There are no indications that the political affiliation of the missing Malaysian plane’s pilot had anything to do with the aircraft’s disappearance, a police source said on Monday.
Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 52, the pilot of Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370, is a member of opposition party whose leader, Anwar Ibrahim, was convicted of sodomy a few hours before the aircraft took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport early on March 8.
The decision upset supporters of Anwar, who see the case as politically motivated.
“So far there’s no evidence politics was involved in this incident,” said the official, who requested anonymity.
On Saturday, police searched the homes of Zaharie and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, after Najib said the plane’s communication system was intentionally disabled and the aircraft flew for as long as seven hours toward an unknown destination.
Police Inspector General Khalid Abu Bakar said officers took possession of several objects in the houses of Zaharie and Fariq, including Zaharie’s flight simulator, to help in the investigation.
Transportation Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Kuala Lumpur has requested satellite data, radar data and provisions for ground, sea and aerial search from countries along two possible flight corridors where the missing plane could have travelled.