Senin, 11 Januari 2021

Malaysia to impose MCO for 2 weeks from Jan 13 in several states to curb Covid-19 cases: Muhyiddin - The Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday (Jan 11) announced fresh nationwide movement restrictions to curb the soaring number of Covid-19 cases.

Five states - Melaka, Johor, Penang, Selangor and Sabah - and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya will re-enter the movement control order (MCO), where social activities and gatherings are banned. 

"Our health system can no longer afford to handle 2,000 daily Covid-19 cases. It is at a breaking point," Tan Sri Muhyiddin said in a televised address. 

"To break the Covid-19 chain, the government, with the advice of the Health Ministry, has decided to implement the movement control order (MCO) for a period of 14 days."

He said these measures will kick in from Wednesday to Jan 26.

The states of Pahang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan will be placed under the less-stringent conditional MCO, while Perlis and Sarawak will be placed under the recovery phase of the MCO.

Under the conditional MCO, most businesses are allowed to operate but religious, cultural, recreational, and sporting activities are banned. And the states under recovery MCO allow social gatherings and inter-state travels with some limitations such as safe distancing.

Malaysia is experiencing a spike in cases since a third wave of infections began to sweep across the country from September, threatening to overwhelm its healthcare system.

On Sunday, it recorded 2,451 new Covid-19 cases and nine deaths. Of all states, Selangor had the most cases, with 730.

Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah on Sunday said he was particularly worried about the high number of deaths in recent weeks. Since Jan 1, there have been 71 fatalities. In comparison, there had been fewer than 100 fatalities recorded in the first nine months of 2020. The number of cases, which has averaged about 2,000 in recent weeks, reached a record of 3,027 on Jan 7.

Two Cabinet ministers tested positive for the disease over the weekend.

Economic Affairs Minister Mustapa Mohamed tested positive for the coronavirus last Saturday, three days after he attended a Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) meeting at which Mr Muhyiddin and several other Cabinet members were present.

Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun, the Women, Family and Community Development Minister, tested positive for the disease on Sunday. She was admitted to hospital on Monday.

The latest surge in infections was blamed on the political campaigners who returned from the Sabah state after a two-week campaign for the Sept 26 state election, bringing with them the disease that caused a spike in infections across the peninsula.

The soaring number of cases is also taking a toll on Malaysia's front-line workers. In December, the health ministry said 1,771 healthcare workers - majority of whom were nurses - had been infected by Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic. Two-thirds of those cases were reported in the third wave of the infections.

Last week, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham had called for a targeted lockdown, although businesses have expressed concerns that wider restrictions would further damage the economy.

Malaysia first imposed the MCO on March 18 last year, shutting down most businesses, malls, restaurants. It also barred the public from attending any social gatherings.

The restrictions were eased on May 4 to allow the business sectors to resume operations as the number of cases reduced.

It then entered a recovery phase, called the recovery movement control order (RMCO), on June 9.

But the government imposed a conditional movement control order (CMCO) in the capital Kuala Lumpur, the state of Selangor and Putrajaya, and several areas, amid a resurgence of cases triggered by the September Sabah election.

Prior to this, the government had not restricted interstate and inter-district travel in much of Malaysia.

Malaysia has recorded a total of 135,992 Covid-19 cases and 551 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

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2021-01-11 10:48:06Z
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Malaysia to impose MCO for 2 weeks from Jan 13 in 6 states to curb Covid-19 cases: Muhyiddin - The Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday (Jan 11) announced fresh nationwide movement restrictions to curb the soaring number of Covid-19 cases.

Six states - Melaka, Johor, Penang, Selangor, Sabah and the Federal Territories including Kuala Lumpur - will re-enter the Movement Control Order (MCO) where social activities and gatherings are banned. 

The states of Pahang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan will be placed under a less stringent recovery phase of the MCO.

These measures will kick in for 14 days from Wednesday to Jan 26.

