Youngest son of MH370 pilot breaks silence

The youngest son of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 pilot Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah has finally broken the family's silence over allegations against his father.

Ahmad Seth, 26, a language student, said ever since the aircraft disappeared on March 8, he had been reading up on news reports concerning the flight and his father, as well as the numerous speculation surrounding the incident.

He said he was aware of the wild theories that his father, 53, was a political fanatic and that the latter might have hijacked the Boeing jetliner but he was quick to dismiss the speculation, saying that he knew what kind of a man his father was.

"I've read everything online. But I've ignored all the speculation. I know my father better.

"We may not be as close as he travels so much. But I understand him," he said when met in Subang Jaya on Tuesday night.

Seth appeared calm and composed during the interview, and did not reveal any resentment against those who portrayed his father as a "hijacker".

His family members, mother Faizah Khanum Mustafa Khan, elder siblings Ahmad Idris and Aishah, have thus far not spoken to the press.

During the NST's visit to the family home, a group of Seth's friends dropped by to give him their support.

It was learnt that his friends had also been there to comfort him when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had announced on Monday that the aircraft had ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

Visibly tired, Seth said he was not surprised by the PM's announcement.

In a resigned tone, he said, he had expected the outcome after having waited for 18 days for news on the aircraft and its 239 occupants. Nevertheless, he was still clinging on to a glimmer of hope.

"Now, we are just waiting for the right confirmation (for the wreckage or bodies).

"I will believe it (that there are no survivors) when I see the proof in front of my eyes," he said calmly.

His friends, he said, had been a pillar of strength and lent him their support and encouragement.

He reluctantly admitted that he was the strongest in his family in dealing with the crisis, but did not elaborate on how his other family members were coping.