Malaysia's Culture Of Secrecy Is A Huge Obstacle In The Plane Search
You almost have to feel bad for the Malaysian government. For years, the world has largely looked the other way from its corrupt and oppressive political system thanks to its impressive economic performance. But now, the search for a missing planefrom an airline that, by the way, has one of the regions best safety recordshas tarnished the countrys reputation in just a week.
While the disappearance is genuinely baffling, and I think its far from clear that any country could have done a better job at finding the plane, the search is already being described as an illustrative example of the countrys opaque and dysfunctional political culture.
Then again, you cant feel too bad for the government. While Malaysias lack of transparency isnt the reason the plane hasnt been found yet, its clearly not helping. Officials have been heavily criticized for waiting four days before publicly disclosing that military radar may have picked up signs that the plane was diverted from its course.
Vietnam says it is scaling back its participation in the search after complaining of insufficient information from the Malaysians. China, home to more than two-thirds of the planes passengers, has also criticized the confusion of the Malaysian response.
http://www.businessinsider.com/culture-of-secrecy-malaysia-2014-3