DPM: School opening delayed a week

 

The Education Ministry today announced the postponement of the start of the 2015 school session for the whole country by one week because of the floods in several states.

Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the new school session would begin on Jan 11 for Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Johor on Jan 12 for the other states.

"The postponement is inevitable due to the use of several schools as flood evacuation centres and floods at several other schools.

"It will take time for the teachers, parents and schoolchildren affected by the floods to make the necessary preparations by the time the school session starts," he said in a statement.

The new school session for Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Johor was originally scheduled to begin on Jan 4 and for the other states, on Jan 5.

"As Education Minister, I understand and am concerned about the difficulties faced in this situation by all parties including the schools' management, teachers, parents and students if the 2015 school session starts as scheduled,"
he said.

Muhyiddin said until yesterday, the Education Ministry found that 340 schools in seven states were affected by the floods, either they were turned into flood relief centres or were inundated by flood waters.

He also advised the schools' management that after the flood waters had subsided, they should use that time to organise gotong-royong to clean up the schools and compounds for the safety and comfort of the students.

Up to this morning, the number of flood victims in six states including Selangor has reached 225,731.

No replacement

Muhyiddin later also said the postponement of the start of the 2015 school session by a week does not require schools to replace these school days.

"There is no necessity to replace those days as the schooling period is sufficient. It is not a case of providing additional school holidays. We had to postpone the session due to a specific problem," he said.    
Muhyiddin spoke at a news conference after visiting two flood relief centres, at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Durian Mentangau and SK Kampung Nyior, Dungun.    

Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman, state secretary Mazlan Ngah and Terengganu National Security Council acting secretary Roslina Ngah were also present at the news conference.  

- Bernama

Pilot’s daughter pines for papa

The young daughter of Captain Irianto, the pilot of the missing AirAsia plane posts a sad message begging her dad to come back to her.

FMT

PETALING JAYA: With search efforts of the missing Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ8501 already underway near Belitung Island, emotionally whipped family members and friends are struggling to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones on board that Sunday flight.

One such person was Angela, the daughter of Captain Irianto, the pilot on duty, who posted a piercingly sad appeal for her father to return home.

As reported by kompas.com, Angela posted the message on Path, a social networking site that read: “Papa pulang. Kakak masih butuh papa. Kembalikan papaku. Papa pulang pa, papa harus ketemu.” (Papa come back. I still need you. Return my papa to me. Papa come back, we have to meet.)”

Irianto, whose wife is a homemaker, has one other child besides Angela.

The pilot was well known for being experienced with 6,100 hours of flying time under his belt.

The actual cause of the plane losing contact with traffic control is as yet unknown as efforts are more focussed on searching for the wreckage.

Najib told to sack half of his ministers

The Federal Cabinet is as disastrous as the floods, says Umno critic.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Cabinet has proven to be a disaster, a popular blogger and Umno critic has declared.

In his latest blog entry, Shahbudin Husin notes that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has had to order holidaying ministers to return immediately to take part in handling the crisis brought on by heavy flooding in the East Coast.

They should have been sensitive enough to cut short their overseas vacation at the first sign of a crisis and without having to be told, he says.

“That they need to be summoned back like ducks that have forgotten their nests is as much a disaster as the floods and the loss of flights MH370 and MH17,” he writes.

He says the ministers, some of whom he names, apparently do not care that Najib needs them not only to assist in managing the flood crisis, but also to help improve the battered image of his administration.

“Only by dismissing at least half of the ministers and replacing them with trustworthy new faces will it be even possible for Najib to bring back a little shine to himself, Umno and BN so that they can maintain their power,” he says.

“If he’s still reluctant to throw them out, he, together with these useless ministers, should prepare to pack up and go.”

He says it is disastrous that Malaysia is saddled with ministers who do not seem to understand that their primary task is to serve the people.

He notes that it was only on the second day of his return that Najib directed the ministers to cut short their holidays “in London, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai and China”. This was probably after he realised that only a handful of ministers were in the country, he adds.

Shahbudin says the errant ministers include those eyeing the Prime Minister’s position, such as Umno vice presidents Zahid Hamidi, Shafie Abdal and Hishammuddin Hussein.

“Similarly,” he adds, “Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, who is considered by some to be the second echelon candidate for the Prime Minister’s position, has also disappeared without a trace to the extent that posters proclaiming his absence are strewn across social media.”

He says there are only a handful of ministers in the country and it’s the same faces who are struggling to help flood victims in the various states.

Seven planes in the air with Air Asia Indonesia QZ8501

Two other planes were flying at the same level as Air Asia Indonesia QZ8501.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: Wisnu Darjono, the director of safety and standards of Air Navigation of Indonesia, was reported as saying in detik.com, that the missing AirAsia Indonesia plane QZ8501 was not alone in the sky before it requested an unusual change in route.

“There were seven other planes near QZ8501.”

Uni Emirates Arab 406, AirAsia 502, and AirAsia 550, three of the other planes, were flying at the same level as AirAsia Indonesia QZ8501, said Wisnu.

Lack of leadership in dealing with floods

By Jeswan Kaur

GOING BY Putrajaya’s scramble to deal with the seasonal floods assailing the country, a quote from Abraham Lincoln comes to mind – “nearly all men can stand adversity but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power”.

For Malaysia, the true test of its leaders’ character has been revealed one too many a times and that too in the most unflattering of ways.

The classic case in point was Putrajaya’s fumbling over the March 8, 2014 disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which exposed the government’s weaknesses the world over.

However, the embarrassment that Putrajaya brought upon Malaysia with its apathy vis-à-vis the missing MH370 flight has not taught the government the much needed lesson in “thinking before speaking”.

Now, as the country battles the never-like-before floods, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has proved that old habits just refuse to die. When reacting to pressure to declare a state of emergency to deal with the floods, he said Putrajaya would only do so when power and water supplies were completely cut off and flood victims numbered “hundreds of thousands”.

So once again Putrajaya’s character leaves much to be desired.

From the callous remark by Muhyiddin to the fact that he was forced to turun padang or get his feet dirty and look at the flood situation in Kelantan – the worst-hit state – only after much flak from DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, the handling of the flood problem by Putrajaya has been a let-down.

More than 160,000 Malaysians, so far, have been displaced by floods in nine states, the highest in the nation’s history.

