KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — Putrajaya has no hidden agenda in holding a special briefing only for Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmakers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said last night amid opposition uproar at being left out.

The acting transport minister added that the government was open to arranging a similar session to keep Pakatan Rakyat (PR) MPs up-to-date on the events that have unfolded since the Beijing-bound plane disappeared midflight on March 8.

“We have been transparent to the world. Why should we not be to the Malaysian Parliament?” Hishammuddin told reporters after chairing a late-night briefing for BN backbenchers. “That is the last thing I would do.”

He said that if there was a request from PR, “we will comply.”

PKR MPs Fuziah Salleh and Sim Tze Tzin had accused the Najib administration of partisan politics in locking out 89 opposition elected representatives.

Hishammuddin said last night's session was organised by the Transport Ministry in response to an earlier request from the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BNBBC).

The three-and-a-half hour session, which included a dinner, also saw officials from the Department of Civil Aviation, the Royal Malaysian Armed Forces and flag carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

Hishammuddin, who is also defence minister, related that he had only updated the BNBBC on the timeline of the events and had not shared confidential information beyond what the investigation team could divulge.

“Sometimes the issues are sensitive and without corroboration evidence we can't divulge anything,” he said.

He also said such information BN backbenchers received had also been released to the public.

Despite the paltry information the government could share with even BN MPs, Hishammuddin said he was encouraged by their support and called the aviation crisis a “blessing in disguise” as it has “brought the nation closer”.

“This is a long process that we have to go through and I hope we can find the MH370 soon,” he said.

He added, “But even if we find it, it doesn't mean it is going to end there. What we are going through here might change the history of aviation.”

Putrajaya has come under much heat domestically and from abroad over its handling of the missing passenger plane carrying 239 people onboard.

Detractors have pointed to delays in releasing official updates and conflicting reports by the various agencies involved, fuelling speculation of a cover-up.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said on Saturday that evidence pointed to a deliberate diversion of the flight, given the controlled way it was turned around and flown far to the west, off its original route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

A multinational team of investigators believe it was diverted by someone with expert knowledge of the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft and of commercial navigation.