Mufti suggests local airlines pray before flights

KUALA LUMPUR: Federal Territories Mufti Datuk Zulkifli Mohamad al-Bakri has suggested local airlines should conduct Islamic prayers prior to take-off following debate over an AirAsia X pilot’s call for passengers to pray following engine problems.

Zulkifli said such prayers could help ensure the safety of the flights, after citing Islamic teachings on the importance and purpose of their recital.

“As such, we honestly suggest to airlines in Malaysia such as Malaysia Airlines Bhd, AirAsia, Malindo and Firefly to start their flights for Muslim travellers with organised prayers.

“This will benefit the journey and, God willing, bring safety and peace because it is understood that long journeys are part of the trials and tribulations that Muslim travellers must face,” he said in a statement.

Debate over the propriety of pilots calling for prayers during emergencies transpired after a former federal minister criticised the captain of the AirAsia X flight for doing so after the Airbus A330 aircraft with 359 passengers from Perth to Kuala Lumpur encountered technical problems in one of its two engines shortly after take-off and made a turn back.

Passengers recounted their ordeal as the heavy vibration of the air frame could be felt inside the cabin while the crew were praised for saving the day.

The aircraft landed safely at the Perth International Airport at 10am and all passengers were transferred to the next available flight or to the recovery flight at 11:40 pm on the same day.

Captain Ibrahim Jalaluddin, the pilot of Flight D7 237, has since defended himself by saying he was calm throughout and saw no harm in appealing for divine intervention.

Aside from his employers, the Department of Civil Aviation has also come to the pilot’s defence, insisting that there was nothing wrong with calling for prayers in emergencies.

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the outcome of the investigation on the AirAsia X flight D7237 would be made known in a month’s time.

Liow said he had directed the Department of Civil Aviation and Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) under his ministry to investigate and determine the actual cause of the emergency faced by Flight D7237 last Sunday.

“The details of the investigation will reveal more from the cockpit recorder on what actually transpired during the flight,” he told reporters before officiating at Klang MCA annual general meeting on Thursday night.

On another development, Liow denied an English daily report saying a container with radar equipment had gone missing from the Tanjung Pelepas Port.

He said the Johor Port Authority had confirmed that the container never went missing but had in fact reached its destination, the Netherlands.

“All transshipment remain under our close supervision. I have directed Johor Port Authority to issue a statement on this matter,” he said.

The Star had earlier reported that the container containing high-tech radar equipment from Australia had gone missing after it was detained at the Tanjung Pelepas Port.

Liow said he had also instructed Port Klang Authority to investigate on a news report saying hundreds of containers filled with plastic wastes and scrap tyres had been abandoned at Port Klang.

He said the matter would be taken seriously as there have been cases where consignees did not come forward to claim the containers, which took up space in the Northport and Westport.