Former transport minister Ong Tee Keat has commended acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein's handling the Flight MH370 crisis while taking a subtle jab at MCA president Liow Tiong Lai.

"I am glad to have seen a marked improvement in the handling of the situation, once Hishammuddin (right) started to take charge,” he said in a statement today.

"I believe the government is lucky to have had Hishammuddin as acting transport minister ... who was able to handle the international media and speak well, compared to other potential candidates who likely would have fared far worse and have far poorer communication skills.”

Although he did not name Liow, Ong's comments were clearly aimed at the former, who is known for his poor grasp of English and several gaffes in the past.

Hishammuddin is defence minister and acting transport minister because the BN has reserved the portfolio for MCA as a mark of the coalition's inclusiveness.

MCA had threatened the Chinese Malaysian community by vowing to decline all government posts if the party did not improve its electoral standing in the 13th general election held last May.

Although the party fared far worse, MCA, under Liow's leadership, has rescinded the "no government position" decision and is currently waiting to be absorbed into cabinet. A reshuffle is expected in a few months.

By virtue of heading the MCA, Liow is the most likely candidate to be appointed to the transport portfolio.

Meanwhile, Ong, a former MCA president, commended Hishammuddin for agreeing to a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on the Flight MH370 crisis.

"It shows that Hishammuddin has put himself above partisan politics in the interests of transparency, fact-finding, continuous improvement and restoring confidence in Malaysia internationally," he said.

He said that, should a PSC be formed, it will give Malaysians a constructive and appropriate forum to analyse the events leading up to and related to the tragedy.

However, he added that the government should also form a parallel "high-powered" committee to deal with the aftermath of the incident.

Three days after Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 went missing, Ong had issued a press release warning the government that government efforts to search for MH370 seemed uncoordinated .