MH370 Black box ownership is not important, says Hishammuddin

KUALA LUMPUR - The truth over the disappearance of MH370 is more important than ownership of the jet’s black boxes Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (pix) said today
“In my personal position, I do not think it is important who gets it (black box) but to find out the truth,” he told reporters at a press conference at the Defence Service Asia exhibition at the Putra World Trade Centre.
Hishammuddin, who is acting Transport Minister, said there were possible legal implications regarding the ownership of MH370′s black box as a result of the large number of countries involved in the search and rescue of the missing aircraft.
It was for that reason that a legal team led by Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail is in the UK to seek advice from relevant experts.
Although the laws of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) state that Malaysia should rightfully take possession of the black box when it is found, the Cabinet had directed the AG to look into the legal implications to ensure there were no complications in future as the SAR operation is shared by many nations.
“There are diplomatic challenges, people challenges and the families of those missing. The AG is in the UK to get the best advice from legal experts there,” he explained.
Hishammuddin said he was briefed by the Australian authorities that deep sea images captured by the autonomous underwater drone Bluefin 21 and oil slick samples that recovered in the search range in the Indian Ocean off Perth are being analysed if it was in relation to the missing MH370.
Hishammuddin declined to comment went asked on several issues such as the sharing of military data with civil aviation authorities that had apparently taken place in the first few hours and days MH370 went missing.
“These are issues involving the early stages. What is important is to move forward, as reported in The Sundaily.
“This is the world’s largest SAR operation in history. It is unprecedented. What are you going to benchmark it against?” he said when asked by foreign journalists.