Searching for Truth

Amid the sorrow and grief, many rumours about the truth surrounding the MH370 mystery have surfaced. Chief Editor Alfred Chua gives his take on how we should deal with these speculations.

By Alfred Chua [Chief Editor]

Students from China holding a candlelight memorial for the missing passengers on board MH370.
PHOTO: themalaymailonline.com

CALL it a search operation of epic proportions — 13 nations sending more than 80 ships and aircraft in a futile attempt to locate the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

It has been more than a week since the aircraft, which carried 239 passengers and crew, mysteriously disappeared off the radar over the South China Sea, but news of its whereabouts have been scant.

That has not stopped news agencies all over the world from bombarding multiple media platforms with hourly updates about possible leads into the missing aircraft — or not.

First came reports of two oil slicks spotted by Vietnamese rescue planes — supposedly from the missing Boeing 777-200. That was disputed by Malaysian officials who said it came from a ship.

Five days after MH370’s disappearance, China released flight search satellite photos of what it said were suspected large floating objects in the South China Sea.

The next day, search efforts at the area came to naught — it was back to the drawing board yet again.

The search has since been extended to the Indian Ocean, far off from the aircraft’s supposed flight path.

But that was not before a bomoh, or Malay shaman, tried his hand in locating the aircraft through divine intervention.

Malaysia has since denied hiring them. But the act had already gone viral and became the butt of netizens’ jokes.

The confusion, constant denials and lack of clear direction has frustrated many, what more family members and loved ones of the missing persons aboard MH370.

While it is commendable that nations — some not even bordering the South China Sea — have rallied to help in search efforts, it is disappointing that information management is far from top-notch.

Often, a promising lead surfaces, only to be vehemently denied or proven false.

This is dangerous in the long run — the trust people place on these members of authority will erode with every new misstep.

Furthermore, in times of an information void, anyone armed with a keyboard suddenly becomes an armchair journalist and floods cyberspace with self-concocted versions of the truth.

Possible reasons available online on why MH370 disappeared have run the gamut, each sounding more unbelievable than the other.

While some allege that the Malaysian government is withholding information, others spread rumours about possible alien abductions and Illuminati conspiracy theories.

Even R&B star Pitbull was linked to the incident, when netizens said that his song lyrics alluded to the flight’s disappearance.

Since the value of truth among these online stories is questionable, it raises the question of taking such news at face value.

It is human nature to spread sensational news, no matter how absurd and incredulous it sounds. The logic is simple — the juicier the news, the more shares it gets on social media.

Indeed, it may be fun and games to indulge in and add to the discussion about such theories, but doing so only garbles the messy web of information out there.

It even reeks of ridicule and disrespect for the situation at hand.

Imagine — each new theory is fodder for discussion to the multitudes of keyboard warriors, but it may mean a big difference for the many worried people eager for news of their loved ones aboard MH370.

Perhaps it is time to take a step back to think, and not be caught up in the whirlwind of information.

And most importantly, we should show some respect to the distraught family members of the missing persons, who must be seeking closure in this trying time.

After all, they too, are searching for the truth.

Update: The Malaysian government has said that countries involved in the search for MH370 has now increased to 25. It has added that there is a possibility of hijack.

*This article was first published in the Nanyang Chronicle on 17 Mar.