A suit filed against Malaysian Airlines (MAS) for the disappearance of Flight MH370 is set to move forward as a legal counsel representing a passenger's kin has identified several witnesses who have come forward with "vital information" hitherto unknown, reports say.
Datuk Aranan Selvaraj, the lead counsel to the suit, which was filed on behalf of passenger Jee Jing Hang's two teenage sons, has reportedly said that all the defendants have been granted an extension of time to file their respective statements of defence.
According to a report in a local publication Rakyat Post, the lawyers felt encouraged by the response they received following the filing of the suit. Field experts, and people with relevant and crucial information have come forward "which forms the very pivotal basis for our clients' case," Selvaraj was quoted as saying.
The defendants in the case include the Malaysian Airlines (MAS), Department of Civil Aviation, Department of Immigration, Royal Malaysian Air Force and the Malaysian government.
They have all been asked to appear before the presiding judge of this matter on 12 January, 2015, the lawyer reportedly said, adding that within the next two months, new witnesses with vital information regarding the ill-fated aircraft will be met, who could possiblly open the lead to something that remains unearthed until now in the case that has baffled the aviation industry.
"After 9 months and still counting and after the authorities' assurance that '99.9% the plane will be found,' to date no trace of the plane or its debris has been identified," Selvaraj told the publication.
"Such mere sweet talk serves no purpose, but unsettles the next-of-kin, plunging them into deeper misery."
"Action speaks louder than words, but in this case we prefer 'results speak louder than sheer optimism'," he concluded.
Malaysian flight MH370 has been 2014's most important news item after it mysteriously disappeared mid-air while flying to Beijing along with 239 passengers and cabin crew in the wee hours of 8 March.
