KUALA LUMPUR: As the one year mark of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 draws near, families of those on board said they will not accept any declaration that the plane is lost without proof.

Families and representatives of those on the aircraft that went missing on March 8 last year said they were concerned about recent rumours that Malaysia is set to make a major announcement on the plane’s disappearance today.

“We have stated it before and reiterate again, that we are prepared for any eventuality, including the fact that our loved ones may never come back.

“However, almost all families are unanimous in our stand that we do not want to declare our loved ones dead, without a shred of evidence,” the support group called Voice 370, said in a press statement yesterday.

Flight MH370 went off course en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 238 people on board. A costly and massive search for the plane in the southern Indian Ocean off the coast of western Australia is still being conducted.

The support group for the families said they had referred the rumour of the impending announcement to the Joint Action Coordination Centre (JACC), the Australia-led body conducting the search.

They said the JACC had assured them that the ongoing search was progressing according to plan and that one third of the area had been covered.

The support group added that JACC had also assured them that there would be no let-up until the 60,000 sq km targeted under the first phase was searched.

“In a further proactive measure, they are taking steps to prepare for recovery in the event that the search finds evidence of the plane, to ensure little time is lost.

“Therefore, we are perplexed as to why the Malaysian authorities are jumping the gun in wanting to make any announcements, while the search is a long way from completion,” the group said.

The families said the least they expected of the Malaysian authorities was for them to wait for the completion of the first phase of the search before making any announcement.

They also chided Malaysia for their uncaring attitude with the timing of the announcement, given that it was close to the Chinese lunar new year festival next month and with a majority of the victims being Chinese.

“What we appeal for is assurance from the Chinese, Malaysian and Australian authorities that the search will not be abandoned anytime soon,” the group said.

They also appealed to aviation organisations such as the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association to support them by urging the relevant authorities to continue the search for the missing plane and their loved ones.

An interim report on the investigation into MH370 is due to be released by Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation on March 7, a day before the first anniversary of the plane’s disappearance, according to a Reuters report.

This is reportedly to abide by a requirement from the ICAO for Malaysia to release an interim report on the anniversary of the incident.

Voice 370 also said yesterday that neither the Malaysian authorities nor MAS had acknowledged “their existence as a family support group”, but that the Australian authorities had recognised and dealt with them as such. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on January 29, 2015.