THE BIG MH370 HOAX: Time for Najib, Abbott to come clean or face WORLD CENSURE

UPDATED KUALA LUMPUR - The Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 has been missing for more than 56 days. Its whereabouts remain a total mystery despite earnest professions by both the Malaysian and Australian prime ministers that they had identified the correct area to a 10km range, in which they believed the ill-fated plane had 'ended' its journey by crashing into the Indian ocean.

Backing up their talk was the high profile dissemination of news that 'pings' which were believed to have come from the plane's black boxes had been detected. But these also led to a dead end. If the black boxes were in the area, how come there have been no traces of the wreckage, no debris that can be tied to the Boeing 777 and its 239 passengers whatsoever?

Bare-face lie or terrible mistake

Either some people are lying or they have made a terrible mistake. It is time to find out which, otherwise the world might as well stop wasting time and money looking for the missing Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines plane that had taken off from Kuala Lumpur on March 7 and vanished 'without a trace' on March 8.

The deepening mystery has not only given traction to conspiracy theories but has cast the spotlight firmly back on the Malaysian premier Najib Razak and his Aussie counterpart Tony Abbott. Both men are well-known publicity-seekers and have been criticized for neglecting scruples in their quest to further their political agenda. Have they lied to the world?

If there was a conspiracy, the next question is WHY? Why were they so eager to pinpoint the deepest part of the Indian Ocean as being the "most credible" crash site for MH370? Was it to misdirect the search and rescue mission from the real crash site and to ensure that efforts to locate the wreckage were made as difficult as possible?

Or was it an 'honest' mistake because they had been under pressure to produce results and as such were over-eager to clutch at the conclusions - which by now appear grossly flawed - drawn by British satellite firm Inmarsat.

Own up to it, set the search on the right track again

Whatever their real motivation, Najib and Abbott must now face the music, and allow the search to be broadened again.

They must stop their henchmen, Hishammuddin Hussein and Angus Houston respectively, from trying to corral the search so as to save their 'faces' at best or to maintain the sinister and cruel hoax they hatched at worst. Too much money is involved and contributing nations should demand the two inject greater professionalism into the search plan.

Perhaps it is not for nothing the families of the MH370 passengers, especially those from China, were suspicious of the Najib administration and the information it released from day one. Even global experts panned the scanty 5-page report Malaysia released to the United Nations. Malaysian officials were slammed for gross incompetence in detecting the plane's disappearance, leaving red herrings with the press, withholding crucial information, and till now is still shying away from explaining the discrepancy in the cargo list it released along with the preliminary report.

Terror links and new game plan

Adding to the fire, terrorists' links were suspected in the disappearance of the missing Boeing 777. Eleven terrorists related to al Qaeda were arrested for probing, according to Daily Mail. Also, reports related to the cargo being carried by the missing plane have raised questions.

Investigators hunting for MH 370 will now call for more sophisticated equipment that can dive deeper into the Indian Ocean and seek a greater role for private firms in a new phase of the search for the missing Malaysian plane.

According to Bloomberg, the ocean floor will be mapped anew as part of the intensified search and tenders will be issued to procure sub-sea vessels that can scour areas deeper than vessels used now, Warren Truss, Australia's deputy prime minister, said. Officials from Australia, China and Malaysia met in Canberra to take this decision and expert groups will start their discussions later this week, Truss added.

Only a limited amount of equipment can search for the missing jet and tenders will be issued to get new devices in one of the most difficult searches ever undertaken, Truss warned. Malaysia and China both vowed to continue with the hunt, the world's longest for a missing passenger jet in modern aviation history.

Bring in the professionals, boot out the politicians with ulterior motives

Meanwhile, officials from Malaysia, China and Australia met in Canberra to shape the new phase of the search after a 58-day multination hunt by planes, ships and submarines found no debris and couldn't pinpont pings consistent with transmissions from flight recorders.

The search may go on for as long as 12 months depending on weather conditions, Angus Houston, who heads Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre, said.

Maybe so. It is even possible that light MH370 may never be found. But it is time to put the search on the right track. It is time to bring in the professionals and keep a check on the clowns like Najib and Abbott, Hisham the M'sian defense minister and his Aussie parrot Houston. - Malaysia Chronicle