It has been 3,000 days since Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 vanished on March 8, 2014, during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Until today, no one knows what happened to the Boeing 777-200ER jetliner. Why did it turn back, or how did radars from several countries lose track of something that big?
Did it go down over an ocean? Did it explode in mid-air? Did it crash-land on some deserted island? Are any of the 239 people on board still alive?
These are some of the questions asked by the families of the passengers over the past eight years.
To make things worse, the families have had to endure many conspiracy theories and outlandish claims from those trying to cash in on the tragedy.
One person who has kept a faithful record of events since that fateful day is former Malay Mail sports editor, Mustapha Kamaruddin.
Since March 8, 2020, Mustapha has recorded the number of days since the plane disappeared and occasionally pens down some thoughts.
Mustapha’s nephew, Muhammad Hazrin Mohamed Hasnan, was a steward on the flight.
“It has been eight years, and we still do not know what happened to Hazrin and the plane,” said Mustapha, or Moose, to his friends.
“There are many unanswered questions. And every few months, someone comes up with a theory that does not make sense.
“I’ve read many conspiracy theories, some plausible, others too far-fetched, even for Hollywood. But all the families want is closure. Nobody knows what transpired. It is one of the greatest mysteries in aviation.”
He said what makes it hard is that there are no graves for families to pay their last respects.
“We do not know if, by some stroke of luck, some of them could still be alive, if the plane had crash-landed on some remote, or deserted island.”
Mustapha said it is easy for ‘outsiders’ to say, “It is time to move on”, but that is not the point.
“Moving on is one thing, but finding closure is another.
“Hazrin’s wife (Intan Maizura Othman) quit being a flight attendant after the incident and started a small business.
“She still thinks about Hazrin and wonders what happened to him. Their daughter, Iman, even wore one of Hazrin’s shirts, instead of a new outfit, during a Hari Raya gathering earlier this month.”
Mustapha said he hoped the government would never give up in trying to find answers to this mystery.
“I know the search is over, but I pray that the government revisits the case from time to time and tries to find an answer. They owe it to the families.”
