Transport Minister urged to declassify OSA documents on MH370

KUALA LUMPUR: An application has been sent to Transport Minister Anthony Loke to declassify documents on the Malaysia Airlines MH370 tragedy from the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA) by the next-of-kin of three passengers.
The letter which was sent through the legal firm Ngeow and Tan, and their counsel Sangeet Kaur Deo is asking for five classified documents to be revealed, - recording/ transcript of communication of the MH370, Letter of Agreement (LOA) SAR (Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia), minutes of meetings held with relevant agencies, internal memos as well as SAR Report - MH370/SAR Operational Incident Report/Post Mortem.
"We emphasise that these documents are crucial for the Court to know the last communication details with the aircraft and the measures taken in the search and rescue operations carried out," the lawyers said.
The letter dated Thursday, said these documents are needed for a trial pertaining to a lawsuit filed by the children and parents of Tan Ah Meng, 46, and wife, Chuang Hsiu Ling @ Cindy Chuang, 45 which will be heard on August 3.
"It is imperative for a full and frank disclosure as more than 200 lives were lost without any logical reasoning or explanation. The family members are entitled to a full and frank disclosure of all details in regards to the missing MH370."
If the documents cannot be declassified, they would appreciate if the Minister could reveal the reasons for the restriction under OSA.
The defendants retained in the lawsuit are Malaysia Airlines System Berhad (MAS), DCA director-general and the government of Malaysia.
Ah Meng and Hsiu Ling and their eldest son, Tan Wei Chew, 16, were among 239 passengers and crew on board flight MH370 when the aircraft disappeared during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.
The couple's teenage sons Tan Wei Hong and Tan Wei Jie, the parents of Ah Meng, Tan Hun Khong and Lai Chew Lai and the mother of Hsiu Ling, Chuang Hung Chien sued for damages over the loss of the couple and their son.