PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will fly to Perth, Australia, tomorrow to visit the MH370 search operations centre as the hunt for the Malaysia Airlines jetliner enters its 26th day.
Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said Najib would be making a working visit to the Pearce Air Force Base to see the operations firsthand and to thank all personnel, including the Malaysian crew, involved in the multinational search effort.
A spokesman from the Prime Minister's Office said Najib was expected to arrive in Perth about 10.30pm tomorrow.
Hishammuddin, who held a meeting with the Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia Rod Smith yesterday, said Najib had been updated on the search operations during a conversation with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott yesterday morning.
He said the Perth base would also house the new Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) to be headed by former Australian Defence Force chief Air Chief Marshal (retired) Angus Houston.
"The JACC will coordinate operations between all Australian government agencies and international search teams," he said at the daily press conference in Putra World Trade Centre here.
Yesterday's operations, he said, covered 254,000 square kilometres and involved nine military aircraft and one civilian aircraft.
The aircraft were two Malaysian C-130s, a Chinese Ilyushin IL-76, a Japanese Coast Guard G5, an Australian P3-Orion, a New Zealand P-3 Orion, a New Zealand civilian aircraft, a American P-8 Poseidon, a Japanese P-3 Orion and a Korean P-3 Orion.
Eight Chinese ships were also deployed -- the Xue Long, Kunlunshan, Haikou, Qiandaohu Jian, Jing Gang Shan, Haixun, Dong Hai Jian and Nan Hai Jian -- along with three Australian ships -- the HMAS Success, the HMAS Toowoomba and MV Barkley Pearl.
The Malaysian ship, KD Lekiu, is expected to arrive in the search area on Thursday, along with the ADV Ocean Shield, which was fitted with a towed pinger locator and a Bluefin 21 unmanned underwater vehicle.
Hishammuddin, who is also defence minister, said he would share the latest developments on the search with the United States government and his Asean counterparts during the Asean Defence Ministers' meeting, which starts today.
The three-day meeting, chaired by US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, will be held at the US Pacific Command in Hawaii.
"I will also use this opportunity to discuss the possibility of deploying more specific military assets in the event that we need to embark on a more complex phase of the operation.
"I will also be discussing with the US and our other friends and allies how best we can acquire the assets needed for possible deep sea search and recovery."
He said the search operations team also discussed the possible actions to be taken once the 30-day battery life of the aircraft's flight data recorders ran out.
"We can't stray from our focus because a lot can be answered if we can find the black box. Time is running out."
Hishammuddin said a high-level briefing would also be held for the Chinese families of MH370 passengers who arrived here last Sunday.
"International experts who were not available during previous briefings in Beijing will take part in the briefing. It will also be broadcast live to other families in Beijing."
"This research is extremely complicated, involving teams of highly specialised experts, many of whom are based in different countries around the world."
Hishammuddin, however, declined to comment on several disputed facts regarding MH370's movements and the words spoken in the cockpit prior to the plane's final contact with radar and ground controllers.
Hishammuddin also cast doubt on the accuracy of reports from British tabloid, The Daily Mail, which quoted unnamed sources from the police team investigating the aircraft's disappearance.
"I don't think that information came from the police. You'll have to ask The Daily Mail where it got its information from."
Meanwhile in a statement late yesterday, the Transport Ministry confirmed that the last conversation in the transcript between the air traffic controller and MH370's cockpit at 1.19am was "Goodnight Malaysian three seven zero."
The authorities had yet to determine whether those last words were from the pilot or co-pilot.
"The minister has instructed the investigating team to release the full transcript, which will be made available during the briefing to the next-of-kin," the statement read. (nst.com.my)
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