Malaysia is better known for pristine beaches and palm oil plantations than air disaster management. But the loss of a jet airliner from its national fleet five days ago has thrust the country into the role of crisis manager in the full glare of global scrutiny. The sudden disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 from commercial aviation radars – en route to Beijing with 239 passengers on board – has still not been solved, long after the airliner lost contact with air traffic control over the South China Sea.

Criticism has mounted that communications have been slow, information contradictory and co-ordination patchy. Aviation experts, frustrated relatives of those aboard and even China itself, home country of most of the passengers, have been increasingly vocal in making concerns known. Vietnam said yesterday it was reducing its involvement in the search for the aircraft because of “insufficient information” from the Malaysian side. It had been one of the first countries to send ships to the area being combed for signs of wreckage – an operation that involves 42 vessels and 39 aircraft from 12 countries.

Qin Gang, China’s foreign ministry spokesman, said: “There’s too much information and confusion right now. It is very hard for us to decide whether a given piece of information is accurate,” adding: “We will not give it up as long as there’s still a shred of hope.’’