I think it is pretty horrendous how quickly "let us pray for mh370" turned into "let us flay for mh370"
No doubt that the events happened because someone, likely many people, did not do their job 100%. But seriously, assigning blame is only useful if wrongs can be righted (in this case, it can't be) or future wrongs can be prevented (this is only possible if the actual and true causes were identified). Assigning blame because the accused is an easy target, or because there is grief and sorrow is not only futile but counter productive.
Even without recovery of the plane (still hoping somehow they are on land alive somewhere rather than the alternate), there are a few things that have come to light:
a) if the media can truly be the devil, social media is the devil on steroids--
I have been unfortunately obsessed with the headlines since I first heard of it early Saturday morning. Depending on the source, headlines covering the exact same story (and I mean VERBATIM sometimes) ranged from cautious "plane lost to contact" to "flight crashed at sea" to 239 dead from plane crash
Some of the news articles even started with a smartass line or two about MAS struggling-- which was distasteful to say the least. It is like saying of someone who has been diagnosed with possibly incurable cancer 'yea he's been having breakouts lately, now he's got cancer' (maybe not the best analogy).
Others were clearly written by people who have NO family, NO loved ones, possibly heartless because they thought it was okay to make up stories about the plane landing in various places that it obviously did not.
I will give credit to where it is due, because there were a few articles that were objective and fair about it. it is a mystery, that's all that we can say with confidence because a) MAS has a good reputation for having a good fleet, well-trained and experienced pilots, and minimal incidents after DECADES of commercial service b) it was a routine flight, nothing unusual about the weather c) the plane disappeared, for now, without a trace with 239 people (including babies-- I have to point that out having one) and now it has emerged that d) two people were traveling on the plane with stolen identities.
but frustrating that the objective reports were greatly outnumbered by the sensational and erroneous.
b) MAS needs to reevaluate their policy/ sop for calamities and emergencies
The way things played out, it sounds as if they waited a considerable amount of time before info about the missing plane was relayed. granted such a thing is unthinkable for an MAS flight until two days ago, loss of contact would not ring alarm bells typically. but how long would loss of contact be considered a sign something went horribly wrong? an hour? two hours? do you wait until the plane fails to land within an hour/two of the ETA before you tell people that something might have gone wrong? The fact that your pilots can do their job and that your planes are good doesn't mean the unthinkable can't/won't happen.
That said, I do feel for MAS because this must be a personal tragedy that's shaking up the entire company (since it certainly has shaken up the country by virtue that the airline has the word Malaysia in it, and that half of us have taken MAS flights at least once). And they will be taking the heat regardless of what they do, until that plane is recovered and the facts exonerate them (and I am hoping they do).
c) Immigration and MAB need to buck up airport/flight security
It is frustrating for the average passenger to know that our can of 7 up or 150ml bottle of facial wash need to be thrown out at security, that we get pat downs and laptop scans (which is all fine and acceptable after years of adaptation) but that people with stolen passports can waltz onto an airplane.
I have always been rather critical of how lax the immigration and customs at KLIA has been, but the worst that could happen I thought, was some mangoes would get smuggled in.
Of course even the best security systems occasionally get breached, and I cannot say ours is even the best-- I am not surprised some people are taking advantage of it. It will be a very sad day (and a tough one for them) if their lack of foresight and enforcement has contributed to this tragedy.
d) Some people are just awful.
I am talking to YOU conspiracy theorists. YOU politically motivated commenters. YOU careless thoughtless anonymouses. YOU who should have listened to your mother when she said "if you Don't Have Anything Nice/ Useful to say-- then SHUT UP."
e) Human empathy is a powerful, but fickle thing.
I speak of myself when I write this. There are still ethnic strife, civil wars, riots, poverty, death, suicide bombing and etc. But the headline that gives me goosebumps are the ones about mh370. I can;t stop thinking about the flight. Maybe because I could've easily been on it. (I was on that flight actually, just last year) Someone I know/love could've been a passenger. And of course, Ikram could've been one of the pilots on it (different plane though) -- nauzubillah.