"Our health system can no longer afford to take care of 2,000 daily Covid-19 cases, the healthcare system is at a breaking point," Tan Sri Muhyiddin said in a televised address. 

Malaysia is experiencing a spike in cases since a third wave of infections began to sweep across the country since September, threatening to overwhelm its healthcare system.

On Sunday, it recorded 2,451 new Covid-19 cases and nine deaths. Of all states, Selangor had the most cases, with 730.

Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah on Sunday said he was particularly worried about the high number of deaths in recent weeks. Since Jan 1, there have been 71 fatalities. In comparison, there had only been fewer than 100 fatalities recorded in the first nine months of 2020. The number of cases, which has averaged about 2,000 in recent weeks, reached a record of 3,027 on Jan 7.

Two Cabinet ministers were tested positive for the disease over the weekend.

Economic Affairs Minister Mustapa Mohamed tested positive for the coronavirus last Saturday, three days after he attended a Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) meeting at which Tan Sri Muhyiddin and several other Cabinet members were present.

Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun, the Women, Family and Community Development Minister, tested positive for the disease on Sunday. She was admitted to hospital on Monday.

Malaysia has reported a record number of cases on several occasions since the third wave of coronavirus infections began to sweep across the country in September. The latest surge in infections was blamed on the political campaigners who returned from the Sabah state after a two-week campaign for the Sept 26 state election, bringing with them the disease that caused a spike in infections across the peninsula.

The soaring cases are also taking a toll on Malaysia's front-line workers. In December, the health ministry said a total of 1,771 healthcare workers - majority of whom were nurses - had been infected by Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic. Two-thirds of those cases were reported in the third wave of the infections.

Last week, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham had called for a targeted lockdown, although businesses have expressed concerns that wider restrictions would further damage the economy.

Malaysia first imposed the movement control order (MCO) on March 18 last year, shutting down most businesses, malls, restaurants. It also barred the public from attending any social gatherings.

The restrictions were eased on May 4 to allow the business sectors to resume operations as the number of cases reduced.

It then entered a recovery phase, called the recovery movement control order (RMCO), on June 9.

But the government imposed a conditional movement control order (CMCO) in the capital Kuala Lumpur, the states of Selangor and Putrajaya, and several areas, amid a resurgence of cases triggered by the September Sabah election.

Even as cases continue to soar, the government did not restrict interstate and inter-district travel in much of Malaysia.

Malaysia has recorded a total of 135,992 Covid-19 cases and 551 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. 

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2021-01-11 10:29:37Z
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Malaysian PM to speak to public at 6pm as govt mulls over partial lockdown to curb soaring Covid-19 cases - The Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to announce further restrictions via a special telecast at 6pm on Monday (Jan 11) to contain the soaring number of daily infections that remains consistently in the thousands in recent weeks, with two Cabinet ministers becoming the disease's latest victims.

Malaysia on Sunday recorded 2,451 new Covid-19 cases and nine deaths. Of all states, Selangor had the most cases, with 730.

Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah in a press statement on Sunday said he was particularly worried about the high number of deaths in recent weeks. Since Jan 1, there have been 71 fatalities. On Jan 7, the country also recorded the highest number of cases at 3,027 since the start of the pandemic.

Economic Affairs Minister Mustapa Mohamed tested positive for the coronavirus last Saturday, three days after he attended a Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) meeting at which Tan Sri Muhyiddin and several other Cabinet members were present.

Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun, the Women, Family and Community Development Minister, tested positive for the disease on Sunday. She was admitted to hospital on Monday.

Malaysia has reported a record number of cases on several occasions since the third wave of coronavirus infections began to sweep across the country in September. The latest surge in infections was blamed on the political campaigners who returned from the Sabah state after a two-week campaign for the Sept 26 state election, bringing with them the disease that caused a spike in infections across the peninsula.

