REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia will despatch a team to the Maldives to inspect debris found there that might be from MH370.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai, however, cautioned that it would be "highly premature" to speculate at this juncture on whether the debris was in any way connected to the Malaysia Airlines plane.

"Malaysia has been officially notified by the Maldives Civil Aviation Authority pertaining to debris that has been found. At this juncture, no verification of the debris has taken place.

"We will be despatching a team to Maldives to view the debris as well as to conduct preliminary verification of the debris," Liow said in a statement Monday.

He urged all parties not to speculate as it would "only cause unnecessary stress" to the next-of-kin of the 239 passengers and crew of the jetliner which disappeared from radar on March 8 last year en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

On Aug 6, Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that a flaperon found on the French Reunion Island was from MH370.

It was reported that a maintenance record seal on the flaperon was conclusive proof the part was from the plane which investigators said ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

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