Najib deserted the rakyat for leisure

As for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who left Malaysians to their own devices to deal with the ravaging floods, he finally got the message when netizens lampooned him for opting to go off on his golfing holiday in Hawaii and deserting the rakyat at a time of crisis.

Najib wisely decided to cut short his break and return to a very wet Malaysian soil. He has also since ordered all his cabinet ministers to return home from their various jaunts to handle the flood situation.

Still, the lethargic attitude displayed by both the premier and his deputy in addressing the flood problem speaks volumes about Putrajaya’s ill-preparedness in dealing with such disasters, despite floods not being uncommon in Malaysia.

When International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed spent 10 hours by boat to travel to Kuala Krai, an area deeply affected by the floods, it was then that he admitted to weaknesses in managing and rescuing flood victims in Kelantan.

Why has it only now dawned on Mustapa, who is also the MP for Jeli, that there are shortcomings that need to be addressed? Was he not aware of it in the many years he has been the parliamentary representative for Jeli and whenever Kelantan was inundated by floods?

Mustapa described this year’s floods as “big” to Astro Awani and said this resulted in the government’s weakness in coordinating aid.

How ironic that in times of adversity many an unpleasant truth surfaces. But then no excuse can compensate for Putrajaya’s lackadaisical attitude in reacting to the floods problems in the country.

While Najib got excited teeing away with US President Barack Obama in Hawaii, back home the National Security Council (NSC) failed to rise to the occasion by showing no sense of urgency in tackling the worsening floods.

Get rid of archaic thinking

To DAP’s Lim, Putrajaya’s frustratingly slow reaction to the flood conditions especially in the worse hit East Coast was unacceptable.

In a statement, Lim lashed out at Putrajaya saying “Surely Muhyiddin, the Cabinet and the NSC are not expecting for fatalities to pile up to tens or hundreds accompanying the number of flood victims reaching the scale of hundreds of thousands before a state of emergency as a result of a flood disaster is declared!”

Lim went on to show proof that other countries were fast to react and had in place centralised flood-relief operations before the tragedies got out of hand, much unlike what was happening in Malaysia.

The MP for Gelang Patah cited the Nov 28 flooding along the Gaza Strip that affected hundreds; the flooding on Dec 24 in Central Java, West Java and Aceh where 6,000 people were evacuated; the flooding in Vancouver on De 9 caused by a sub-tropical storm and the Dec 16 floods in the Bay Area of San Francisco.

Explaining that the governments of these countries did not wait for “hundreds of thousands of flood victims before an emergency was declared”, Lim said: “There is an urgent need for the immediate review of such outmoded, archaic and obsolete rules” such as was put forth by Muhyiddin.

Putrajaya and NSC need to buck up

DAP lawmaker Tony Pua urged the NSC to demonstrate leadership to tackle the worst floods in Malaysia's history.

In a statement, he said: “There has been almost no demonstration of urgency from the NSC. All we have heard two days ago was NSC secretary Datuk Mohamed Thajudeen Abdul Wahab warning people against spreading rumours regarding the flood situation.

“Thajudeen was only interested in the formalities of the process of calling for a state of emergency by claiming that it could only be declared by Najib.

“Worse, instead of informing the public what are the proactive and concrete efforts Putrajaya will undertake to manage the disaster, he was more concerned with going after those responsible for starting the rumours once the flood in the east coast had abated.”

Lim and Pua are not the only ones frustrated with Putrajaya’s nonchalant attitude towards the critical flood situation. The rakyat, post-March 8 have learned that the government is simply too stubborn in wanting to do the right thing at the right time.

Flight QZ8501 likely at bottom of the sea, Indonesian search agency says

Malay Mail

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 29 ― Missing Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ501 is likely at the bottom of the sea, Indonesia’s search authorities said today after more than 24 hours lapsed since the disappearance of the commercial plane.

UK daily The Guardian and Indonesian news portal Detik News reported Chief Marshal Bambang Soelistyo as saying that the last coordinates of the A320 jet carrying 162 on board placed it over water.

“The last coordinates were in the sea so it is likely it is on the sea floor,” The Guardian quoted Bambang as saying in a press conference at the Soekarno Hatta airport in Jakarta.

He also reportedly said search and rescue authorities were using a sonar system to look for the missing plane, adding that the tool can detect objects up to a depth of between 1,000m and 2,000m.

The Guardian reported Indonesian officials as being positive about finding wreckage from Flight QZ8501, if the jet has indeed crashed into the sea, as the Java Sea has a relatively shallow depth of 46m, the part of the western Pacific Ocean where the plane disappeared from radar.

Detik News reported Bambang, who heads Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), as saying it would not be easy to locate the missing plane in the water.

“From previous experience, we found Adam Air only after eight months,” he was quoted saying, referring to Adam Air Flight 574, a domestic flight between Indonesian cities Surabaya and Manado, which crashed in the sea off Sulawesi in 2007.

Flight QZ8501, which carried one Malaysian on board, vanished from Jakarta’s radar at 6.18am local time yesterday amid stormy weather enroute to Singapore from Surabaya in Indonesia.

On board Flight QZ8501 were 155 Indonesians, three South Koreans, one Malaysian, one Singaporean, one Frenchman and one Briton, comprising 155 passengers and seven crew members.

Indonesia resumed search operations for the missing jet early this morning, whose last known position was between the Indonesian port of Tanjung Pandan and the town of Pontianak, in West Kalimantan on Borneo island.

Temerloh: Spirit of generosity and tenacity not dampened by the floods

Malay Mail
by MELISSA CHI

TEMERLOH, Dec 29 ― The sight of massive treetops at eye level, front doors of homes and windows almost completely submerged, and men rowing from one point to another on a makeshift raft seemed like a scene from a movie.

But this was Temerloh, the second largest town in Pahang.

With the fourth wave of the northeasterly monsoon expected to slam into the east coast this morning, Pahang remains one of the worst-hit states.

The number of evacuees climbed to over 33,000 peiople as of 8pm yesterday. Three deaths were reported yesterday including one in Temerloh.

“I don't dare to leave with my grandchildren now. The current is too strong,” 46-year-old Siti Faridah told Malay Mail Online yesterday at one of the evacuation centres on Jalan Kampung Kerai.

Carrying her one-year-old granddaughter, she said about 30 over people from the village have been surviving on boiled bananas and a bit of rice since Friday.

