BDO clears AirAsia’s Fernandes, Meranun of wrongdoing

BDO Governance Advisory Sdn Bhd, the “independent expert” appointed by AirAsia Group Bhd (AAGB), has cleared founders Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun of wrongdoing, after both men were implicated in a bribery admission by European planemaker Airbus SE.

AAGB, in a March 20 filing with Bursa Malaysia, said that BDO had submitted its report on March 19 to the board after conducting an independent internal inquiry.

BDO was appointed by the AAGB board on Feb 11 following Airbus’ admission to Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on Jan 31 of bribing AAGB and AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) staff as a reward for an order of 135 planes.

Musa Aman ke Mahkamah Persekutuan cabar kesahan KM Sabah

Bekas ketua menteri Sabah, Musa Aman.

PETALING JAYA: Bekas ketua menteri Sabah, Musa Aman memfailkan rayuan di Mahkamah Persekutuan untuk mendapatkan pengisytiharan beliau ialah ketua kerajaan negeri yang sah 2 tahun lalu.

Peguam Anantham Kasinather yang menganggotai pasukan guaman Musa, berkata kira-kira 15 soalan perundangan dan perlembagaan sudah dirangka untuk mahkamah tertinggi itu memberi kebenaran mendengar merit kes berkenaan.

“Kita patut boleh mempertimbangkan keputusan Mahkamah Persekutuan dalam kes Perak pada 2010, jika kebenaran diberikan,” katanya kepada FMT.

Doktor tentera, pencen dipanggil jika kes Covid-19 naik mendadak, kata menteri

Dr Adham Baba berkata, negara masih mempunyai keupayaan doktor mencukupi bagi mengawal kes berkaitan Covid-19 dan masalah kesihatan lain susulan penempatan 1,000 doktor pelatih dan 830 jururawat lantikan secara kontrak.

KUALA LUMPUR: Kerajaan bersedia memanggil semula doktor bersara atau pegawai perubatan yang berkhidmat dalam angkatan tentera jika berlaku peningkatan mendadak kes Covid-19 di negara ini.

Menteri Kesihatan, Dr Adham Baba berkata, langkah itu hanya akan dilakukan apabila perlu bagi mengimbangi keperluan doktor sedia ada dalam usaha meningkatkan sistem penjagaan kesihatan negara.

“Sekiranya berlaku pertambahan kes seperti di negara luar yang (naik) mendadak, kita tidak ada alasan untuk (tidak) panggil balik doktor yang sudah pencen dan doktor angkatan tentera untuk bantu kita,” katanya ketika menjadi tetamu sebuah program yang disiarkan TV1 malam tadi.

Tentera digerakkan bantu kuatkuasa perintah

PETALING JAYA: Tentera akan digerakkan untuk membantu polis menguatkuasakan perintah kawalan pergerakan bagi memastikan orang ramai patuhi arahan kerajaan sepanjang tempoh itu.

Menteri Pertahanan Ismail Sabri Yaakob pada sidang media selepas mesyuarat di Jabatan Perdana Menteri hari ini berkata tentera mula akan digerakkan pada Ahad.

“Kita yakin dengan bantuan daripada pihak tentera kawalan lebih lagi boleh dapat dilaksanakan dan kita berharap rakyat akan terus patuh arahan yang dikeluarkan kerajaan,” katanya.

Indonesia tutup kemasukan pelawat asing mulai esok

Kerajaan Indonesia menutup kemasukan pelawat asing ke negara itu dan menghalang rakyatnya keluar negara untuk tempoh sebulan berkuat kuasa esok bagi menghalang penularan wabak Covid-19. - Foto 123RF

JAKARTA - Kerajaan Indonesia mengambil langkah tambahan membendung penularan wabak koronavirus (Covid-19) dengan menutup kemasukan pelawat asing ke negara itu dan menghalang rakyatnya keluar negara untuk tempoh sebulan berkuat kuasa esok.

Menteri Luar, Retno Marsudi dalam kenyataan hari ini berkata, Visa Bebas Kunjungan (BVK), Visa Ketibaan (VOA) dan Visa Bebas Diplomatik/Perkhidmatan untuk warga asing ditangguhkan selama sebulan.

Susulan langkah tambahan tersebut, beliau berkata, pelawat warga asing yang akan berkunjung ke Indonesia diwajibkan mempunyai visa dari perwakilan Indonesia di negara masing-masing dengan menyatakan maksud dan tujuan lawatan tersebut.

Selain itu, katanya, semasa memohon visa, mereka perlu melampirkan sijil kesihatan oleh pihak berkuasa kesihatan di negara masing-masing.

