Missing MH370: Anwar 'disgusted' by speculation over missing plane's pilot

Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim condemned on Tuesday speculation that the captain of a missing Malaysian airliner - a member of Anwar's party - may have been driven by political motives to sabotage the plane.

Describing Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah as a "decent man", Anwar said he was "disgusted" by what he saw as an attempt to smear the pilot and somehow implicate the opposition leadership in the March 8 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

The investigative spotlight has focused on Zaharie and his co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, since it became clear that the plane was deliberately diverted from its intended flight path to Beijing by someone on board.

Multiple media reports have noted Zaharie, 53, was an active member of Anwar's PKR, and some have suggested he might have sabotaged the flight as an act of political revenge.

In a highly controversial case, Anwar was convicted of sodomy - illegal in Muslim Malaysia - just hours before MH370 took off.

"Is it a crime for anyone to be a member of Keadilan? To me it is an attempt to deflect the government's incompetence," Anwar told AFP.

"I of course did not take the news reports seriously but I am speaking out because I sympathise with the pilot and his family," he said.

"The mysterious disappearance of MH370 reflects not only an incompetent regime ruling the country but an irresponsible government," he added.

The Malaysian authorities have had to defend themselves against repeated accusations that they withheld key information during the early stages of the search for the missing aircraft. - AFP