KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — Transport Minister Anthony Loke has given assurance of support should there be any search efforts for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 undertaken in the near future.

He said should there be any resumption of a search, he will try to convince the Cabinet to commit to it.

"Anyone in my position will support that (resumption of a search) if there is any evidence. But you cannot commission a search all around, it won’t happen and no companies will do that without any payment.

"And the government also cannot afford to do that year in and year out, so what happened was, the model that was adopted — no cure, no fee — which means that no payment is made until the plane is found. Payment is only made when the plane is found. So even that is a commitment.

"But I told the NOKs (next-of-kins) that the next visit of Ocean Infinity to Malaysia, I’m prepared to meet them, and if they can give us assurance, they are willing to resume another search, I will definitely try to convince the Cabinet to commit to it,” Loke told Malay Mail during an interview here at the Parliament.

Loke said he had stood by the NOKs even when he was not the transport minister and would make time for them at any time.

"I feel very strongly for them and I have a lot of sympathy for them, that’s why I make it a point that every time they ask to see me, I will meet them.

"In fact, I have kept in touch with two NOKs after I met them in 2018 and we kept in touch regularly even though I was not minister later.

"There is nothing much we can do, but the only thing is that we want to give them some hope and give them some assurance that the search will resume if there is an opportunity. So that is the only assurance I can give them,” Loke said.

MH370 was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, when it went missing over the South China Sea. To date, the plane as well as the 239 (227 passengers, 12 crew) on board have not been found despite a multinational search effort that lasted years.

Underwater searches for the plane in the Indian Ocean that covered 120,000 square kilometres and cost about A$200 million (RM605 million) were subsequently suspended indefinitely in January 2017 until Malaysia accepted a "no-cure, no-fee” offer from US exploration firm Ocean Infinity in 2018.

The three-month search covered 112,000 sq km north of the original target area, without any new discovery when it was called off in May 2018.

An official 495-page report in July 2018 stated that MH370 was deliberately taken off course by a person or persons unknown.

It has been recorded as the most expensive search effort in aviation history.

Meanwhile, sharing a brief update on the national carrier, Loke said that Malaysian Airlines (MAS) is making some good progress on profit for cargo transportation.

"Of course, all airlines are suffering, especially during the Covid-19 period, but they are also making some good progress on profit for cargo — so Malaysia Airlines told me that financially they are healthy right now, and they will focus more on improving their services.

"As for AirAsia, although its financial health is struggling, I think currently the borders have been fully reopened, with the exception of China.

"So once China is fully reopened, then they are looking at resuming their strong position,” Loke said.

He also explained that local airline companies are facing challenges on operational issues rather than lack of travel demands.

"The challenge is more on operations, not so much of no demands (for flights). Demands are high — strong demands and sales — but not all of the aircraft are ready for deployment (to fly).

"In order for the aircraft to fly again, (the aircraft) need to go through rigid maintenance since they have been grounded for almost two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

On March 8, Netflix dropped one of their most highly anticipated features for 2023, a three-part docuseries discussing the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

The speculative docuseries, titled MH370: The Plane That Disappeared, brought together a global community of family members, scientists, and investigative journalists, who gave their perspective on the hunt to discover what really happened to MH370.

However, the series’ release led to a polarising reaction from the general public, both internationally and locally.

Malaysians took to social media to criticise the documentary accusing it of featuring conspiracy theories that they deemed to be insensitive and irresponsible.