SEPANG, March 14 — Nearly a week after military radar sighted an aircraft over the Straits of Malacca, investigators have still been unable to pinpoint the identity of the plane and if it was indeed the MH370, which has been missing since last Saturday.

Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein told a daily press conference here that data on the possible air turn-back spotted on the radar remains unchanged but investigators are still poring over the information for further verification.

“It is not 100 per cent identified to be MH370. And that is why we have expanded the search to the Straits of Malacca, and now even further on, as I have said.

“That has not changed,” he said.

Hishammuddin added that Malaysia’s investigative team has also shared more detailed information with its international counterparts, “as it became available”, for verification.

“The international team are currently working on verifying that detailed information, but we have nothing to confirm at the moment,” he said.

MH370 disappeared without sending any distress calls at 1.30am last Saturday morning, less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing.

It was last spotted 120 nautical miles off the coast of Kota Baru in the east coast of the peninsula, between the waters of Malaysia and Vietnam.

But the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) revealed a day later that military radar had recorded a plane that could have been the MAS flight turning back to the Straits of Malacca before losing the data plot at 2.15am when the plane was at 29,500 feet.

Hishammuddin today stressed that they are working closely with international experts to verify if MH370 did in fact turn back from the point it was last seen on radar, as it would be crucial to determine where search efforts should be concentrated.

“As soon as we find out, then we can focus on the area. But I cannot verify that now because what if the plane is still in the South China Sea?

“It would be totally irresponsible for us to do that,” he said of redeploying search and rescue assets to the Straits of Malacca.

Department of Civil Aviation Director-General Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Razak said that investigators are working with an expert team from the US to decipher the information gathered from American satellites to help determine the probable location of the missing plane.

The national aviation chief added that more help will come with the arrival of teams from the UK’s aircraft accident investigation board and aircraft engine maker Rolls Royce, who he said have indicated that they would also look at satellite tracking.

Hishammuddin noted that the Malaysian authorities had taken the right course of action in handling the crisis.

“I’m very happy and would like to remind the media that the FAA and NTSB confirmed that after looking at the raw data, especially from the military side, that we made the right decision to focus on both areas,” he said, referring to the US aviation and transportation safety authorities.