#KiniNews: Jasa rebranded as J-Kom, will not be a propaganda machine, says Saifuddin

Malaysia has reported 489 new cases of Covid-19 in the 24 hours up to noon today, of which 487 were locally acquired infections and two were imported.

There were 74 people who have recovered from the disease and have been discharged today, while the number of active cases increased to an all-time high of 3,351 cases.

Warisan MP Mohamaddin Ketapi has apologised for his remarks that allegedly insulted security personnel who fought against intruders during the 2013 Lahad Datu standoff in Sabah.

In a statement, the Lahad Datu representative said that a speech of his, during the Sabah election campaign trail, had been misinterpreted. He stressed that he did not have any intention to hurt members of security forces.

In the short video clip which went viral early Monday, Mohamaddin had told voters at the village that the 2013 incident was only a 'sandiwara' (staged act) by the federal government then.

He claimed that the Umno-led government had done so to secure support from Sabahans in the 13th General Election, which was conducted later in the same year.

Perikatan Nasional’s Supply (Reallocation of Appropriated Expenditure) Bill 2020 was passed this afternoon after 111 MPs voted in favour.  

There are 222 MPs, which means exactly half of the MPs voted in favour of the bill.

Earlier today, when debating the Budget 2020 Reallocation Bill, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is now an opposition MP, slammed the Perikatan government’s spending habits.

Airlines should reduce ticket prices back to the pre-movement control order level following the government's decision to allow planes to fly with full capacity, said Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Ismail said this decision was taken during the special ministerial meeting as they were aware of the high domestic ticket prices between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak.

He stressed that reduced passenger capacity shouldn't be an excuse for the flight companies anymore to increase ticket prices.

He said the Transport Ministry would engage in discussion with airlines to find a solution to this matter.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the government will continue to function during the nationwide emergency, stressing there has been no military coup.

"The emergency proclamation by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is not a military coup and curfew will not be enforced," he added in a televised address this morning.

The courts and the economy are also expected to carry on as usual.

Muhyiddin said the government needed certain powers to effectively combat the worsening Covid-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today unveiled tougher measures to control the spread of Covid-19, this includes the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in six states - Penang, Selangor, Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan), Melaka, Johor and Sabah - for 14 days, from Wednesday until January 26.

Another six states - Pahang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan - will be under the ongoing conditional MCO.

The Recovery MCO will be enforced in Perlis and Sarawak for the same period.

The Health Ministry reported 2,643 new Covid-19 cases and a record number of deaths, patients in intensive care and patients requiring ventilators to survive.

Nine of the 16 deaths were reported in Selangor, followed by four in Sabah and three in Johor. The current Covid-19 death toll stood at 537.

The long list of deaths in Selangor came one day after a staggering 33 cases of severe acute respiratory illness (Sari) was reported in the state yesterday. Selangor is the only state which reports granular data on the source of test results.

The Health Ministry today reported 3,027 new Covid-19 cases and eight deaths over the past 24 hours.

Johor (1,103) reported more cases than the entire of the Klang Valley (1,039).

Most of the new cases in Johor are attributed to the Bukit Pasir cluster (779 new cases, 1379 total) which started in the Muar district and has spread to the Sik district in Kedah.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had penned his support for Anwar Ibrahim to topple the Perikatan Nasional Plus government on Oct 11.

This was alleged by Annuar Musa, who was removed as BN secretary-general yesterday.

The Ketereh MP told an hour-long press conference today that he had verified the existence of Zahid's letter with various sources.

Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa has been sacked as BN secretary-general.

This was confirmed by a senior Umno leader to Malaysiakini.

Another source said the Ketereh MP will be replaced by Pontian MP Ahmad Maslan, who is also the Umno secretary-general.

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak told party leaders and members in Pekan on Sunday night that Umno will suffer a slow death if it remains complacent with its role in the Perikatan Nasional government.

Speaking at the Pekan Umno AGM, the former Umno president said the party will not be able to sustain itself by merely being a component party in Perikatan Nasional.

The government has extended the recovery movement control order (RMCO) until Mar 31, 2021, after the previous order lapsed at the end of 2020.

Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said certain activities are still not allowed in recovery MCO areas, including those at pubs and nightclubs - except those operating as restaurants. Activities that involve large crowds where physical distancing is difficult are also barred.

Ismail said extending the recovery MCO was necessary due to the rise in Covid-19 cases - which he said was in part due to mass-screening of migrant workers, as well as community infections in the Klang Valley and other states.

Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub believes there is no dispute within Pakatan Harapan that PKR president Anwar Ibrahim is the prime ministerial candidate but, he added, this won't be the sole factor in trying to convince voters to return the coalition to power in the 15th general election.

Salahuddin said there were many leaders in the opposition who are also expected to play an important role, including the non-Harapan leaders in the opposition.

Among the leaders he cited were Warisan president Shafie Apdal and Pejuang pro-tem president Mukhriz Mahathir.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court today allowed Azhar Azizan Harun’s application to strike out former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's legal challenge against Azhar’s appointment as the Dewan Rakyat speaker.

Judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid also allowed Azalina Othman Said’s application to strike out Mahathir’s legal challenge against her appointment as the deputy speaker.

The judge ruled, among others, that only Parliament has the sole power and jurisdiction to decide on the issue of the appointment.

#KiniNews: Umno strong enough without PAS and Bersatu, could face GE15 alone, says Ku Li

Umno is strong enough to contest in the next general election (GE) without having to work with either PAS or Bersatu, said the party's advisory board chairperson Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

In an interview with Malaysiakini, Razaleigh, known as Ku Li, didn't rule out the possibility of the party charting its own course under BN, based on its electoral track record.

For now, Ku Li said the party has yet to decide whether it will join hands with PAS and Bersatu in the 15th GE.