Malaysian opposition lashes out at govt’s 'poor' search handling

Malaysia's opposition on Wednesday lashed out at the government's "poor" handling of the search and rescue operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, and accused it of politicizing the links between the jet's pilot and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.  [Special coverage]

In an interview with the Global Times at the People's Justice Party's headquarters in Petaling Jaya on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Anwar, 66, confirmed earlier reports that the pilot of MH370, Zaharie Ahmad Shah is a distant uncle of his daughter-in-law. He met with Zaharie on at least two occasions at party meetings, but they are not acquaintances.

A Daily Mail report had described Zaharie as a "fervent supporter" of Anwar. But Sivarasa Rasiah, a leader of the People's Justice Party, told the Global Times that the pilot was a "quiet and passive" member of the party, and he doesn't believe he would hijack the plane.

Both Anwar and Sivarasa said that the digging into Zaharie's links with the opposition is "clearly manipulated," and it was the government who gave the Daily Mail the information to shift the blame.

While the opposition pointed fingers at the government for politicizing the incident, the authorities responded that the search for MH370 is bigger than politics, in a veiled accusation toward the opposition.

"I do not think anybody should seek cheap publicity over what has happened [as] this is a major catastrophe," Foreign Minister Anifah Aman told a press conference on Tuesday.

In response, Anwar said he isn't the only voice complaining at the incompetence of Malaysian leadership, citing criticisms from foreign media.

Asked about the incident's impact on Malaysia-China relations, Anwar said he always supports the development of bilateral ties with China, but noted "the manner we dealt this situation with China was very bad."

"For example, we know the radar sees [the plane's] U-turn from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean. Why didn't you tell them? And why did you allow them to spend millions of dollars on search operations [in the South China Sea]?" he asked, blaming the government for not sharing information.

The opposition leader had served six years in prison for corruption and sodomy before the sodomy verdict was overturned in 2004. He was accused of another sodomy charge but was acquitted in 2012. However, the court overturned the acquittal on March 7, which led to accusations of trying to disrupt his contesting of a seat in the central state of Selangor this coming Sunday.

Earlier reports placed Zaharie at the court ruling, several hours before the MH370 flight, saying he was outraged by the result. However, Sivarasa, who represented Anwar, said the pilot was not present.