Retno berkata, peraturan itu akan dikaji semula mengikut kesesuaian dan perkembangan semasa. - Bernama

Covid-19: Peserta Ijtima Dunia 2020 tunjuk gejala awal

MAKASSAR - Seorang peserta acara himpunan tabligh, Ijtima Dunia 2020 Zon Asia di Indonesia dirujuk ke Hospital Haji Makassar di Sulawesi Selatan selepas mengalami gejala demam panas.

Gabenor Sulawesi Selatan, Nurdin Abdullah berkata, lelaki terbabit ialah warga tempatan dari Nusa Tenggara Timur.

"Sehingga sekarang belum ada laporan ada peserta Ijtima Dunia 2020 menjadi suspek Covid-19.

"Tapi Pengarah Pejabat Kesihatan Daerah memaklumkan terdapat peserta himpunan yang mengalami demam panas. Pesakit terbabit telah dirujuk ke hospital dan dalam pemantauan rapi," katanya.

Muhyiddin & ministers should take pay cut

EXTRAORDINARY times call for extraordinary measures. Like working from home. Having to brave through the panic buying. And being patient through the policy flip-flops during a national emergency.

Sure, this is extraordinary and the Health Ministry has been a beacon through an unsettling time. But that can’t be said of the others.

Some were busy politicking like sacking the Mara chairman and council members yesterday (March 18) because they were supposedly “political appointees.”

AirAsia, MAB, Malindo, Firefly seek financial aid from MoF, say sources

REELING from the coronavirus crisis, Malaysia-based airlines are seeking financial assistance from the government, industry sources tell FocusM on condition of anonymity.

It is understood that industry captains met with Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Aziz to discuss aid and other reliefs after being badly hit by the Covid-19 outbreak.

The chief executive officers who had a sit-down with Tengku Zafrul were AirAsia Group Bhd founder Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Malindo Airways Sdn Bhd CEO Captain Mushafiz Mustafa Bakri, Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB) group CEO Captain Izham Ismail and MAB subsidiary Firefly CEO Philip See.

Income Tax Deadline Extended Until 30 June 2020

The last day to submit your income tax has been extended by two month.

The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) announced yesterday that taxpayers have until 30 June 2020 to file their forms either manually or by e-filing.

IRB said in the statement issued that all its offices nationwide will be closed during the Movement Control Order period from 18 to 31 March 2020. As the submission of tax returns will be affected, an extension of two months has been provided.

In the statement, IRB also urged taxpayers to submit their forms and payment through IRB’s online platform, ezHASIL.

Taxpayers who have problems filling up and submitting their forms can call IRB via Hasil Care Line at 03-8911 1000 or 603-8911 1100 (overseas).

Better to let Malaysia Airlines go bankrupt?

AIRLINES around the world are facing even tougher times now that Covid-19 has effectively stalled the travel industry with many countries imposing a travel ban. The situation is so dire that many airlines are already asking for government bailouts.

The International Air Transport Association said airlines will need “emergency measures to get through the crisis.” It has urged governments to consider extending lines of credit, reducing infrastructure costs and easing taxes.

Mara chairman, council members sacked

THE Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has terminated the services of Mara chairman Hasnita Hashim and several professionals who make up the statutory body’s council or majlis, people with knowledge of the matter tell FocusM on condition of anonymity.

Aside from Hasnita, other council members to be replaced are: Jamelah Jamaluddin, Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Tengku Ariff, Nungsari Ahmad Radhi, Ameer Ali Mydin, Syed Tamim Ansari Syed Mohamed, Zakri Mohd Khir and Ahmad Baslan Che Kassim.

They received the notice of termination today and, according to a source, they were terminated as they had been deemed “political appointees of Pakatan Harapan.”

You Can Now Test For Covid-19 At Home Via Home Sample Collection Services

For those of you who do not show symptoms for Covid-19, but would like to test for it anyway, you can now do it from the comfort of your home. This comes as the Ministry of Health partnered up with several private hospitals and healthcare facilities to provide sample collection services from homes for Covid-19 testing.

“Currently, sampling is done for those identified as persons under investigation (PUI), but some are concerned and want to get the Covid-19 test but do not meet the PUI criteria. Thus, the MoH has no barriers for those who want to get this test from the private sector,” said the director-general of the Ministry of Health, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. The service is also intended to prevent overcrowding at government health facilities.

LHDN Extends Malaysia Income Tax Filing Deadline By Two Months

The deadline for filing income tax return forms in Malaysia has been extended by two months. According to Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri (LHDN), the move is meant to facilitate the submission of tax returns affected by the national movement control order, which starts today.

