> - the otherwise unbelievable delays and pure misinformation by the Malaysian government. Stalling for time.

Except that this is exactly how the Malaysian government usually operates. I have lived there for a year and can tell you that the Malaysian government is incompetent. Also they are used to talking to the local media which they control (and who is also incompetent).

> the fact that they did not publicly do background checks on all passengers until recently. They already know who the hijacker is. Now that there is pressure because of elapsed time and that people are seeing holes in the story, they need to be seen to be doing something.

See above.