“There is not enough food for all of us. We can use a makeshift raft and row our way to shops but the supplies had already been cleared out,” she said in a slight northern Malay accent at the evacuation centre which is actually a small hut.

Some of them have even had to sleep out in the open at night.

One of her other grandchildren said the family of 16 left their home in a hurry on Thursday night for their neighbour's house. But by Friday morning, they had to find a raft and row their way to the nearest evacuation centre as even the neighbour's house was not spared from the rising floodwaters.

The group also said the supplies received yesterday were inadequate, leaving them in need of more food and medication.

Yesterday, Malay Mail Online spent eight hours with the Temerloh Fire and Rescue Department to reach out to flood victims as well as deliver food supplies to residents along the Pahang river, which has already doubled in size.

The drop-off yesterday consisted of 300 bags ― each containing a tin of biscuits, teabags, 5kg of rice, sugar, salt and two cans of sardines ― to five evacuation centres sponsored by the Social Welfare Department Malaysia (JKMM) as well as Kerdau assemblyman Datuk Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad who helped with the distribution.

Many of the evacuees said their food supplies were almost exhausted. For most of them, road access has been cut off for the past five days.

After receiving the food supplies at Kampung Galok near Kampung Kerai, one man asked his elected representative, Syed Ibrahim: “Will you come back today?”

“No, there are still many more evacuation centres to go to,” the assemblyman replied.

The man explained that there were families who have not registered in time for the aid.

In Pahang alone, nine towns are affected by the floods. Electricity and water supply have been disconnected for safety reasons in many areas for the past few days.

One lucky family in Kampung Peragap, however, had stocked up enough food and supplies before they were hit hard by the floods and miraculously still had electricity and water as of yesterday.

“I don't think what we have is enough for another week though. By then, we would have to rely on aid,” one woman said.

Even with such scarcity, the family that is already hosting four other families with almost 30 people under one roof, offered Malay Mail Online journalists a simple yet delicious lunch with sardines, pumpkin gulai, fried fish and sambal with rice.

The same woman, who did not want to be named, said she was concerned that electricity and water would be cut off because they saw that the utility pole nearby had fallen over.

Many villages are still not accessible by road and the only other way out is by boat, which must be slowly maneuvered around trees, logs and other debris washed from the river.

Temerloh Fire and Rescue Department Chief Hashnuddin Hussin led the rescue mission yesterday and told Malay Mail Online that his department has 40 men on operation in 10 boats.

He said the Royal Malaysia Police, the Malaysian Armed Forces, the Malaysian Civil Defence (JPA) also contributed boats for the daily flood operations although he was unsure of the total number.

“I think operations at this scale will continue for another week or so,” he said.

Syed Ibrahim, who is also the state executive councillor, said although there is enough food supplies, the lack of boats and helicopters to transport the goods to the flood victims remain a huge challenge.

Yesterday's trip was only to send out food items, which are expected to last the evacuees three days before another round has to be sent. Meanwhile, evacuees are expected to receive bottles of mineral water today.

Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu have been the worst hit with more than 30,000 evacuated from each state since last week. So far, 10 deaths have been recorded.

Senior meteorologist at the National Weather Centre Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip told Malay Mail Online the fourth wave of continuous rain is expected to start last night or this morning with Johore and parts of Pahang expected to receive  the heaviest rainfall.

He noted, however, it will not be as severe as in the previous days.

Basarnas Forms Seven Sectors In Search For AirAsia Indonesia Flight QZ8501

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 29 (Bernama) -- The Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) has formed seven sectors in the search area in Pulau Karimata, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, to locate the AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ8501 which was reported missing on its way from Surabaya to Singapore, yesterday.

Royal Malaysian Navy chief Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar said the search and locate (SAL) mission at sea was led by Indonesian Navy First Admiral Rashid Kacong.

"Besides other Indonesian maritime assets, countries involved in the operation are Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. Meanwhile, India has stated their readiness to mobilise its assets at any time," he said in a statement today.

Abdul Aziz, who was also appointed as Malaysia SAL coordinator, said three of the Royal Malaysian Navy's (RMN) ships have been deployed to join the mission.

Flight QZ8501, which was scheduled to have arrived in Singapore at 8.30am yesterday, lost contact with the Jakarta air traffic control at 7.24am.

The aircraft was carrying 162 people, including seven crew members.

Abdul Aziz said the vessels involved in the search were KD Pahang, KD Lekir and KD Lekiu and a Fennec helicopter.

"KD Pahang under RMN Commander Fadhil Abd Rahman is nearing the search sector and is expected to reach at 2pm today while KD Lekir and KD Lekiu will join KD Pahang tomorrow morning," he said.

He added that search efforts by RMN will be assisted by a Royal Malaysia Air Force Hercules c-130H aircraft which is expected to be at the search area today.

-- BERNAMA

Cari QZ8501, k'jaan buka pusat selaras operasi SAR

Retreating of the Queen's Guard: End of an era as palace sentries fall back in face of mounting fears of new 'lone wolf' terrorist attack

• Security bosses have withdrawn Royal Guards from posts outside palaces amid fears of a 'lone wolf' terror attack
• Elite soldiers of the Queen's Guard no longer allowed on sentry duty alone and are accompanied by armed police
• But the measures have been described as a ‘retreat’ for the Guards, known the world over for their bearskin caps
• Changes confirmed at sites including Clarence House, St James’s Palace, Windsor Castle and Horse Guards Parade

By Abul Taher And Mark Nicol For The Mail On Sunday

Security chiefs have taken the dramatic step of withdrawing Royal Guards from their high-profile posts outside palaces amid mounting fears of ‘lone wolf’ terrorist attacks.

Elite soldiers of the Queen’s Guard have pulled back from public positions at many landmarks in response to possible threats from Islamic extremists.

For the first time since the height of the IRA’s terror campaign, the soldiers are also no longer allowed on sentry duty alone, and are now accompanied by armed police.

The move to more secure positions behind gates or railings is a direct response to attacks such as the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby and the killing of a sentry by a lone gunman at the Canadian Parliament two months ago.

But the measures have been described as a ‘retreat’ for the Guards, known the world over for their bearskin caps.

Retired officer Major Iain Dalzel-Job of the Scots Guards told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I think this is a big shame.

'The reason people know we’re around is because they can see us. But I suppose the changes are necessary as there is a significant threat.’

