The suspension of the MH370 aircraft search was not due to the lack of funds, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

However, he explained, the decision by the three countries involved -- namely Malaysia, Australia and China -- was to allow some space for the process of collecting and analysing more data by a team of experts.

He said that this will let them zoom in on the search area and be more focused in their efforts to locate the missing plane which went missing since March 8, 2014.

"They (the experts) want to examine in details the data based on satellite images and various forms of debris found, and we are waiting for them to give more credible data.

"We want more evidence to continue the search, we cannot be looking at an area which is not certain," he said at the Remembering Three Years of MH370 event, here, today.

In his opening speech, Liow said the two new fragments were discovered in South Africa, bringing the latest 27 fragments found being associated with the ill-fated aircraft.

Of these, only three fragments were confirmed to be from MH370.

He said that he had been in touch with the South African government while at the same time also enlisted the help of Australia to identify the debris.

A three-year search operation for the missing aircraft in the southern Indian Ocean was suspended in January this year.