In a BBC report, Sakinab said that her family had never once doubted Zaharie or thought he had gone rogue.

“We had brainstorming sessions. About a week after (the disappearance), all of us gathered in Penang. There was not a moment when we doubted our brother. Nothing to make us think he was turning rogue,” she said.

Sakinab said that the suspicion and accusations added to the stress of the loss, and that it was a very difficult situation.

“It was very hurtful. It added to the stress of the loss. A very close brother of mine is missing, and on top of that I have to contend with all the accusations.

“It’s a very difficult situation. We cry often, my siblings and I, and my nieces are all so affected because they were so close to their uncle,” she said.

She added that Zaharie was brought up in a decent family and had no reason to throw away his life.

“A simple village boy, from poor beginnings and he became a commercial pilot. It was a dream come true. He stayed with Malaysia Airlines for 30 years, recorded over 18,000 hours of flying time.

“No bad record, nothing untoward. He was just a few years from retirement. Do you think he would want to throw this all away?” she said.

Captain Zaharie and the 238 others on board are presumed lost. The Boeing 777 aircraft operating the MH370 flight was diverted from its Kuala Lumpur-Beijing route and is believed to have crashed in the remote southern Indian Ocean off western Australia.

The joint search team of officials from Malaysia, Australia and China have announced a suspension of the search for the wreckage after two years of effort.