This newspaper has confirmed the changes to the Guards’ security at sites including Clarence House, St James’s Palace, Windsor Castle and Horse Guards Parade.

At Clarence House, the official residence of Prince Charles, the guardsmen who used to stand in front of the gates on The Mall, a public road, have now been relocated, along with their sentry boxes, behind metal gates.

Tourists, who love to pose with the Guards, can now barely see them. Police officers confirmed changes had been made for security reasons.

At St James’s Palace, the London home of Princess Anne and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, two Guardsmen used to perform sentry duties beneath its famous clock tower on Pall Mall.

These guards and their sentry boxes have now been moved into a secluded courtyard inside the perimeter, leaving no visible presence at the clock tower gate.

In Horse Guards Parade, two sentries still stand guard where tourists can pose for photographs with them. But four armed police officers now guard the soldiers.

The officers carry Heckler and Koch carbine rifles, pistols and Taser guns – in contrast to the Guards, who just carry ceremonial swords.

A Metropolitan Police officer on duty there told our reporter: ‘Yes, we are a recent addition here. It’s us guarding the Guards. I think there’s a Latin phrase for that.’

At Windsor Castle, up to three armed officers now stand next to the lone sentry on guard duty on the Western side of the castle.

The tightening of security to levels unseen since the height of the IRA terror campaign comes in the wake of fanatics from the so-called Islamic State based in Iraq and Syria threatening Britain.

Al-Qaeda groups have also called on would-be terrorists to launch ‘lone wolf’ attacks against UK soldiers and police.

On Christmas Eve, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) encouraged Muslims to launch attacks in the West on their own.

It published a magazine that gave instructions for a home-made bomb, and urged its readers to use such a device to blow up an airliner or other Western target.

Former soldiers said last night that the changes were needed as sentries felt vulnerable to attack.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2888716/Retreating-Queen-s-Guard-End-era-palace-sentries-fall-face-mounting-fears-new-lone-wolf-terrorist-attack.html

‘How to Stab a Jew’ Going Viral on Palestinian Authority Social Media [video]

Arab terrorists have released a "How to kill a Jew" video, and its going viral.


By: Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu

A clip from"How to Stab a Jew," the latest hit on Arab social media.
Photo Credit: Screenshot

The “resisters of occupation in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem” are spreading on Arab social media a frightening video demonstrating tactics on how to stab a Jew to death quickly and efficiently.

The 1-minute and 13-second video, as seen below, shows the “teacher” calmly walking up to a “victim,” stabbing him, and walking away.

One of the tactics appears to imitate the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) method of beheading.

The guide to killing Jews teaches that after stabbing the victim, the knife should be twisted to maximize wounds and cause death.

The Palestinian Authority and anti-Israel Arabs in Jerusalem do not need terrorist cells when “resisters” use social media to reach hundreds of thousands of Arabs in Jerusalem as well as in Judea, Gaza and Samaria, with a single simple post.

Israel needs to find the source of whoever posted this video and arrest him or them.

All of Israel is paying a heavy price, the price of life, for a decade of conducting “negotiations” with the Palestinian Authority while it has incited an entire generation to hate Jews and then murder them.

Until the Palestinian Authority halts all incitement, and until Mahmoud Abbas starts condemning terrorists in Arabic as well as in English, and until the Obama administration understands that Israel means what it says, the government needs to stop all contact with Ramallah.

Arab stabbing attacks on Jews have increased significantly this year, and every Israeli is a potential victim when “resisters” educate every Arab to be a murderer.

Indonesia halts search for missing AirAsia flight QZ8501

Indonesia called off until first light a search for an AirAsia plane with 162 people on board that went missing today after pilots asked to change course to avoid bad weather during a flight from Indonesia's Surabaya city to Singapore.

Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501, an Airbus 320-200 carrying 155 passengers and seven crew, lost contact with Jakarta air traffic control at 6:17am. No distress signal had been sent, said Joko Muryo Atmodjo, an Indonesian transport ministry official.

On board were 155 Indonesians, three South Koreans and one each from Singapore, Malaysia and Britain, plus a French pilot, the airline said in a statement, correcting earlier information.

Tatang Kurniadi, head of Indonesia's National Committee of Safety Transportation, expressed hope of locating the aircraft quickly and said it was too early to detect any of the so-called electronic pings from its black box recorder.

"We are using our capacity to search on sea and land. Hopefully we can find the location of the plane as soon as possible," he told a news conference.

"What I need to emphasise is until now, we have not found out how the plane fell or what kind of emergency it was."

Indonesia AirAsia is 49% owned by Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia, which has had a clean safety record since it began operating 13 years ago. The AirAsia group also has affiliates in Thailand, the Philippines and India.

The aircraft had accumulated approximately 23,000 flight hours in some 13,600 flights, according to Airbus.

The pilots of QZ8501 "was requesting deviation due to en-route weather before communication with the aircraft was lost," the airline said in a statement.

Louise Sidharta (centre), an Indonesian whose fiancé was onboard the AirAsia flight QZ8501

Singapore, Malaysia, Britain, South Korea and Australia offered to help in the search and any investigation. Malaysia said it was sending vessels and a C130 aircraft while Singapore had also sent a C130. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said a P3 Orion aircraft was on standby if needed.

Flight QZ8501 was between Tanjung Pandan on Indonesia's Belitung island and Pontianak, in West Kalimantan province on Borneo – almost halfway between Surabaya and Singapore – when it went missing. There was bad weather over Belitung at the time and the aircraft had been flying at 32,000 feet before asking to fly at 38,000 feet to avoid clouds.

In both Surabaya and Singapore, anxious relatives of people on the plane awaited news.

Louise Sidharta was at Singapore's Changi Airport waiting for her fiancé to return from a family holiday.

"It was supposed to be their last vacation before we got married," she said.

A man named Purnomo told TVOne in Surabaya of a lucky escape.

"I should have been on the flight," he said. "We, seven people, had planned to go to Singapore for vacation but this morning I had an emergency. I had my passport in hand."

Tony Fernandes, chief of Malaysia's AirAsia, said he was heading to Surabaya.

"My only thoughts are with the passengers and my crew. We put our hope in the SAR (search and rescue) operation and thank the Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysian governments," he said on Twitter.

AirAsia swapped its distinctive bright red logo for a grey background on its website and social media accounts.

