Occam's Razor of Motive: Flight MH370 Part 1

     In the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Flight MH370 there is no single theory that seems to make any logical sense.  Each explanation is either illogical, impossible, inconsistent or idiotic ( over to you CNN).  Theories, such as an in-flight fire, make sense in some aspects but are contradictory in others.  Every hypothesis appears to be at odds with the facts in at least one detail.  There is no Occam’s Razor theory of what transpired on the aircraft.

However, there is a circumstantial case to be made, involving at least one of the pilots, that I believe amounts to an Occam’s Razor of motive. 

To understand the possible motive one must first look at the unique history and circumstances of Malaysia.  There has been a longstanding animosity between Muslim Malays and Malays of Chinese descent, often leading to bloody sectarian violence.  Though Chinese Malays are approximately twenty-four percent of the population they are the business elite and dominate the economics of the country.  In a country that is officially Islamic, the ethnic Chinese own the majority of houses, cars, businesses, and make up nearly eighty-five percent of the private university student body.  

Zaharie Ahmad Shah, the pilot of Malaysia Air Flight 370, was a fervent supporter and relative of one of the most strident and viciously anti-Chinese politicians in Malaysia, the co-founder of the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim.   A recently published book about Mr. Ibrahim, “The Caliphate in a Zegna Suit”, paints a picture of a committed radical Islamist with a deep hatred for his ethnic Chinese countrymen and the influence of the Chinese mainland. 

Here is an excerpt:

"Anwar has disclosed to numerous interviewees that he perceives the Chinese and their educational system as impediments to his vision of Malaysia as an Islamic paradise. Hence the recent increased inspections of, speeches attacking, and constant administrative threats against Christian schools and English- and Chinese-language Chinese schools. ..

As Education Minister Mr. Anwar pushed a “Policy to Imbibe Islamic Values” in the schools.  Jonathan Smith, the British author of the book, describes this policy as,."an offshoot of the so-called Islamisation of Knowledge – a stalking-horse for radical Islamic beliefs that suggests that all knowledge and learning should be seen as Islamic and with an Islamic character – the Policy is an attempt to re-order Malaysian society from the top down, in line with a more radical take on Islam than is native to Malaysia." 

Credible reports have also emerged of Saudi Wahhabi funding of Mr. Ibrahim and his Islamic group ABIM.  Hardly a fun-loving moderate, is he?  Pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah had campaigned for Mr. Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and enrolled himself as a life-long member. 

On Saturday, March 8th, Mr. Anwar was sentenced to five years in prison for sodomy in what many in his party have called trumped up charges.  Unconfirmed reports claim that Mr. Ahmad Shah was in the courtroom.  Seven hours later Flight MH370 went missing with Mr. Ahmad Shaw at the controls.

Most of those onboard Flight MH370 were Chinese nationals or ethnic Chinese Malays on route to Beijing, China.  Remember, the party to which the pilot Mr. Ahmad Shah belonged despised these very people and openly blamed them for all of Malaysia’s problems and for the imprisonment that very day of one of their most revered founders.  I’ve barely scratched the surface of the remarkable and troubling incidents in recent Malaysian history that pitted Anwar Ibrahim against the ethnic Chinese.  See:  Riots against Chinese in Malaysia,  Operation  Lalang, Mass Arrests in Operation Lalang.

Here’s a taste of how much animosity the Islamic Malays have for their ethnic Chinese compatriots:

  " ...banners bearing strong words were displayed, including one which said: “SOAK IT WITH CHINESE BLOOD”. 

Interestingly, another person that Flight MH370 pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah apparently had contempt for is the very man in charge of the investigation of his missing plane and who has been utterly castigated and humiliated by his inept handling of the entire fiasco: Transportation Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.  On Mr. Ahmad Shah’s Facebook page he mockingly referred to him as the “real joker”.