The soaring cases are also taking a toll on Malaysia's front-line workers. In December, the health ministry said a total of 1,771 healthcare workers - majority of whom were nurses - had been infected by Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic. Two-thirds of those cases were reported in the third wave of the infections.

Last week, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham had called for a targeted lockdown, although businesses have expressed concerns that wider restrictions would further damage the economy.

Malaysia first imposed the movement control order (MCO) on March 18 last year, shutting down most businesses, malls, restaurants. It also barred the public from attending any social gatherings.

The restrictions were eased on May 4 to allow the business sectors to resume operations as the number of cases reduced.

It then entered a recovery phase, called the recovery movement control order (RMCO), on June 9.

But the government imposed a conditional movement control order (CMCO) in the capital Kuala Lumpur, the states of Selangor and Putrajaya, and several areas, amid a resurgence of cases triggered by the September Sabah election.

Even as cases continue to soar, the government did not restrict interstate and inter-district travel in much of Malaysia.

Malaysia has recorded a total of 135,992 Covid-19 cases and 551 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. 

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2021-01-11 08:33:33Z
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Sriwijaya Air mishap: Forest ranger and family boarded an earlier flight after acquiring COVID-19 test results - CNA

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  1. Sriwijaya Air mishap: Forest ranger and family boarded an earlier flight after acquiring COVID-19 test results  CNA
  2. Indonesia crash thwarts push to rehabilitate country's airlines  TODAYonline
  3. Relatives wait anxiously for news of loved ones in plane crash  The Straits Times
  4. Sriwijaya Air plane 'possibly ruptured' when it hit the waters: Indonesian investigator  CNA
  5. Still hoping: Indonesians await news of relatives on missing plane  AsiaOne
  6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2021-01-11 09:36:19Z
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Indonesia says divers closing in on black boxes from crashed Sriwijaya Air jet - CNA

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  1. Indonesia says divers closing in on black boxes from crashed Sriwijaya Air jet  CNA
  2. Indonesian authorities locate two black boxes from crashed plane  The Straits Times
  3. Family, friends of Indonesia plane crash passengers await news  Al Jazeera English
  4. Sriwijaya Air plane 'possibly ruptured' when it hit the waters: Indonesian investigator  CNA
  5. Relatives wait anxiously for news of loved ones in plane crash  The Straits Times
  6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2021-01-11 07:01:46Z
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Minggu, 10 Januari 2021

Sriwijaya Air plane 'possibly ruptured' when it hit the waters: Indonesian investigator - CNA

JAKARTA: An investigator with Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) said the Sriwijaya Air jet that crashed into the Java Sea with 62 people on board over the weekend possibly broke apart when it hit waters based on debris found so far.

"We don't know for sure, but if we look at the debris, they're scattered in an area that is not too wide," Nurcahyo Utomo told Reuters on Monday.

"It possibly ruptured when it hit waters because if it had exploded mid-air, the debris would be distributed more widely," he added.

The Boeing 737-500 was headed on a domestic flight to Pontianak in West Kalimantan on Saturday before it disappeared from radar screens four minutes after take-off. There are no clues yet as to what caused the crash.

READ: Black boxes location for downed Indonesian Sriwijaya Air plane found

KNKT chief Soerjanto Tjahjono on Sunday said the locations of Flight SJ182's two black boxes had been identified.

"Hopefully, we can retrieve them soon," said military chief Hadi Tjahjanto, without giving an estimated timeframe.

Pieces of wreckage were brought to Jakarta port by rescuers, including the plane's altimeter radar, emergency chute and a piece that was suspected to have come off of the bottom part of the plane's tail, KNKT official Nurcahyo Utomo said.

One twisted piece of metal was painted in Sriwijaya Air's blue and red colours. Authorities said they came from a depth of 23m near a group of islands off the Jakarta coast.

Indonesian authorities said they had also retrieved body parts and clothing.

Police asked families to provide information such as dental records and DNA samples to help identify bodies.

