KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — More pressure is being turned on Malaysia to let Western investigators take charge on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, with one lawmaker bidding to be the next US president accusing Malaysia of being unreceptive towards American agencies.

Republican Congressman Peter King, who heads the powerful House Sub-Committee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, demanded that US law enforcement agencies be given a bigger role in the disappearance of the Malaysian plane with 239 people onboard.

“This has been a frustrating time for the [Federal Bureau of Investigation]... My understanding is the Malaysian government is not co-operating,” the member of the US Republican Party and former chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security said to the party’s mouthpiece, Fox News.

King, who has announced plans to contest the 2016 US presidential race, accused Malaysia of withholding vital information that MH370 did not crash but instead flew on for hours after it lost contact with ground control on March 8.

The US lawmaker insisted that the country’s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the FBI, along with Interpol, must have a more “hands on” role in the investigation currently led by Malaysia.

Three US citizens were listed among the 227 passengers on MH370.

King’s remonstrations were a marked rise in rhetoric coming from the US for Malaysia to yield to the country’s agencies on MH370.

On Saturday, unnamed Western law enforcement agents accused Malaysia of repeatedly rejecting Interpol’s offers to help investigate MH370 even as experts settle on foul play in its disappearance.

“It’s the old pre-9/11 approach: close-hold information, don’t share anything,” one anonymous official was quoted as saying by ABC News on its website yesterday, referring to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

ABC News quoted other unidentified law enforcement officials who expressed concern that the alleged refusal by Malaysia to take up Interpol’s offer may have caused leads into the mysterious disappearance of MH370 to grow cold.

But Malaysia yesterday rejected the allegations, insisting that it welcomes any agency offering to help find and investigate MH370

“We work with all agencies, including Interpol,” Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters during a press conference yesterday.

Acting Transport and Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein echoed Khalid’s remarks and said Malaysia has been open and transparent since day one of investigations.

Malaysia also took the unusual step of releasing highly-confidential raw data from its military radar in order to expedite the search for the missing plane.

“Malaysia has nothing to hide... From day one, we have been in regular contact with neighbouring countries, and accepted all international offers of help,” Hishammuddin said in a statement on Thursday.

Investigators appear to have settled on foul play in the disappearance of MH370, which the government said was due to “deliberate action” that is now the subject of a criminal investigation.