The incident comes during a troubled year for Malaysia-affiliated airlines. Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 went missing on March 8 on a trip from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board and has not been found.

On July 17, Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.

Indonesia AirAsia has a fleet of 30 Airbus A320s. The missing plane has been in service for just over six years, according to airfleets.net.

All AirAsia-branded airlines operate aircraft made by Airbus, which has orders for several hundred planes from the group. AirAsia is considered one of the European planemaker's most important customers.

Flight QZ8501 had asked to fly at a higher altitude of 38,000 feet from its original 32,000 feet to avoid clouds.

AirAsia Indonesia, on Twitter, confirmed that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with the air traffic control at 7.24am today.

The flight was carrying 155 passengers on board, including 16 children and one infant, as well as seven crew members.

The passengers comprise 149 Indonesians, three South Koreans, one Singaporean, one Malaysian and one Briton.

The seven crew members consisted of two pilots, four crew members and a technician. The first officer was French while the pilot and the rest were all Indonesians.

The airline has set up an emergency call centre for family or friends of those on board the aircraft at +62 21 2985 0801.

Updated information will also be posted on AirAsia's special QZ8501 website, crisis.airasia.com. – Reuters, December 28, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/indonesia-halts-search-for-missing-airasia-flight-qz8501#sthash.N85RTUT7.dpuf

AirAsia boss: This is my worst nightmare

QZ8501 An AirAsia aircraft with 155 passengers and seven crew members on board has gone missing.

The Airbus 320-200 took off from Surabaya, Indonesia at 5.20am local time (6.20am Malaysian time) and was due to arrive in Singapore two hours later, but has lost contact with air traffic control.

Malaysiakini brings you the live updates of information as it comes in.

---

Latest developments

• Air Asia boss Tony Fernandes says plane was in good condition
   
• No oil slicks found, Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) not sending signal
   
• Search and rescue (SAR) ends for today, resumes tomorrow morning
   
• Malaysia deploys one military aircraft and three vessels, with helicopters on board for the search


• Malaysian on board identified as Sarawakian businessman


• Indonesia denies confirming reports plane has crashed off Belitung island yet, still checking


• AirAsia says aircraft requested flight path change due to weather conditions


• Indonesia, Singapore launch search and rescue operations

LIVE REPORTS

Report sighting in Kuching, cops urge

11.49pm: Kuching police want those who claim to have seen an AirAsia plane flying low near Kampung Buntal there to lodge a report.

Plane had no issues, no oil slicks found

9.50pm: Air Asia group chairperson Tony Fernandes says the missing Airbus 320-200 cleared all checks last November.

"The aircraft had gone through all checks at the end of november. It followed all proceduers needed and was good condition. it never had problems," he says at a press conference at the Juanda International Airport, Surabaya.

He urges all not to speculate on the fate of the plane.

Separately, Indonesia's Detik reports that the SAR team did not spot any oil slick in the 50 nautical miles it seached today.

Aircrafts often attempt to dump fuel before emergency landings to reduce risk of fire.

SAR chief Sulistyo tells also tells the Detik that there is no distress signal from the aircraft.

"The Emergency Locater Transmitter (ELT) is still on the plane," he says.

ELTs are distress radiobeacons which are either water-activated or activated through G-force, upon impact.

Malaysian security forces send help

8.34pm: The Malaysian security forces is assisting SAR efforts.

The follow assets are deployed to join the SAR efforts when they resume tomorrow morning.

• Royal Malaysian Air Force's C130 aircraft
• Royal Malaysian Navy ships KD Pahang, KD Lekir and KD Lekui, with Fennec helicopters on board

"The Ministry of Defence and Malaysian Armed Forces' primary objective at present remains to focus on the flood relief efforts along the Malaysian east coast," Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein says in a statement.

The Indian Navy is also on standby with three ships and a maritime surveillance aircraft, Indian media reports.

Two ships are at Port Blair, the capital of the Indian teritory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, while an offshore patrol vessels is on the way there from Chennai.

My worst nightmare, says AirAsia boss

7.30pm: AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes has described today's ordeal to be his "worst nightmare" but vows not to stop.

 

In a series of tweets, Fernandes asks all his staff "to do their best for all guests".

 

"As your group CEO I will be there through these tough times," he says.

 

"Our priority is looking after the next of kin for all my staff and passengers," he adds.

Search and rescue ends, to resume in morning

7.30pm: The Indonesian authorities have ended today’s the search and rescue (SAR) operations as night falls, Indonesian vice president Jusuf Kalla is reported saying.

Harian Metro reports the SAR operations will resume tomorrow morning.

Weather at the SAR area is also reportedly getting worse, hampering the team's efforts as the year end northeast monsoon is at full blast.

At this juncture the Indonesian authorities have still not confirmed the fate of the passenger craft.

Malaysian on board identified as Sarawakian

6.35pm: The sole Malaysian passenger on board AirAsia flight QZ8501 has been identified as Sii Chung Huei.

According to New Straits Times, Sii is a Jakarta-based businessman who hails from Kuching.

The daily quoted his relatives confirming they have been informed by AirAsia about Sii being on the missing flight.

The search and rescue operations has yet to provide any update on the progress of their efforts or conclusions about the plane's fate.

6.24pm: In an unrelated incident, NST reports another AirAsia flight AK6242 from Penang to Langkawi has turned back due to technical difficulties.

5.50pm: The flight manifest released by the Indonesian Transport Ministry shows that 23 people who were supposed be on the plane did not board.

Out of the original manifest of 177 passengers, only 154 passengers boarded the plane, according to British news website Mirror.

All the 23 who missed the flight did not check-in for their flight.

5.30pm: In a statement, flight manufacturer Airbus says the flight was delivered to Air Asia in October 2008, making the flight six years old.

"Powered by CFM 56-5B engines, the aircraft had accumulated approximately 23,000 flight hours in some 13,600 flights. At this time no further factual information is available," it says.

The company says that it will provide "full assistance" to those investigating the incident.

"The Airbus A320-200 is a twin-engine single-aisle aircraft seating up to 180 passengers in a single-class configuration. The first A320 entered service in March 1988. By the end of November 2014, over 6000 A320 Family aircraft were in service with over 300 operators.

"To date, the entire fleet has accumulated some 154 million flight hours in some 85 million flights," it further says.

It also puts on record its thoughts with those affected by incident.

