By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE “ill-spoken” comparison by opposition leader Hubert Minnis of the lost Malaysian airline to the PLP government was criticised by Prime Minister Perry Christie yesterday.

Last week, while criticising the Christie administration for “organisation problems”, Dr Minnis had said that it explained why the government had postponed promised events.

“The lost Malaysian airline is a joke compared to how lost this government is,” he remarked.

Mr Christie yesterday said the lost Malaysian airline is “no joking matter”.

He was speaking in Mayaguana about the unique challenges archipelagic countries like the Bahamas face when it comes to travel.

“The leader of the opposition should really be condemned for his ill-spoken words about the flight that was lost,” Mr Christie said. “You could joke about politics, you could even seriously argue about your side of politics, but when you use as an analogy or illustration in public about the loss of human life that has gripped the attention of the world, you are not speaking properly, you are not speaking wisely, you are not speaking humanely. And I have to tell you that this is a matter that will cause concern because people are absolutely shocked and surprised that that is what you will do. It’s not a joking matter.

“Remember what happened here on this strip in Mayaguana,” Mr Christie continued, referring to last year’s runway accident on the island that killed three people.

Recalling the moment he first learned of that accident, Mr Christie said: “I was shocked. Absolutely shocked at the horrific nature of what had taken place. You don’t joke about things like that. Anything to do with that kind of thing, because it can happen to us, we must exercise the greatest care with our words when we are in public life. This is not just a matter for the Bahamas, this is a matter for the world. The attention of the world has been gripped and people all over the world have been searching for the aircraft, people have lost their lives and it’s a very silly thing to do.”

PLP Chairman Bradley Roberts has also called for Dr Minnis to publicly apologise for his “unfortunate analogy.”

In a statement, Mr Roberts said: “If Minnis believes the hype and rhetoric of his own party, then he should take his party’s advice and publicly apologize for his ill-conceived analogy just as his party called for an apology from MP Leslie O Miller when Mr Miller used an analogy to make a larger political point that some found offensive. To use the tragedy of 239 innocent souls on Malaysian flight MH370 to grandstand and posture was disgraceful, in poor taste and I call on Dr Minnis to publicly apologise for that unfortunate analogy.”

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, to Beijing, China, which lost contact with air traffic control on March 8th and has not been heard from since. The Malaysian government has confirmed that the aircraft went down in the Indian Ocean with no survivors.