Thus, the new deadline for filing your income tax returns in Malaysia via e-Filing is 30 June 2020 for resident individuals who do not carry on a business and 30 August 2020 for resident individuals who carry on a business. You can see the full amended schedule for income tax returns filing on the LHDN website.

How mass pilgrimage at Malaysian mosque became coronavirus hotspot

WORSHIPPERS slept in packed tents outside the golden-domed mosque, waking before dawn to kneel on rows of prayer mats laid out in its cavernous central hall. All the while, the coronavirus was passing unnoticed among the guests.

The Muslim gathering held at the end of last month at a sprawling mosque complex on the outskirts of Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur has emerged as a source of hundreds of new coronavirus infections spanning Southeast Asia.

A 34-year-old Malaysian man who attended the event died yesterday, Malaysia’s Minister of Health Adham Baba said, the first death linked to the Feb 27-March 1 event at the Sri Petaling mosque compound.

Sarawakian is Malaysia’s first Covid-19 casualty

PETALING JAYA: A 60-year-old man is the first person to die of Covid-19 in Malaysia, Sarawak’s State Disaster Management Committee said today.

In a statement, it said the man, a pastor from the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Kuching, passed away at 11am at the Sarawak General Hospital.

“The state health department is still in the process of identifying the source of his infection”.

The department said so far, it has traced 193 close contacts of the pastor and they are undergoing home quarantine now.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman declare global recession underway

GOLDMAN Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley economists joined the rush on Wall Street to declare that the coronavirus has triggered a global recession, with the debate now focusing on its likely length and depth.

A day after President Donald Trump conceded the US slump alone is set to be “a bad one,” economists threw away their forecasts that the world could avoid tumbling into recession for the first time since the financial crisis.

Behind the rethink: The virus’s spread to Europe and the US, as well as new evidence that China – the first to be hit by what is now a pandemic – experienced a harder hit to its economy than originally projected.

Coronavirus causes historic market drop, global scramble to contain ‘invisible enemy’

CORONAVIRUS fears led to a historic drop in US stocks, shut borders and disrupted daily life around the world, as governments took increasingly drastic measures to try to reduce the severity of the global outbreak.

Johnson had faced a backlash after his government took a less stringent approach to tackling the virus than countries such as Italy, France and Spain which have effectively locked down much of Europe.

In a toughening of Britain’s approach to the outbreak, Johnson closed down any remaining social life in the world’s fifth-largest economy and ordered those over 70 with underlying health problems to isolate for 12 weeks from this weekend.

“What we are announcing today is a very substantial change in the way that we want people to live their lives and I can’t remember anything like it in my life time,” Johnson, 55, said at a news conference in Number 10 Downing Street, flanked by the government’s top scientist and top doctor.

Aviation regulator should play a role, MAB unlikely to go bankrupt

AVIATION regulator the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) needs to step up its game and play its role to assist affected airlines and industry players in weathering the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to an industry expert who wanted to remain anonymous, CAAM needs to sit down with industry players and deliberate where it can assist within the scope of its regulatory limits, considering the sector is grappling with a grim outlook on its operations and profitability.

“As the regulator, CAAM should be able to do many more things. It has to understand the pain airlines feel. (For example) Charges may be reduced during this period. Few technical exemptions, with risk assessment, may be granted.

“The industry did help CAAM during its difficult times, now it’s the regulator’s turn to help them,” he told Bernama.

Bursa pares down losses on mild bargain-hunting

BURSA Malaysia remained in negative territory at mid-day, but managed to pare down some of its losses following mild bargain-hunting in index-linked counters.

At 12.30pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 4.80 points to 1,275.83 from Monday’s close of 1,280.63.

After opening 63.35 points lower at 1,217.28 this morning, the benchmark index moved between 1,211.95 and 1,278.43 during the morning session.

Market breadth was negative as losers thumped gainers 707 to 232, with 232 counters unchanged, 845 not traded and 17 others suspended.

Turnover amounted to 2.68 billion shares worth RM1.95 bil.

Covid-19 : What the Movement Control Order means

PRIME Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced on March 16 a Movement Control Order (MCO) imposed under the Control of the Spread of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 and the Police Act 1967, from March 18 to 31.

Prior to March 16, rumours of a lockdown have been floating around. After the MCO announcement, many people were confused as to what this means and how they are affected.

Essentially, MCO is actually a partial form of lockdown. While non-essential services are expected to close within the stipulated period, will the businesses abide by the order? What will be the penalty if one is found to have disregarded the order and continue to operate as usual?

So, what does the MCO mean?