Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said he has been made aware of a letter claiming responsibility of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 but said it was unlikely to be true.

"I think there is no sound ground to say it is true," he told a press conference at Sama-Sama Hotel, Kuala Lumpur International Airport this evening.

He was referring to a Chinese-language open letter by the Chinese Martyr's Brigade claiming responsibility for taking down the plane that was circulated in the media in China.

However, Hishammuddin, who is also Defence Minister, said the investigation will not rule out any leads that come to them.

“We have taken a stand from the beginning, we are not taking anything for granted,” he said.

‘China not upset’

On a separate matter, Hishammuddin denied that the Chinese government is upset at Malaysia’s investigation of the MH370 incident.

“Far from it (being upset), I had a very long discussion with a number of leaders from the Chinese party (People’s Communist Party) and also the ministries last night.

“The (Chinese) ambassador has been making a lot of positive statements and he is seeing first hand what we are doing,” he said.

He added that a taskforce delegation from China had also arrived in Kuala Lumpur today to assist in the search and rescue, handling the families of Chinese passengers as well as identifying the two passengers who boarded the flight with stolen passports.

He denied China was taking over the investigations, adding that Malaysia will continue to take the lead in the entire operation.

“They made a point today with the relevant authorities... they said they are here only to assist and I appreciate that,” he said.

Hishammuddin also urged the public and the media not to disseminate unverified information as it may affect the ongoing operation.

“Unverified and false news distracts us from the work at hand and we also need to be fair ro the families who are hoping against hope.

“I don’t want them (families of passengers) to receive news that is irresponsible, not verified, or worse, false,” he said.