayah Islam dapat dititik permulaan yang baik, bukan jadi tohmahan," katanya dalam sidang media di ibunegara petang ini.

Ditanya mengenai keseriusan kerajaan persekutuan untuk menyokong rang undang-undang persendirian daripada kerajaan negeri Kelantan, Jamil berkata:

"Saya tak tahulah kalau (perbincangan) ini tidak dilihat sebagai serius," katanya.

Ditanya mengenai sokongan MP Umno terhadap rang undang-undang itu, Jamil berkata:

"Jawatankuasa teknikal itu akan mengambil kira semua itu. Bila kita sebut sedia bersama, inilah tanda keseriusan dan tanda untuk mengambil langkah-langkah berikutnta seperti penerangan (mengenainya) kepada ahli-ahli parlimen dan perkembangannya kepada masyarakat.

"Bagi masa kepada jawatankuasa ini termasuk syor-syor, nasihat dan pandangan termasuk menyampaikan apa yang sepatutnya dan apa sebenarnya yang dikatakan undang-undang jenayah Islam," katanya.

Jamil yang juga ahli Parlimen Jerai berkata setakat ini jawatankuasa itu masih belum diberi nama tetapi Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim) dilantik sebagai urusetia dan kerajaan negeri dan PAS pusat akan mencadangkan anggota mereka dalam jawatankuasa itu.

"Kalau boleh kita nak orang (pakar) teknikal sendiri. Kalau masuk orang politik, nanti buah fikiran lebih menjurus kepada soal politik semata-mata.

"Selepas ini ia akan dibawa kepada jawatankuasa pusat yang dianggotai oleh orang politik untuk memberi pandangan mereka," katanya.

Beliau bagaimanapun enggan mengulas tindakan MCA yang mahu menghalang PAS membentang rang undang-undang itu di Parlimen.

"Tak apalah, kamu (wartawan) jangan negatif sangat. Kita dah buat jawatankuasa. Kita serius," katanya.

Sementara itu, menyifatkan perbincangan dengan kerajaan pusat sebagai "positif" Nik Amar yang turut hadir dalam sidang media itu berkata kehadirannya hari ini untuk menyatakan secara rasmi hasrat dan cadangan kerajaan negeri untuk melaksanakan undang-undang jenayah itu.

"Kerajaan pusat berhasrat untuk mewujudkan jawatankuasa teknikal di peringkat kebangsaan maka kami menyambut baik dan mudah-mudahan ia dapat membantu pelaksanaan undang-undang jenayah syariah di Kelantan," katanya.

Nik Amar juga berkata pihaknya juga telah menjelaskan hasrat mereka kepada rakan komponen Pakatan Rakyat PKR dan DAP dan parti Islam itu berpuashati dengan penjelasan mereka.

Malaysia gets ‘D’, South Korea ‘A-’ in handling of tragedies, says Bloomberg columnist

Bloomberg columnist William Pesek criticised Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Putrajaya in their handling of the search for MH370. – The Malaysian Insider pic, May 2, 2014.Putrajaya was once again slammed by a Bloomberg columnist who compared Malaysia's handling of the MH370 saga with South Korea's response to the recent Sewol ferry tragedy.

In a scathing attack, columnist William Pesek said he would give top marks to South Korea for their handling of the ferry tragedy but found Malaysia sorely lacking in handling the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

He said the incidents could be described as tests for the two governments, if not of Malaysian and South Korean societies.

"The grades so far? I’d give Korea an A-, Malaysia a D," he said in his Bloomberg column titled "One missing jet, one sunken ferry, two responses".

Pesek said in the two weeks since the ferry sank, killing about 300 people on board, the South Korean government had reacted with self-questioning, shame and official penitence.

"President Park Geun Hye issued a dramatic and heartfelt apology. Her No. 2, Prime Minister Chung Hong Won, resigned outright. Prosecutors hauled in the ship’s entire crew and raided the offices of its owners and shipping regulators. Citizens and the media are demanding speedy convictions and long-term reforms," he said.

On the flip side, there was no such reaction on the part of Malaysian authorities 56 days after MH370 vanished, said Pesek.