The plane had 12 crew and 50 passengers on board, all Indonesians and including 10 children.

READ: ‘Hoping for a miracle’: Anxious wait for friends and families after Sriwijaya Air plane goes missing in Indonesia

Tracking service Flightradar24 said the aircraft took off at 2.36pm local time (3.36pm Singapore time) and climbed to reach 10,900 feet within four minutes. It then began a steep descent and stopped transmitting data 21 seconds later.

There were no immediate clues on what caused the sudden descent. Most air accidents are caused by a cocktail of factors that can take months to establish, safety experts say.

A transport ministry spokeswoman said air traffic control had asked the pilot why the plane was heading northwest instead of on its expected flight path seconds before it disappeared.

The pilots had decades of experience between them with the flight captain reported to be a former air force pilot and his co-pilot at Sriwijaya Air since 2013, according to his Linkedin profile.

READ: More debris found as Indonesian authorities race against time to search for missing Sriwijaya Air plane

The Sriwijaya Air plane was a nearly 27-year-old Boeing 737-500, much older than Boeing's problem-plagued 737 MAX model. Older 737 models are widely flown and do not have the stall-prevention system implicated in the MAX safety crisis.

"We are in contact with our airline customer and stand ready to support them during this difficult time," Boeing said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with the crew, passengers, and their families."

Founded in 2003, Jakarta-based Sriwijaya Air group flies largely within Indonesia's sprawling archipelago. The budget airline has had a solid safety record, with no onboard casualties in four incidents recorded on the Aviation Safety Network database.

In 2007, the European Union banned all Indonesian airlines following a series of crashes and reports of deteriorating oversight and maintenance since deregulation in the late 1990s. The restrictions were fully lifted in 2018.

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2021-01-11 01:22:44Z
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House 'will proceed' with legislation to impeach Trump: Pelosi - CNA

WASHINGTON: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday (Jan 10) the House will proceed with legislation to impeach President Donald Trump, calling him a threat to democracy after the deadly assault on the Capitol.

Pelosi made the announcement in a letter to colleagues. She said the House will act with solemnity but also urgency with just days remaining before Trump is to leave office on Jan 20.

“In protecting our Constitution and our Democracy, we will act with urgency, because this President represents an imminent threat to both,” she said.

“The horror of the ongoing assault on our democracy perpetrated by this President is intensified and so is the immediate need for action.”

With impeachment planning intensifying, two Republican senators want Trump to resign immediately as efforts mount to prevent Trump from ever again holding elective office in the wake of deadly riots at the Capitol.

House Democrats are expected to introduce articles of impeachment on Monday and vote as soon as Tuesday. The strategy would be to condemn the president's actions swiftly but delay an impeachment trial in the Senate for 100 days. That would allow President-elect Joe Biden to focus on other priorities as soon as he is inaugurated Jan 20.

READ: Increasingly isolated Trump threatened with second impeachment

Representative Jim Clyburn, the third-ranking House Democrat and a top Biden ally, laid out the ideas Sunday as the country came to grips with the siege at the Capitol by Trump loyalists trying to overturn the election results.

“Let’s give President-elect Biden the 100 days he needs to get his agenda off and running,” Clyburn said.

Pressure was mounting for Trump to leave office even before his term ended amid alarming concerns of more unrest ahead of the inauguration. The president whipped up the mob that stormed the Capitol, sent lawmakers into hiding and left five dead.

Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania on Sunday joined Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska in calling for Trump to “resign and go away as soon as possible".

“I think the president has disqualified himself from ever, certainly, serving in office again,” Toomey said. “I don’t think he is electable in any way.”

Murkowski, who has long voiced her exasperation with Trump’s conduct in office, told the Anchorage Daily News on Friday that Trump simply “needs to get out". A third Republican, Senator Roy Blunt, of Missouri, did not go that far, but on Sunday he warned Trump to be “very careful” in his final days in office.

