Families of the passengers of Malaysia Airlines MH370 issued a letter thanking all governments and teams involved in the search for the missing plane, excluding the Malaysian government.

In a joint letter from the MH370 Family Association and Voice 370 which was addressed to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the head of the inter-nation search, Angus Houston, the families said they deeply appreciated the efforts of all those involved in finding the aircraft but made no mention of the effort done by the Malaysian government.   

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"It is here that we would like to applaud the relentless efforts of the men and women of the search crews directly involved in the search operations for MH370 and those involved in the analysis of the flight path of the plane; this letter is a medium insufficient to convey the depth of the gratitude felt by all affected families toward your endeavours," the letter read.

The families also thanked Abbott and Houston for "their gracious assumption of responsibility, for the coordination of the search" that was conducted around the Southern Indian Ocean, the place believed to be where the MH370 flight ended.

They said Abbott's and Houston's calm handling of the situation served as assurance for the families that the responsibility of finding the plane was in capable hands.

The grieving families also made special mention for "considerable assistance" given to them by the US and Chinese government, describing the commitment and amount of contributions as "commendable".

"As the search for the flight begins another transition into a new phase, we hope that the unstinting efforts by all parties involved in the search and rescue operation will be able to yield an answer to the enigma surrounding the fate of our loved ones for the safety of the flying public and the relatives of those on board," they added.

The exclusion of Malaysia in the families' letter of gratitude came despite pronouncements made by Malaysia's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Hamzah Zainuddin on Thursday that the families of seven passengers of the missing plane have already received advanced compensation payment of $50,000 each from Malaysia Airlines.

Zainuddin had assured that full compensation shall be paid by Malaysia Airlines' insurers and will cover all the families of the passengers. Malaysia's exclusion from the thank you letter was interpreted by many as an indication of the families' dissatisfaction with Malaysia's handling of the crisis since the ill-fated jet went missing 100 days ago.

The family of Chew Kar Moi, 31, a passenger on flight MH370, has refused the airline's offer of advanced compensation payment until the aircraft and the victim's body have been found.

Chew Kar Hui, the victim's elder sister, said there was no point in receiving the compensation when the whereabouts of the aircraft and her younger sister were still not known until today.

"Money cannot soothe our hurt and grief. Instead, we want the parties concerned to continue with the search operation until the evidence, the aircraft, is found," she said.

Although the General Insurance Association of Malaysia had earlier agreed to ease the insurance claim process, Chew stated that her family has refused to make arrangements for insurance payments.

"Money is not our main concern at the moment as we are still hoping that Kar Moi will return safely," she said.

A couple of families have initiated a crowd-funding campaign called "Reward MH370: The Search for the Truth'" to raise US$4million or 16.1 million Malaysian Ringgit in order to conduct their own search and reward any whistleblower who could give clues to what happend to the plane.

Flight MH370 was en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 227 passengers and 12 crew members when it disappeared in the early morning hours of March 8.

The search for MH370 marked its 100th day today with still no concrete clues on its whereabouts and what brought it there. Malaysia and China had vowed to continue with the search until the plane is found.

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