A poignant tweet from MAS on MH17, MH370 tragedies goes viral
A poignant message posted by Malaysia Airlines on its Twitter account, paying tribute to the victims of flights MH17 and MH370, and the people affected by both tragedies, has gone viral within 12 hours of it being posted.
The tweet, "
tough times do not last, tough people do #staystrong", accompanied by a close up picture of two of its stewardesses holding hands, has been shared widely on social media site Twitter with more than 3,700 retweets and over 1,600 likes.
The message had met with overwhelming support from both Malaysians and people around the world, who sympathised with the flagship carrier's pain and grief in facing two disasters within four months.
MAS had lost flight MH370 under mysterious circumstances in March when the aircraft disappeared en route to Beijing, with 239 on board. It is believed to have ended its journey in the Indian Ocean although a multi-nation search has yet to find any wreckage.
Last Thursday, the ill-fated flight MH17 was en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam when it was shot down with what was believed to be a Russian-made SA-11 surface-to-air missile near the war-torn region of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.
In a departure from its previous role in posting official statements, MAS took the trouble this time to engage those who had posted their support, thanking them for their encouragement.
Dennis Collins responded to the MAS tweet by stating his support for the "amazing" airline. "@MAS Have not stopped thinking about the people affected. Going to make sure that I travel with @MAS into the future too. Amazing airline," he wrote.
In reply, MAS said: @DennisDonncha Hi Dennis, thank you very much for your kind words and support. It really means a lot to us during this tough time."
Marcellux posted: "@MAS My heartfelt condolences go to all families who lost loved ones in this tragedy. #staystrong.
The national carrier responded by thanking him for his kind words.
"@marcellux Hi Marcellux, thank you for your kind words. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone who have been affected by this as well," it replied.
Further measures by Malaysia Airlines to help manage the impact of the latest tragedy was also evident with its announcement that an interfaith prayer will be held tomorrow at 8.30pm at the Malaysia Airlines Academy in Kelana Jaya, Selangor.
Those responsible for downing the MH17 jet have yet to be identified, with Russian and Ukrainian authorities blaming each other and pro-Russian separatists for the disaster.While world leaders were bickering over who should be held responsible for the crash, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak used "secret diplomacy" with pro-Russian separatist leader Alexander Borodai.
Najib's negotiation with Borodai led to a deal "that achieved what more powerful nations, including Russia, could not", according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The deal saw the bodies taken to Kharviv, Ukraine via trains on July 22 and are now in the Netherlands, while the black boxes were handed over to Malaysian officials who have passed them on to London for further probe. – July 24, 2014.