No doubt that the events happened because someone, likely many people, did not do their job 100%. But seriously, assigning blame is only useful if wrongs can be righted (in this case, it can't be) or future wrongs can be prevented (this is only possible if the actual and true causes were identified). Assigning blame because the accused is an easy target, or because there is grief and sorrow is not only futile but counter productive.
Even without recovery of the plane (still hoping somehow they are on land alive somewhere rather than the alternate), there are a few things that have come to light:
a) if the media can truly be the devil, social media is the devil on steroids--
I have been unfortunately obsessed with the headlines since I first heard of it early Saturday morning. Depending on the source, headlines covering the exact same story (and I mean VERBATIM sometimes) ranged from cautious "plane lost to contact" to "flight crashed at sea" to 239 dead from plane crash
Some of the news articles even started with a smartass line or two about MAS struggling-- which was distasteful to say the least. It is like saying of someone who has been diagnosed with possibly incurable cancer 'yea he's been having breakouts lately, now he's got cancer' (maybe not the best analogy).
Others were clearly written by people who have NO family, NO loved ones, possibly heartless because they thought it was okay to make up stories about the plane landing in various places that it obviously did not.
I will give credit to where it is due, because there were a few articles that were objective and fair about it. it is a mystery, that's all that we can say with confidence because a) MAS has a good reputation for having a good fleet, well-trained and experienced pilots, and minimal incidents after DECADES of commercial service b) it was a routine flight, nothing unusual about the weather c) the plane disappeared, for now, without a trace with 239 people (including babies-- I have to point that out having one) and now it has emerged that d) two people were traveling on the plane with stolen identities.
but frustrating that the objective reports were greatly outnumbered by the sensational and erroneous.
b) MAS needs to reevaluate their policy/ sop for calamities and emergencies
The way things played out, it sounds as if they waited a considerable amount of time before info about the missing plane was relayed. granted such a thing is unthinkable for an MAS flight until two days ago, loss of contact would not ring alarm bells typically. but how long would loss of contact be considered a sign something went horribly wrong? an hour? two hours? do you wait until the plane fails to land within an hour/two of the ETA before you tell people that something might have gone wrong? The fact that your pilots can do their job and that your planes are good doesn't mean the unthinkable can't/won't happen.
That said, I do feel for MAS because this must be a personal tragedy that's shaking up the entire company (since it certainly has shaken up the country by virtue that the airline has the word Malaysia in it, and that half of us have taken MAS flights at least once). And they will be taking the heat regardless of what they do, until that plane is recovered and the facts exonerate them (and I am hoping they do).
c) Immigration and MAB need to buck up airport/flight security
It is frustrating for the average passenger to know that our can of 7 up or 150ml bottle of facial wash need to be thrown out at security, that we get pat downs and laptop scans (which is all fine and acceptable after years of adaptation) but that people with stolen passports can waltz onto an airplane.
I have always been rather critical of how lax the immigration and customs at KLIA has been, but the worst that could happen I thought, was some mangoes would get smuggled in.
Of course even the best security systems occasionally get breached, and I cannot say ours is even the best-- I am not surprised some people are taking advantage of it. It will be a very sad day (and a tough one for them) if their lack of foresight and enforcement has contributed to this tragedy.
d) Some people are just awful.
I am talking to YOU conspiracy theorists. YOU politically motivated commenters. YOU careless thoughtless anonymouses. YOU who should have listened to your mother when she said "if you Don't Have Anything Nice/ Useful to say-- then SHUT UP."
e) Human empathy is a powerful, but fickle thing.
I speak of myself when I write this. There are still ethnic strife, civil wars, riots, poverty, death, suicide bombing and etc. But the headline that gives me goosebumps are the ones about mh370. I can;t stop thinking about the flight. Maybe because I could've easily been on it. (I was on that flight actually, just last year) Someone I know/love could've been a passenger. And of course, Ikram could've been one of the pilots on it (different plane though) -- nauzubillah.
1 comment:
Agree. The fact that MAS reported losses does not take away the fact that its 1 of the safest airline services in the world. People need to realize that. As a comparison, though AA made a lot of money, its still not safer than MAS. Heck AA didnt even go through IATA audit! Im not sure whether they even pass DCA audit. And just how many skidded AA planes go unpublicized?
But when it comes to MAS, yg x relevant pun masuk.
Goes to show the powet of PR.
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