HISHAMMUDDIN Hussein is equally responsible for the lapses in protocol by Kuala Lumpur air traffic controllers when Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing, said a victim’s kin.

Jiang Hui, whose mother, Jiang Cui Yun, was on board the ill-fated flight, said former defence minister Hishammuddin, who was also acting transport minister at the time of the aircraft’s disappearance, should not be absolved of blame.

“Azharuddin Abd Rahman should have resigned long ago. They did not issue a mid-term statement to explain the progress of the search operations every year in accordance with the Chicago Convention (Convention on International Civil Aviation).”

Azharuddin on Tuesday announced his resignation as Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia chairman, taking responsibility for the lapses at the KL Air Traffic Control (ATC) Centre.

“Hishammuddin ran fast, Azharuddin was a scapegoat. Both failed as leaders. That’s why there was confusion on March 8, 2014, which resulted in delays to the search-and-rescue operations and confusion in the investigations,” Hui told The Malaysian Insight.

Hishammuddin and Azharuddin were the government’s main spokesmen in the tragedy’s early days.

Hui said the former Barisan Nasional government should have known about the lapses at the Kuala Lumpur ATC Centre.

The MH370 safety investigation report released on Monday said Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh air traffic controllers did not take immediate action after they lost contact with MH370.

Hui said the report would not have been made public had BN stayed in power.

The report should serve as a wake-up call for all civil aviation bodies to improve their response to such incidents, he said.

Families of MH370 passengers from China have also written to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, urging Malaysia to continue the search for the missing plane, but have yet to receive an official response, Hui said.

“We hope the investigation team won’t be dissolved. We want to know the results of the criminal investigation, too.”

Investigators are due to brief the families of Chinese victims in Beijing next week.

Lead investigator Kok Soo Choon, denying allegations that there were attempts to keep the safety investigation report secret, said it took one year for the team to collect information and two years to analyse the data.

The report concluded that the aircraft was under manual control and was deliberately flown into the Indian Ocean. It also ruled out mechanical or computer failure.

MH370, which was carrying 239 people, of whom 152 were Chinese citizens, vanished from radar screens en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. – August 2, 2018.