Malaysians go online to fight Chinese criticism over MH370

KUALA LUMPUR — Angry Malaysian netizens have retaliated against criticisms by China’s media and online community over the Malaysian government’s handling of the missing Flight MH370 incident, calling the Asian superpower hypocritical for demanding transparency.

The online users pointed out that the world’s second-largest economy, which has been criticised previously for its lack of transparency and tight censorship, was now lambasting Malaysia for its reluctance to share state secrets, The Malay Mail Online reported.

“Secretive China is demanding transparency from Malaysia. That’s what happens when your country doesn’t have Google and Facebook,” Mr Stevie Chan, 47, posted in a Twitter message.

When contacted, the freelance media practitioner told the online newspaper that it was hypocritical of China to demand transparency from others. “I lived in China for a couple of years, in Shanghai. If you work there and you need to Google for research, you can’t do anything,” he said.

Another Malaysian condemned China for the attack, describing it as a case of the “pot calling kettle black” in a Facebook comment on The Malay Mail Online’s article, “In MH370, secretive China is demanding transparency from Malaysia”.

China, which bans pornography, gambling and content critical of the ruling Communist Party, blocks websites including Facebook, Twitter and Google’s YouTube, which do not follow the nation’s self-censorship rules.

The Malaysian netizens’ display of anger comes amid scathing criticism from Chinese state media and social media users.

In an editorial, the China Daily newspaper had asked whether Malaysia was sharing all the information it had gathered.

“The contradictory and piecemeal information Malaysia Airlines and its government have provided has made search efforts difficult and the entire incident even more mysterious,” the newspaper had said.

“What else is known that has not been shared with the world?”

Of the missing passengers, 153 are Chinese citizens, and some of their family members have come to Malaysia hoping for news about the plane.

The frustration felt by family members and friends of the missing passengers, who have been waiting for some indication of what happened, erupted before a briefing yesterday in a hotel conference room in Sepang by Defence Minister and Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

As reporters waited for the briefing to begin, several protesters who said they represented families of the passengers unfurled a banner that read: “We oppose the Malaysian government concealing the truth. Delaying time for saving lives.”

After a struggle, security personnel removed the banner and forced the protesters from the room, with one woman wailing in grief.

“They are just saying wait for information. Wait for information. We don’t know how long we have to wait,” said the woman, who added that her son had been on the flight.

“Why won’t they give us an explanation? My son. It’s been 12 days … Every time we ask a question, they don’t give us answers,” she said.

A second woman wearing sunglasses and a face mask yelled in protest. “We are not satisfied with the Malaysian government’s conduct. We don’t need the Malaysian government to take care of us. What we need is the truth. We need to know where the plane is,” she said.

The protesters said that until now, they had been prevented from telling the press of their mounting frustration with the Malaysian government’s erratic response.

Asked about the protest, Mr Hishammuddin said the country was sending another “high-level” team to Beijing — where many of the passengers’ relatives are gathered — to give briefings and updates.

It will include representatives from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Royal Malaysian Air Force, the Department of Civil Aviation and Malaysia Airlines. Agencies