KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 17): The families of passengers from China aboard Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370 will stage a protest during the Chinese New Year celebrations owing to the airline’s slow response to pleas for information on the missing aircraft.

One of them said besides demanding details on MH370, the protest would also press MAS to release on time a report scheduled for March 7, the eve of the one-year anniversary of the flight that disappeared while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

"We are looking at staging a movement on February 18 and 19, in conjunction with upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations, but matters as such are still under discussions along with the families from other nationalities.

"The rest of the families are very supportive of us. We have come all the way from China for this. We mean it when we say we are prepared to celebrate (Chinese) New Year here. We value the celebration very dearly," Kelly Wen told The Malaysian Insider yesterday.

Wen's husband was on board the flight which carried 239 passengers and crew members.

The report due to be released on March 7 is an interim report on the investigation into the missing flight.

Wen said MAS had informed the Chinese next of kin that the issuing date of the report may be postponed.

Wen also said the Chinese families, 15 of them in total, were also disappointed that MAS had yet to answer the demands they listed and submitted in a memorandum last week.

They arrived in Malaysia last Wednesday and headed straight for the MAS headquarters in Subang the next day to attempt to meet MAS Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya. Only three of them were allowed as representatives of the group to the meeting.

"We find it difficult to accept, as their replies merely addressed and did not fulfil the demands and doubts we had presented in the letter," Wen said.

MAS officials again met a representative from the group of 15 yesterday afternoon at the headquarters in Subang.

The next of kin are staying in a budget hotel in Bukit Jalil, and Wen said they would continue to stay there until further developments.