5.20pm: Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai says Malaysia has deployed a C-130 Hercules craft and three vessels to aid with the search and rescue operations.

He adds that Malaysia has established a Rescue Operations Centre (RCC) at the Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control Centre (ATCC) to aid with the rescue coordination.

Jokowi prays for best

4.40pm: Indonesian president Joko Widodo says he hopes for the best for flight QZ8501.

"We are all praying, I and all of the people of Indonesia.

"We pray for the safe return of all the passengers and crew of AirAsia QZ8501, which has lost contact," Tribunnews quotes him saying.

In a related development, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says he is saddened by the incident.

Lee adds he has spoken to Jokowi to offer Singapore's help, according to a Twitter posting.

He adds Singapore has two C-130 search and locate aircraft on standby to assist Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that US president Barack Obama, who is on holiday in Hawaii, has been briefed on the situation.

AirAsia group CEO heads to Surabaya

4.20pm AirAsia group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes announces he is en route to Surabaya to monitor the situation.

"On my way to Surabaya where most of the passengers are from as with my Indonesian management," he says on Twitter.

He adds his thoughts are with the passengers and crew of the missing aircraft.

"We put our hope in the search and rescue operations and thank the Indonesian, Singapore and Malaysian governments," he tweets.

3.40pm: Indonesian government officials are denying reports they have confirmed the plane crashed east of Belitung as some media have reported, saying the information is still not verified.

Astro Awani reports based on Indonesian Aviation and Communications Ministry director, Djoko Murjatmodjo's comments that the team is still looking for signs of wreckage around the area where the plane was last reported to have been seen.

3pm: According to CCTV News quoting Indonesian authorities, there is "no possibility" for QZ8501 to continue flying hours after losing contact as it only had fuel to last four and a half hours.

The flight lost contact midway through its route to Singapore, during which it was flying mostly over water.

2.40pm: Indonesian national news agency Antara reports that the plane crashed about 145km from Belitung island.

The news agency had quoted a National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) official as saying so, according to Jakarta Post.

The A320 is believed to have circled around in order to avoid a storm before experiencing severe turbulence and then crashing into the sea.

2.35pm: Transport Minister Liow Tong Lai arrives at AirAsia's headquarters.

In a Twitter posting, Liow says he is there to show is support for the airliner.

"Currently at AirAsia headquarters to support our team in this moment of crisis. Let us lend our support to them," he adds.

Liow says Flight QZ8501 is an Indonesian plane lost over Indonesian airspace and therefore the country will take the lead.

Nonetheless, he says that Malaysia is prepared to give its support.

Liow is also expected to hold a press conference later.

2.30pm: Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak tweets that he is "very sad" to hear that AirAsia Indonesia QZ8501 is missing.

"My thoughts are with the families. Malaysia stands ready to help," he adds.

2.25pm: China's CCTV News tweets that a plane wreckage has reportedly been found in the east of Belitung Island in Indonesia.

No details have been divulged in the tweet, and there has been no confirmation from AirAsia or any authorities on this matter.

1.30pm: In an updated statement, AirAsia says the aircraft requested deviation from its flight path due to weather conditions before communications with the Indonesia Air Traffic Control (ATC) was lost.

It also confirmed that the flight had 162 people on board, with 155 passengers, two pilots and five cabin crew.

As for the breakdown, 156 of them were Indonesians (including two cabin crew), three South Koreans, one Singaporean, one French national and one Malaysian.

The Indonesian Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is spearheading the search and rescue operations.

"The captain in command had a total of 6,100 flying hours and the first officer a total of 2,275 flying hours," the statement says.

"The aircraft had undergone its last scheduled maintenance on 16 November 2014," it adds.

1.25pm: Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai's media officer has denied that the minister will be holding a press conference on the lost of the aircraft.

AirAsia group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes in a text message says the aircraft involved is AirAsia Indonesia and therefore the press conference will be held in Jakarta.

In Jakarta, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's Air Transport director Djoko Murjatmodjo says Flight QZ8501 went missing shortly after informing air traffic control that it was facing thick clouds.

He said the aircraft, which was flying at 32,000 feet, turned to the left to avoid the thick clouds, according to the press conference streamed on Kompas TV.

PM: Chances are something bad has happened

1.20pm: Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak says Malaysia is prepared to aid Indonesia in its efforts to locate the plane.

"Chances are, something bad has happened to the plane. That's all we know for now and we will help to find out what had happened to the plane," he says, according to a Bernama report.

Meanwhile, AirAsia founder and group CEO Tony Fernandes says AirAsia will be releasing another statement on the plane's disappearance soon, and that he thanks people for their support and prayers.

His tweet has since drawn widespread support from the online community.

1pm: According to aviation tracking website FlightRadar24, Flight QZ8501 disappeared from the radar northwest of the Java Sea.

The nearest land mass ahead of its trajectory are Pulau Belitung and Pulau Bangka.

According to the flight tracker portal, the aircraft with registration number PK-AXC had previously taken off from Kuala Lumpur at 8.45pm (local time) last night and landed safely in Surabaya at 10.20pm (local time).

However, the aircraft appeared to face trouble in its subsequent flight the next morning to Singapore.

The status of the aircraft on the website is now listed as unknown.

12.50pm: CNN Indonesia reports that the last known location of the plane is believed to be around the island of Belitung, off the east coast of Sumatra.

It lies roughly a third of the distance to Singapore from Surabaya along the flight path.

This is according to Indonesia's Transportation Safety Commission official Tatang Kurniadi, who says that the authorities are now zeroing in on the flight's exact last known location.

A team of search and rescue operators are on their way towards Belitung right now, he adds.

12.35pm: Indonesian news agency Kompas.com is reporting that there have been sightings of a plane having crashed off the island of Belitung, Indonesia - though the exact location has not yet been verified.

A village chief in Beltim reportedly received a call from one his villagers about a flight crashing off Belitung island, and he has notified authorities regarding the news.

162 people on board

12.24pm: The following is the statement released by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore:

An Indonesia AirAsia aircraft, QZ8501, scheduled to arrive at 0830 hours local time from Surabaya, lost contact with Jakarta air traffic control at 0724 hours local time today.

Singapore air traffic control was informed of this loss of contact at 0754 hours by Jakarta air traffic control.

