Families of those aboard missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 allege that an “unjust” new law will deny them a chance to sue the struggling carrier for negligence. Voice 370, a support group which says it represents relatives of passengers on the doomed Boeing 777, accused the Malaysian government of a “state-sponsored abuse of citizens’ rights” in passing legislation that protects the airline from legal action while it is restructured into a new company.
In a statement Wednesday, Voice 370 said it was “dismayed and disappointed by the Malaysian government’s unjust use of an Act of Parliament to suspend and/or deny existing rights in law, including access to justice mechanisms, for the benefit of a private business.”
The group said the new law allows interim administrators of the state-backed airline to block legal claims for compensation for up to two years, by which time the old company “would most likely be an empty shell with no assets or money.”
It said the move was a “ploy” to protect the airline, which will be a new company but owned by the same government sovereign fund with the same CEO and same employees.
The new law, which was passed Feb. 20, is “is purely legal gymnastics to avoid liabilities and responsibilities,” Voice 370 said.