READ: As impeachment looms, Pelosi urges military to keep Trump from nuclear codes

Corporate America began to tie its reaction to the Capitol riots by tying them to campaign contributions.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association's CEO and President Kim Keck said it will not contribute to those lawmakers - all Republicans - who supported challenges to Biden's Electoral College win. The group “will suspend contributions to those lawmakers who voted to undermine our democracy", Kim said.

Citigroup did not single out lawmakers aligned with Trump's effort to overturn the election, but said it would be pausing all federal political donations for the first three months of the year. Citi’s head of global government affairs, Candi Wolff, said in a Friday memo to employees: “We want you to be assured that we will not support candidates who do not respect the rule of law".

READ: Marriott, Blue Cross suspend donations to US lawmakers who voted against Biden certification

House leaders, furious after the insurrection, appear determined to act against Trump despite the short timeline.

Late Saturday, Pelosi convened a conference call with her leadership team and sent a letter to her colleagues reiterating that Trump must be held accountable. She told her caucus, now scattered across the country on a two-week recess, to “be prepared to return to Washington this week” but did not say outright that there would be a vote on impeachment.

“It is absolutely essential that those who perpetrated the assault on our democracy be held accountable,” Pelosi wrote. “There must be a recognition that this desecration was instigated by the President.”

Senate Majority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell has said an impeachment trial could not begin under the current calendar before Inauguration Day, Jan 20.

Clyburn said that Pelosi "will make the determination as when is the best time” to send articles of impeachment to the Senate if and when they are passed by the House.

Another idea being considered was to have a separate vote that would prevent Trump from ever holding office again. That could potentially only need a simple majority vote of 51 senators, unlike impeachment, in which two-thirds of the 100-member Senate must support a conviction.

The Senate was set to be split evenly at 50-50, but under Democratic control once Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and the two Democrats who won Georgia's Senate runoff elections last week are sworn in. Harris would be the Senate's tie-breaking vote.

House Democrats were considering two possible packages of votes: One on setting up a commission to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office and one on the impeachment charge of abuse of power.

Representative Jim McGovern, who was part of the weekend leadership call, said he expected a “week of action” in the House.

While many have criticised Trump, Republicans have said that impeachment would be divisive in a time of unity.

Senator Marco Rubio said that instead of coming together, Democrats want to “talk about ridiculous things like ‘Let’s impeach a president’" with just days left in office.

Still, some Republicans might be supportive.

READ: Commentary - Will Donald Trump face charges after leaving office?

Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse said he would take a look at any articles that the House sent over. Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger, a frequent Trump critic, said he would “vote the right way” if the matter were put in front of him.

The Democratic effort to stamp Trump's presidential record - for the second time - with the indelible mark of impeachment had advanced rapidly since the riot.

Representative David Cicilline, a leader of the House effort to draft impeachment articles accusing Trump of inciting insurrection, said Sunday that his group had 200-plus co-sponsors.

The articles, if passed by the House, could then be transmitted to the Senate for a trial, with senators acting as jurors to acquit or convict Trump. If convicted, Trump would be removed from office and succeeded by the vice president. It would be the first time a US president had been impeached twice.

Potentially complicating Pelosi's decision about impeachment was what it meant for Biden and the beginning of his presidency. While reiterating that he had long viewed Trump as unfit for office, Biden on Friday sidestepped a question about impeachment, saying what Congress did “is for them to decide".

A violent and largely white mob of Trump supporters overpowered police, broke through security lines and windows and rampaged through the Capitol on Wednesday, forcing lawmakers to scatter as they were finalising Biden’s victory over Trump in the Electoral College.

Toomey appeared on CNN's State of the Union and NBC's Meet the Press. Clyburn was on Fox News Sunday and CNN. Kinzinger was on ABC's This Week, Blunt was on CBS' Face the Nation and Rubio was on Fox News Channel's Sunday Morning Futures.

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2021-01-11 00:37:30Z
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