I welcome the decision to resume the search for MH370, announced by Malaysia’s transport minister, Anthony Loke, earlier today. No other details are available. I hope negotiations with the search firm, Ocean Infinity, conclude in time to enable a search in the southern Indian Ocean during the favourable months (January–April).

It bears recalling that the last search attempt ceased many years ago, way back in 2018. The silence since then has been punctuated only by the anniversary events that mark MH370’s disappearance every March and the routine statements of commitment from the Malaysian government that it is open to a fresh search, should there be ‘credible new evidence’ that points to the location of the plane.

It is not clear what the Malaysian government’s constraints and compulsions were to not leave a ‘no find, no fee’ offer on the table all these years, considering that the government was stable, and there were no financial risk (that I am aware of) in a success-based fee payable to a search company. Indeed, with every passing year, the impression grew that the government was hopeful and happy if the MH370 matter simply faded away.

I understand that there will be discordant voices. Questions about the advisability to keep the search option open will grow. Will good money chase bad information? Will the black box be readable and can any meaningful data and insights be gleaned after all these years? What if some debris is found but it is not sufficient enough to come up with credible answers? If the upcoming search too is unsuccessful, can we close the chapter and move on? Should identifiable debris be found, will there be further efforts to recover/salvage more debris? Is it worth a nation’s attention on this matter for this long? Will this search cause the families, that have valiantly worked to heal, a fresh wave of pain and anguish, revive memories and trigger a new cycle of grief?

There will be those who will continue to allege that the Malaysian government had a hand in MH370’s disappearance and has therefore been a participant in the misdirection of investigation, and half-hearted in the search. There will be those who will not go that far, and instead suggest that the government will not want to be comprehensively exposed, should the search lead to definitive conclusions that confirm its incompetence in handling the emergency after the plane was reported missing.

Not knowing what happened to MH370 remains a gnawing matter. It doesn’t go away. It is a frequent reminder of an unfinished page in one’s story. It is an invested curiosity, not innocent or intellectual. On a different note, commitment to the search is a reaffirmation that governments ultimately are actors responsible for serving the interests of the people. I was going to add ‘affected people’, but that is superfluous. The reality is that everyone is affected.  

Ocean Infinity, the underwater search company has repeatedly offered to undertake a fresh search. We are aware that they have been engaging with experts and researchers to assimilate their perspectives and recommendations diligently. Their technical expertise in underwater search and imaging is probably unmatched. So, if the search area identification is well founded, we may have a successful search.

I have said this earlier: If the search is unsuccessful, it may be time to examine and cast away certain assumptions, analyses and methods that have shaped the search area identification, and in the spirit of science, ask a new set of questions. If successful, it will be a testament to science, ingenuity and the persistence of a widely distributed set of people who spent many months over the years trying to tease out ‘secrets’ held by the limited flight-related data. In this, I am reminded of a Japanese management guru, famously known for his war on waste, described by some as seeking to wring the ‘last drop of water from a dry towel’.

A successful attempt will I guess be bittersweet for the families of lost passengers. It will close some doors, settle some layers of possible unconscious agitation and help move forward on a firm footing. If the search is a flop, maybe there is a lesson that is personal to each of us, and a return once more to our own worlds where we find our solace, our peace and happiness.