Malaysia’s ruling government has come under a tremendous pressure these last few years with a vibrant opposition party having actually secured the popular vote in the last election. Allegations of incompetence, corruption, extremism and general apathy have battered the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. Now, Prime Minister Najib Razak has secured a quiet victory, quickly convincing the Russian separatists to hand over the black boxes and corpses of the victims from the recent MH17 disaster.
The Prime Minister also secured the return of the bodies from the tragic accident, most of which have already been loaded onto a refrigerated train. The train will now leave the war zone and head to the Netherlands, where most of the victims lived. From there, the remains of Malaysian citizens, the second largest contingent on the plane, will be transferred to Malaysia.
Najib Winning Approval At Home For Handling Case
The quick resolve concerning the bodies and black box are winning Najib approval at home. While the nation is still reeling from the terrible tragedy, and also the disappearance of a jet airliner earlier this spring, the government moved quickly and deliberately to bring the situation under control.
When Malaysia Airlines jet MH370 went missing on March 8th 2014, the Malaysian government, Malaysia Airlines officials, and local aviation authorities all dropped the ball. The airliner was not reported as missing until hours after contact was lost. Following the incident, the Malaysian government was slow to provide details, and unable to coordinate international search efforts.
Needless to say, the government was lambasted over the incident, not just at home but also abroad. While the national government has been under pressure from its own citizenry, it enjoyed a relatively high reputation abroad. The MH370 incident, however, cast a negative light on the government but it appears that the Prime Minister learned his lesson.
Investigation Can Move Forward
Now that Malaysia has the precious black boxes in custody from the downed jet, likely laying to rest rumors that Russia already secured them. The black boxes record massive amounts of information and are built to withstand crashes. They have been designed specifically to aid investigators in case of an incident.
The Malaysian government is looking to assemble an international team of investigators to help uncover exactly what happened. While it is widely believed that the Malaysian aircraft was shot down, and that the missile was fired by separatists, information from the black box could help confirm the accusation.
