MH370: Tripartite meeting to be held before Jan 28

KUALA LUMPUR: The search for MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean covering 120,000 square km will end in two weeks and the Malaysia, China, and Australia governments will meet and decide on the next course of action.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the search will be completed soon and it is still hoped that traces of the plane can be found.
"We are in the final lap, it will be completed in the next two weeks. We will let people know and then have a tripartite meeting.
"We really hope we can find the place, and we pray that the search will bear fruit so we can locate the plane," Liow told reporters after launching the Kawasaki Road Safety Campaign 2017.
He added that the search led by Australia costs the three countries about RM650 million.
MH370 went missing with 239 passengers and crew on March 8, 2014, a mystery that aviation experts are struggling to explain to this day.
Meanwhile, Liow said 2016 may have the most number of accident deaths, over 7,000, according to data leading up to December, the highest in the past 10 years.
"The number of deaths in 2016 may exceed 7,000 according to the data that we have. We do not have the numbers for December yet but so far the statistics seem to show that," Liow said.
However, he said, the increased number of registered vehicles also mean that the overall ratio of accidents per 100,000 vehicles have reduced from 2.66 in 2014 to 2.55 in 2015.
Liow said he is aiming to bring the number of accidents down below 2.5 accidents per 100,000 registered vehicles by next year through raising awareness, education, and increased enforcement.
He also said many accidents can be avoided if road users adopt a selfless, tolerating, mutually respectful, and patient attitude.