"No officials have quit. Prime Minister (Datuk Seri) Najib Razak seems more defiant than contrite. The docile local news media has focused more on international criticism of Malaysia's leaders rather than on any missteps by those leaders themselves," he said.

Pesek said although both countries are democracies, the key difference is the relative openness of their political systems.

"One party has dominated Malaysia since independence, while Korea, for all its growing pains and occasional tumultuousness, has seen several peaceful transfers of power over the past quarter-century.

"Unused to having to answer critics, Malaysia’s government has responded defensively.

"Korean officials, on the other hand, are reflecting, addressing the anger of citizens, and delving into what went wrong with the shipping industry’s regulatory checks and balances," he pointed out.

Pesek said South Korea was most likely to emerge from the crisis stronger than ever, unlike Malaysia.

He said this could be seen from the way both countries handled the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Pesek said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was the prime minister then, had blamed the ringgit's plunge on some shadowy Jewish cabal headed by George Soros instead of internalising what had gone wrong.

"It didn't admit it had been using capital inflows unproductively and that coddling state champions – including Malaysia Airlines – was killing competitiveness. Never did the ruling United Malays National Organisation consider it might be part of the problem."

Pesek said South Korea, on the other hand, forced weak companies and banks to fail, accepting tens of thousands of job losses.

South Korean authorities, he said, clamped down on reckless investing and lending and addressed moral hazards head-on.

"Koreans felt such shame that millions lined up to donate gold, jewellery, art and other heirlooms to the national treasury."

Pesek said while South Korea's response wasn't perfect, the country’s economic performance since then speaks for itself.

"Now as then, Korea’s open and accountable system is forcing its leaders to look beyond an immediate crisis. Ordinary Koreans are calling for a national catharsis that will reshape their society and its attitude toward safety. Park’s government has no choice but to respond.

"Malaysia’s government, on the other hand, appears to be lost in its own propaganda.

"To the outside world, acting Transport Minister (Datuk Seri) Hishammuddin Hussein performed dismally as a government spokesman: He was combative, defensive and so opaque that even China complained.

"Yet Hishammuddin is now seen as prime-minister material for standing up to pesky foreign journalists and their rude questions. The government seems intent on ensuring that nothing changes as a result of this tragedy.

"As hard as it seems now, South Korea will move past this tragedy, rejuvenated. Malaysia? I'm not so sure." – May 2, 2014.

‘MH370 aid offices did nothing for families’

PETALING JAYA: The relatives of Malaysians on board Flight MH370 are indifferent to Malaysia Airlines’ decision to close all its family assistance centres by May 7, according to one of them.

“It makes no difference to us because the committee tasked to help us did nothing to alleviate our suffering anyway,” said Nur Syafinaz Mohamed Asnan, a younger sister of Mohamed Hazrin, a steward on the flight.

“We had moved back home since the Prime Minister announced that the flight crashed into the Indian Ocean.”

Syafinaz claims that her sentiment is representative of the feelings of other affected Malaysians. If so, then it is in sharp contrast to how the relatives of Chinese nationals took MAS’s announcement. They reacted with tears and screams of frustration.

Syafinaz told FMT most of the relatives relied on information from the media rather than from the family assistance centres.

“These centres did nothing to help us,” she said. “Most, if not all of the information we get are from outside sources. Shutting down these centres will not affect me or my family.

“I am more frustrated over the airline’s inability to provide us with updated information.”

MAS said in a statement yesterday that its officials would continue to provide the relatives with information on the progress of the search for MH370 and update them on investigations into what went wrong with the flight. It advised the relatives to go home.

The government-linked airline company also said it would soon make advance compensation payments to the next of kin of the 239 people on board, part of a final package to be agreed upon later. It did not specify amounts in the advance payments.

Syafinaz also commented on yesterday’s public release of a preliminary report on MH370 that Malaysia had earlier submitted to the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

“It’s pointless,” she said. “It’s the same old information. Nothing has changed.

“The reason they released the information is to show the public that they’re being transparent.”

Syafinaz also alleged that the report and other data released yesterday were “full of holes” because MAS had “scrapped out all the important information.”

MH370, carrying 227 passengers and a crew of 12, went missing on March 8 while en route to Beijing from KLIA.