I stand before you today not only as the Group Chief Executive Officer
of Malaysia Airlines, but also as a parent, as a brother, as a son. My
heart breaks to think of the unimaginable pain suffered by all the
families. There are no words which can ease that pain. Everyone in the
Malaysia Airlines family is praying for the 239 souls on MH370 and for
their loved ones on this dark day. We extend our prayers and sincere
condolences.
We all feel enormous sorrow and pain. Sorrow that
all those who boarded Flight MH370 on Saturday 8th March, will not see
their families again. And that those families will now have to live on
without those they love. It must be remembered too that 13 of our own
colleagues and fellow Malaysians were also on board.
And let me
be very clear on the events of yesterday evening. Our sole and only
motivation last night was to ensure that in the incredibly short amount
of time available to us, the families heard the tragic news before the
world did. Wherever humanly possible, we did so in person with the
families or by telephone, using SMS only as an additional means of
ensuring fully that the nearly 1,000 family members heard the news from
us and not from the media.
Ever since the disappearance of Flight
MH370 Malaysia Airlines focus has been to comfort and support the
families of those involved and support the multi-national search effort.
We will continue to do this, while we also continue to support the work
of the investigating authorities in the Southern Indian Ocean.
Like
everyone else, we are waiting for news from those authorities. We know
that while there have been an increasing number of apparent leads,
definitive identification of any piece of debris is still missing. It is
impossible to predict how long this will take. But after 17 days, the
announcement made last night and shared with the families is the reality
which we must now accept. When Malaysia Airlines receives approval from
the investigating authorities, arrangements will be made to bring the
families to the recovery areas if they so wish. Until that time, we will
continue to support the ongoing investigation. And may I express my
thanks to the Government and all of those involved in this truly global
search effort.
In the meantime, Malaysia Airlines
overwhelming focus will be the same as it has been from the outset
to provide the families with a comprehensive support programme. Through a
network of over 700 dedicated caregivers, the loved ones of those on
board have been provided with two dedicated caregivers for each family,
providing care, support and counsel. We are now supporting over 900
people under this programme and in the last 72 hours, we have trained an
additional 40 caregivers to ensure the families have access to
round-the-clock support.
In addition, hotel accommodation for up
to five family members per passenger, transportation, meals and others
expenses have been provided since 8th March and that will continue.
Malaysia
Airlines has already provided initial financial assistance of USD 5,000
per passenger to the next of kin. We recognize that financial support
is not the only consideration. But the prolonged search is naturally
placing financial strain on the relatives. We are therefore preparing to
offer additional payments as the search continues.
This
unprecedented event in aviation history has made the past 18 days the
greatest challenge to face our entire team at Malaysia Airlines. I have
been humbled by the hard work, dedication, heartfelt messages of concern
and offers of support from our remarkable team. We do not know why, and
we do not know how this terrible tragedy happened. But as the Malaysia
Airlines family, we are all praying for the passengers and crew of
Flight MH370.
Ahmad Jauhari Yahya
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