by Donald Wood
Last updated: 2:00 PM ET, Thu February 25, 2016
On Wednesday, a support group for the families of the victims of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 accused the Malaysian government of enacting a new law that will deny them a chance to sue the airline in connection with the plane's disappearance.
According to Alastair Jamieson of NBCNews.com, the support group is called Voice 370, and it claims that families who are looking to sue Malaysia Airlines for negligence will be unable to do so while the airline is being restructured into a new company.
The Voice 370 group says that the Malaysian government is supporting the state-backed airline by blocking lawsuits against them for up to two years, when the company would reportedly be "an empty shell with no assets or money."
READ MORE: US Team To Join Final Leg of MH370 Search
The new law-which was passed on Feb. 20-has caused the Voice 370 group to speak up. A spokesman released a statement, saying the families were "dismayed and disappointed by the Malaysian government's unjust use of an Act of Parliament to suspend and/or deny existing rights in law, including access to justice mechanisms, for the benefit of a private business."
Under the Montreal Convention, the families of passengers on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 would be eligible for compensation from insurers, but the deadline to apply is March 8 and payouts are considerably smaller since the airline has not been proven negligent.
READ MORE: Was MH370 Intentionally Crashed?
One of the family members, an American woman named Sara Bajc, who lost her boyfriend on the flight, spoke to NBCNews.com about the Malaysian government's recent actions:
"The egregious behavior of the Malaysian government has gone mostly unnoticed. Besides the terrible crimes of negligence and obstruction - for allowing the plane to disappear then impeding the investigation of the disappearance of 239 people - the Malaysian government has also prevented the pursuit of reparations by affected families."
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