There was an event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, today, commemorating 10 years of MH370’s disappearance. The recording is accessible on Facebook; the audio was, sadly, patchy.

The transcript of my address (pre-recorded) is here.

Good afternoon, friends.

Thank you for joining us today.

Once more we have gathered today to remember the victims of flight MH370. Ten years on since that fateful day, 8 March 2014, we come here with memories of loved ones and hopes for a better tomorrow.

The heart is heavy with daily news of lives extinguished by war, homes reduced to rubble, and scenes of devastation and disruption.  Thousands of children have died and the future of thousands more have been imperilled in recent months. Under the circumstances, I find it hard to prioritise my memories, and speak of my life in the years ahead. Equally, it is hard for me to dwell on the collective grief that we, the MH370 families, have encountered and overcome to forge a future.

I asked myself what will breathe life into an event that is about remembering those we miss in our lives to this day, literally lost and never found? Nostalgia, reminiscence and ritualistic recounting mean little unless accompanied by reflection, learning and renewed commitment to something that is dear to all of us, the truth.

Each of us have in our own distinct ways dealt with the void in our lives and healed. I say this with humility and satisfaction. It also reinforces my belief in the resilience of each one, and I feel hopeful for those who suffer the loss of their loved one.

What remains? There is still the unfinished business of search and investigation.

We still haven’t found the plane, what remains of passengers, and what or who caused the disappearance of MH370. While we, the families, may have reached a settlement with our emotions, our search for answers hasn’t ended. Till questions remain, there can never be comprehensive closure, even in the ‘new normal’ that informs our lives.

Way back in 2017, we were told that the resumption of search could be considered if there was credible new information that could pinpoint the exact location of the aircraft.

Six years down the road, on this solemn occasion, it is appropriate to ask:

• What credible evidence does the flag state, Malaysia, have that speak of its efforts to unearth this new information about a search location? If there is none to show, as we suspect, who, in the government’s wisdom, carries the burden to study and bring forward this credible new information?

• Does the government genuinely expect that we could have a pinpointed location? The search zones recommended thus far have all been probabilistic. On what basis then does this ask of a precise location rest?

• Why has the government dragged its feet in inviting bids and contracting underwater search firms for a fresh search? There are updated recommendations of search areas. We know that recent technological advances offer a speedier and more precise search effort. So why isn’t the government eager? What credible reasons might they be?

Is the government interested at all in the truth? And in finding answers? In the absence of credible evidence, a distressing conclusion seems inescapable.

Opacity and invisibility of authorities don’t make the questions go away. It doesn’t dissolve responsibility. Sympathy and solidarity from those in power mean something only if accompanied by actions to address the source of pain in people. We wish to see action.

Or perhaps it is time for an upfront conversation about the endgame, and to call out the empty assurances that have ruled for long after the game has ended.

Treating MH370 as an anomalous event and adopting a ‘business as usual’ stance is to normalise a safety threat as an acceptable travel and business risk. We don’t yet know why the plane disappeared or where. A recurrence of an MH370-like event is a possibility and could endanger passengers’ lives. This is clearly unacceptable.

I believe a fitting tribute to those passengers not in our midst would be for the travelling public to approach their governments, the airlines they patronise, and the regulatory authorities, to commit the full force of their power and resources to find answers. To be clear, the search for the plane and the truth is in our collective interest and cannot be an appeasement response to address the entreaties of MH370 families only.

In the months following the disappearance of MH370 in 2014, we remember Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, then the most prominent opposition leader, to be a pillar of solidarity, and a strident voice championing the cause of truth about MH370. Today, as prime minister, he must lead the quest to find answers and not become a lesson in silence that his government then emulates.

I perhaps don’t leave you with the warm envelope of good and comforting sentiments as befitting this occasion. I thought it more appropriate today to bring up the unfinished and urgent tasks related to MH370 that must not be forgotten.

Thank you for listening, your solidarity, and patience.

We remain forever grateful to all of you for your love and support.

K S Narendran
3 March 2024

Malaysia’s Minister of Transport, Anthony Loke, later, in the course of the event, renewed assurances that his government is committed to solving the mystery once and for all.