Today (March 8) marks the eleventh anniversary of the disappearance of flight MH370, but for the families of those on board the missing plane, closure is still nowhere in sight.

For the elderly parents of IT expert S Puspanathan, who was one of the 239 people on the MAS Airlines flight, settling on the option that he may be dead is way too painful.

"Not a day goes by that we don't think of our eldest son. Not a day goes by that we don't miss him, especially my wife.

According to Subramaniam, he and his wife A. Amirtham, 67, are still holding on to some miraculous hope to see their son still alive and well.

"Ask any parent. I'm sure they would feel the same because we never had the chance to bid him a proper farewell or see him one last time.

"For us, we still want to believe that he's alive, living somewhere. One day, when the time comes, he will come back."

Puspanathan's wife and his two children, aged 10 and seven, relocated to Kuala Lumpur several years ago, so that leaves just the elderly couple at the family home in Banting, Selangor.

For Subramaniam, it is mind boggling how a multi-country effort is still unable to find the missing place, when technological advancements have enabled deep space explorations and high-tech researches.

"But why haven't we found more of this aircraft's wreckage anywhere?" he was quoted asking the daily.

As the couple are both old and sickly, proper answers as to their son's fate is a pressing concern for them.

Puspanathan, who would have turned 40 this year, was among the passengers from 14 countries, who were on board MH370 when it went missing on March 8, 2014, from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, China. The missing include 12 crew members.

Although parts of the plane have been found washed ashore at several different locations, the main wreckage is yet to be found.

Search efforts have since been called off, but the Malaysian government has assured that it is willing to resume the search if new and credible leads surface.

Meanwhile, Voice of 370, a support group for the families of MH370 passengers, has urged the government to reveal all military radar records pertaining to the flight, between March 7 and 8, 2014.

In remembrance of the tragic disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 11 years ago, let us honour the 239 passengers and crew who were on board.

Source: NST, Astro Awani
Photo source: Astro Awani