Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim says the captain of MH 370 is a card-carrying member of his party -- and an extremely distant relative -- but he dismissed suggestions the pilot may have diverted the plane as a political act in his support . Hours before the Malaysia Airlines flight vanished en route to Beijing on March 8 , Anwar , de facto leader of the People 's Justice Party , was sentenced to five years in jail after a court overturned his 2012 acquittal on a sodomy charge . Some media outlets have reported that the plane 's pilot , Zaharie Ahmad Shah , had attended the court hearing , and speculated that the flight 's disappearance may have been a political act in response to the verdict . As authorities increasingly focused their attentions on events in the cockpit , the homes of Zaharie and First Officer Fariq Abdul Hamid were searched , and a homemade flight simulator found in Zaharie 's home , Malaysian officials revealed.. Anwar , who is free pending appeal , told CNN his party had been unable to establish whether Zaharie had been in attendance at court , although a number of his friends had reported he had been `` upset and disgusted '' by the outcome . The opposition leader recognized photographs of Zaharie from political meetings , and subsequently established he was a member of his party -- and a distant relative of his daughter-in-law . However , he labeled the suggestion that Zaharie could have steered the airliner from its designated flight path as a political act as `` grossly unfair '' to the missing pilot . WATCH : Politics of MH 370 pilot questioned . He alleged that the speculation had only gained traction as a result of the government trying to deflect attention from its `` incompetent '' handling of the crisis . `` I think there 's a desperation by the government of the ruling leadership over the manner they managed the whole crisis . Clearly incompetent , contradictory statements , poor management of the crisis , '' he said . `` In order to deflect that , their own failure , their own incompetence , they now choose to attack me , '' he said . `` They fail on every count ... They 're now desperate to cast aspersions against me as leader of the opposition . '' Malaysian political scientist Wong Chin Huat said that while close scrutiny of the potential motivations of anyone onboard is warranted , he believes the speculated link to Malaysian domestic politics was a `` red herring . '' `` Had the captain intended to cause this incident in protest , there should be clearly some clue . It 's pointless to make a political statement in silence , that leaves everyone guessing where you are going , '' he said , adding that such drastic actions would be unprecedented in Malaysian politics . He had seen no evidence to back up Anwar 's claim that the theory had been promulgated by Malaysian authorities to distract from their handling of the crisis , but said that such an explanation was `` very possible . '' `` You have a one-party state run by princelings that demonstrates very poor leadership and very chaotic coordination -- poor leadership and chaotic coordination that has been distracted from by this red herring , '' he said . Malaysian government officials declined to respond to Anwar 's comments . Anwar has repeatedly said he is innocent of a charge he sodomized a former aide , calling the case against him an attempt by the government to end his political career . The Malaysian government has consistently denied his accusations . When asked at a news conference Tuesday about the Anwar angle , Malaysia 's Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that the issue was above politics , and that speculation linking the plane 's disappearance to Anwar 's sentencing had come from foreign media , not by his government . Who were the pilots ?
Pilot of MH 370 was a supporter of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim . Anwar was sentenced to 5 years in jail hours before the plane vanished . Some have speculated the plane could have been hijacked in response to the sentence . Comment: