“It’s not history. It’s the future.” This is the theme of the fourth anniversary of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 (MH370) – the flight that went missing while en route to Beijing with 239 people on board. 

On March 8, 2014, the call from the assignment desk came about two hours after the flight which left Kuala Lumpur had failed to arrive in Beijing.

I hurried to the airport hotel that was to be staging post for official press conferences, and the base for the local, and international media that descended on Kuala Lumpur.

It soon became clear that this was not an ordinary aviation disaster. News emerged that the plane had done an abrupt about-turn off Malaysia’s east coast, crossed the peninsula again, and then headed north around the tip of Sumatra and beyond, in a southerly direction.

Every night as I drove home, I found myself desperately trying to make sense of what had happened: Who could have been behind this and what possible motive could they have? And where had the plane ended up?

I couldn’t have imagined that as I attended the event to mark the fourth anniversary of the disappearance that many of those same questions would still remain unanswered.

Last year, the theme of the gathering was “Search On” coming as it did after the Malaysian government had suspended the search pending the discovery of “compelling new evidence,” as they put it.

Having examined where the confirmed debris from the plane had washed up, coupled with a sighting of a possible debris field shortly after the crash, the international panel of experts helping with the search stated that plane almost certainly came down somewhere in a much smaller area to the north of the previous search zone.

Yet, the government of Malaysia didn’t consider that compelling enough to resume the search – to the families’ pain and frustration.

That changed when a company called Ocean Infinity offered to conduct the search essentially on the basis that they only get paid if they find the plane within 90 days of searching.

The theme of this year’s anniversary event was “It’s not history. It’s the future.” That’s because the MH370 family group argues that it is not only them who need answers. It is the flying public and aviation industry.

Grace Nathan’s mother Anne Daisy disappeared on board the flight. A lawyer by profession, Nathan has been the driving force behind the Voice 370 families group.

His voice breaking, he told the audience: “We still really really miss all of the people that we love. We still don’t know what happened to them. The way I feel now, I don’t want anyone to have to go through this. And that is why it has become so important that we prevent this from happening again. And I truly and wholeheartedly believe that MH370 is not history. It is the future because I want all of us to fly safely.” 

Loved ones of those on board came from as far away as China and India to attend.

K.S. Narendran lost his wife Chandrika. He said there are still so many ifs about the current search: “If the data is correct, if the analysis is right, if we are looking in the right place, if the conclusions of the analysis is correct. All I can say at this point is that we have to remain optimistic. I don’t know if we have an alternative.”

The deputy director general of the ministry of transport addressed the audience. “At the international level, Malaysia with the support of many other countries continues to advocate at the various ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) forums and meetings to remedy the weaknesses so as to prevent any recurrences. It is a high price that we Malaysians and all those on board MH370 have to pay so others can fly with clear mind,”  said Mohd Khairul Adib Abdul Rahman.

The loved ones of the 239 people on board flight MH370 will be hoping that by the time they gather again next year, the main fuselage and remains of their loved ones will finally have been discovered, and that they can finally move toward some kind of closure.