MH370 Acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein believes that Malaysia has done exceptionally well in coordinating the search and rescue operation for Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370.

Responding to a question during his daily briefing, he said: "Not all countries can get 26 other countries to come and help."

The minister said these countries had set aside differences to come together in this effort to locate the Beijing-bound Boeing 777 with 239 people on board.

"There was no concern over issues like skin colour and religion," he said. "It is a great achievement... History will judge us well."

"In an area in South-East Asia where there was fighting over rocks in the sea, (but to work together now) it is an achievement. Not a bruising," he added.

'Time will heal wounds'

On another matter, Hishammuddin said the Malaysian authorities have complied with China’s request to hand over all information and satellite data.

The request was made after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced on Monday night that the plane had crashed in the southern part of the Indian ocean.

Quizzed on the anger and protest in Beijing, Hishammuddin said the Chinese families must understand that Malaysians and other nationals had also lost their loved ones.

The minister added that time would heal the raging emotions.

"I have seen footage from Australia, where there is acceptance and nobody is blaming the Malaysian government," he added.

Relatives of passengers in Beijing had among others accused the Malaysian government of being "murderers" and concealing information.

Still hoping against hope

Hishammuddin said that Najib himself met with the Chinese delegation today and provided all information required and reiterated their commitment to transparency.

He said that safety of Malaysian diplomatic officers in Beijing was also raised during the meeting and with the Chinese government.

"It will be dealt with by both the Chinese and Malaysian governments," he said.

Although MAS clearly stated that there are no survivors, given that it has been 19 days since MH370 went missing and the hostility of the Indian Ocean, Hishammuddin remained hopeful.

The minister also sidestepped a question when asked if he would "categorically state if this is a search mission or a search and rescue mission".

"If (the debris) is confirmed to be from MH370, then we can move to deep sea surveillance search and rescue, hopefully, hoping against hope," he said.