The aircraft was in the Indonesian Flight Information Region (FIR) when contact was lost, more than 200 nm southeast of the Singapore-Jakarta FIR boundary.

Search and rescue operations have been activated by the Indonesian authorities from the Pangkal Pinang Search and Rescue office.

The Singapore Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC), managed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and supported by various agencies, including the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), has also been activated and has offered help to the Indonesian authorities.

Two C130s are already on stand-by for this purpose. We remain ready to provide any assistance to support the search and rescue effort. The CAAS and Changi Airport Group (CAG) Crisis Management Centres have already been activated. We are working with the airline’s crisis management team.

A waiting area, and all necessary facilities and support have been set up for relatives and friends of the affected passengers at Changi Airport Terminal 2 (Level 3).

Further updates will be provided once more information is available.

12.12pm: According to the Straits Times, the flight has 162 people on board, with 155 passengers.

• 149 Indonesians
• 3 Koreans
• 1 British
• 1 Singaporean
• 1 Malaysian

Early figures show that there are 138 adults, 16 children and 1 baby on board the flight, which has been missing for about four hours now.

There are seven crew members - one pilot, one first officer, an engineer and four flight attendants.

In addition, AirAsia has notably changed its Facebook profile picture to black and white shortly after confirming that it has lost contact with the flight.

The move has been followed by other AirAsia regional Facebook pages, such as AirAsia Korea and AirAsia Philippines.



11.43am: AirAsia Indonesia issues a statement on the disappearance:

AirAsia Indonesia Flight QZ8501

AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 0724 hours this morning.

The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC.

At this time, search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service.

AirAsia has established an Emergency Call Centre that is available for family or friends of those who may have been on board the aircraft. The number is: +622129850801.

AirAsia will release further information as soon as it becomes available. Updated information will also be posted on the AirAsia website, www.airasia.com.





[More to follow]

 

Najib's insurance excuse 'irrelevant', says PAS

The government's excuse that it is not declaring emergency in the states which have been badly affected by the floods, displacing about 190,000 people, to enable the victims to file insurance claims is "irrelevant", PAS Youth's legal bureau said today.

PAS Youth legal and human rights bureau (Juham) director Noorazmir Zakaria, in a statement today, noted that any individual who files for insurance claims would need to do one specifically for floods beforehand, otherwise they would not be able to claim insurances, emergency or otherwise.

Similarly, he added, even if they had bought such policies before, they could still file for insurance claims because the flooding had occurred before the emergency was declared.

"The excuse is completely irrelevant," Noorazmir (left) pointed out, in rebutting the statement made by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak yesterday.

Juham also poured cold water on allegations that a declaration of emergency would mean the federal government would be taking over the state government's powers.

"Declaring emergency for natural disasters has nothing to do with state administration. It only pertains to managing the disaster, and not about transferring any power," Noorazmir noted.

'People do not want political rhetorics'

He further said that the people do not want "political rhetorics" at this point in time, and questioned why the federal government appears reluctant to move all federal assets to aid those suffering from the floods.

"I hope the media gives as much coverage to the floods as they did for MH370. People want the latest information on what is happening," he stressed.

Meanwhile, Kelantan flood victim Farish Aziz questioned the excuse as well, seeking "advice" as to whether individuals who did not buy additional coverage for perils such as flooding could still claim such insurance.

"It would be a form of cruelty if those who bought additional flood coverage would still have to pay the premium, yet can't claim damages because an emergency has been declared," he said in a statement.

"I represent the flood victims who would also seek your help in the form of advice regarding our claims for the damages we have suffered," he added.

 

AirAsia flight turns back after technical problem

An AirAsia flight has turned back after facing technical problems, according to Berita Harian.

The Langkawi-bound flight from Penang took off at around 4.30pm and was due to arrive at 5.05pm.

However, the report quoted a passenger as saying that Flight AK6242 made a turnback some 10 minutes into the flight.

E Subash, the passenger, said the captain informed them that there was a technical problem.

According to flight tracker portal FlightAware, the aircraft was about halfway through to Langkawi before circling south of the island and turning back to the Penang International Airport.

The report noted that the flight has since been rescheduled and took off at around 6pm.

The same flight tracker portal showed the aircraft having landed safely in Langkawi at 6.44pm.

String of air disasters

Air turnbacks are not uncommon in commercial air travel, but a string of air disasters has created jitters among travellers.

AirAsia Flight QZ8501 - which was bound for Singapore from Surabaya, Indonesia - lost contact with air traffic control this morning.

At writing time, the aircraft with 162 passengers and crew on board has yet to be found.

Indonesian authorities have deployed assets to the vicinity of Pulau Belitung in between Singapore and Sumatra to verify unconfirmed reports that the aircraft had crashed there.

The aircraft belongs to AirAsia Indonesia, though its parent company is Malaysian.

The lost of the aircraft follows twin disasters involving Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

MAS' Flight MH370 - bound for Beijing from Kuala Lumpur - disappeared without a trace in March and is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean after drastically deviating from its path for unknown reasons.

To date, the wreckage has yet to be found.

In July, MAS' Flight MH17 - bound for Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam - was shot down over Ukranian airspace as Russia-backed rebels battle government forces in the region.

Kelantan hudud tweaks meaningless without Parliament nod, PKR sec-gen says

(Malay Mail Online) – Kelantan’s plan to amend its 1993 hudud enactment will not bring the state any closer to enforcing the Shariah law despite the controversy and vitriol surrounding the move, said PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli.

The PAS led-state government has however postponed the state legislative assembly’s special sitting to table and pass amendments to the Kelantan Shariah Criminal Code Enactment II on Monday, amid a flood crisis that has left thousands of victims stranded across eight states.

But despite this, Rafizi pointed out that any amendments to the state enactment are inconsequential as the final arbiter on whether the state can implement the Islamic penal law is the Federal Constitution that can only be changed in Parliament.

“Legally, this does not mean anything,” he told Malay Mail Online when contacted, referring to the Kelantan state legislative assembly’s December 30 special sitting on hudud which has now been postponed to a later date yet to be announced.

“Even if the state assembly passes the amendment, it does not change anything as far as the implementation of hudud is concerned… the hudud equilibrium remains status quo, hudud still cannot be introduced,” the Pandan MP explained.

Rafizi pointed out that many PR leaders within PKR, DAP and even PAS were clueless about the proposed amendment plans on hudud, despite having asked for a copy of the document ahead of next week’s assembly sitting.

The secrecy with which PAS is forging ahead is putting its partners PKR and DAP in a quandary, he added. Both parties have been vocal in their criticism of their Islamist partners plan, especially the secular DAP.

“PAS’s refusal to share (the amendments) has complicated the relationship in Pakatan,” Rafizi said.

DAP is increasing the pressure on PAS to abandon its pursuit of hudud, with leaders alternately telling the latter to quit Pakatan Rakyat or for the pact to suspend ties with the Islamists over their insistence on enforcing the Islamic penal code.

PKR and DAP both maintain that hudud is not part of the PR common policy framework and PAS should not pursue its implementation as long as it remains a part of the pact.

Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob told Malay Mail Online yesterday that the postponement was because many state assemblymen were currently busy with relief efforts in their respective constituencies.

“It is a difficult time. We have postponed the sitting to a later date which will be announced,” he said when contacted on the phone.

The special assembly was to have allowed PAS to initiate its plan to table in Parliament a private member’s bill to amend the Federal Constitution, which would subsequently allow Kelantan to implement hudud law in the state.

In Islamic jurisprudence, hudud covers crimes such as theft, robbery, adultery, rape and sodomy.

Punishments for the crimes are severe, including amputation, flogging and death by stoning.

Experts say ‘something serious’ happened to AirAsia flight

Theories abound that it may not be simply bad weather that caused flight QZ8501 to go missing.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: Various aviation experts and correspondents closely following news of the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 have said that something very bad must have occurred to result in it going off the radar.

With so little factual information currently available except for the extreme weather conditions, aviation expert Doug Maclean told Sky News that all the evidence currently suggests that “something very serious” had happened to flight QZ8501.

Another air crash search and rescue expert William Waldock from the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University meanwhile zeroed in on the aircraft’s crew requesting for an unusual route, remarking that this was surprising because the weather, although previously described as extreme, “didn’t seem to be anything unusual”.

Meanwhile Singapore’s Sunday Times reported: “No distress signal was sent, said the Indonesian air transport authorities.”

According to an AFP report, Indonesian officials are sticking to the theory that extreme weather conditions were most likely the cause of the aircraft now having gone missing.

An official from Indonesia’s transport ministry said the pilot asked to ascend 6,000 feet to 38,000 feet to avoid heavy clouds.

“The plane is in good condition but the weather is not so good,” Djoko Murjatmodjo told a press conference at Jakarta’s airport, addressing reports of severe storms in the area where the jet went missing.

The Indonesian air force has since despatched two of its planes to scour an area of the Java Sea, southwest of Pangkalan Bun in Kalimantan province.

“The weather is cloudy and the area is surrounded by sea. We are still on our way so we won’t make an assumption on what happened to the plane,” said Indonesian air force spokesman Hadi Cahyanto.

‘Possible air crash location in waters near Belitung’

It is believed the plane circled the sea near Belitung to avoid a storm before experiencing severe turbulence and crashed.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: An Indonesian search and rescue team has headed for the waters near Belitung island and a possible crash location of 03.22.46S 108.50.07E where a missing AirAsia aircraft might have gone down.

The Indonesian national search and rescue agency Basarnas was reported by Antara news agency to have sent a team to Belitung. The crash location is believed to be around 80-100 nautical miles from Belitung, said Supriandi, a spokesman for Basarnas in Pangkalpinang.

However the Aviation and Communications Ministry director, Djoko Murjatmodjo, would only say that the team is still looking for signs of wreckage around the area where the plane was last reported to have been seen.

SAR officials had said earlier that they believed the Airbus A320 could have circled over the sea near Belitung to avoid a storm before it experienced severe turbulence and crashed into the ocean. The Air Asia flight QZ8501, is reported to have had 155 passengers on board, of whom 16 were children.

An unconfirmed radar plot leaked to a professional pilots’ online forum purports to show that the aircraft was last tracked on radar climbing at 36,300ft but at only 353 knots.

This was slower than a nearby Emirates aircraft that was tracked at 503kts. A professional airline pilot speculated that the AirAsia aircraft’s slower speed could have been due to the plane’s rapid climb rate possibly coupled with strong headwinds.

The purported radar plot would be consistent with an official account that the pilot of QZ8501 requested clearance to climb to 38,000ft.

The sequence of events on Saturday morning, as reported at an Indonesia National SAR official briefing:

(all times local)

05:36 QZ8501 departed Juanda airport, Surabaya

06:12 Contacts Jakarta centre 125.70 at FL320, requests weather deviation left of M635 airway and climb to FL380
(The aircraft contacted Jakarta air traffic centre while at 32,000ft and requested a deviation leftwards of the M635 airway, and permission to climb to 38,000ft)

06:16 QZ8501 still observed on radar

06:17 Radar contact lost. Radio contact lost. Only ADS-B signal remained.

06:18 All contact lost. Only flight plan view on radar screen.

07:08 ATC declares INCERFA (aircraft position uncertain)

07:28 ATC declares ALERTFA (emergency alert)

07:55 ATC declares DETRESFA (emergency distress)

Did our money go into 1MDB, asks bank union

NUBE calls for full open inquiry into how workers' money has been invested

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: The bank workers’ union has called for a comprehensive and open inquiry into how workers’ savings are being invested or used, in the light of the current controversy over the finances of government-owned investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd which has accumulated debts of RM49 billion.

Describing the recent reports and controversy about 1MDB as shocking, the general secretary of the National Union of Bank Employees, J Solomon, demanded transparency in how workers’ savings were being invested or used.

He warned that the government was in danger of losing the trust of the labour force and urged the authorities to have a dialogue with the Malaysian Trades Union Congress for an accountable government and for workers’ interests to be protected.

Solomon said the public must be informed if EPF funds, workers’ monies, or public funds had been invested in, or used for, 1MDB, or companies acting against the interests of workers or which are anti-union.

Solomon also called for transparency on how the government was investing workers’ retirement contributions to the EPF, as well as to the labour compensation fund Socso.

“Any decision on investment of EPF funds should be made by EPF contributors themselves,” Solomon said in a statement, pointing to widespread concern surrounding 1MDB, which he said “points towards a lack of governance and proper regulation of public funds”.

He said workers who contribute towards the EPF have no real say on how their funds are being invested and called it “stripping the rights of Malaysian workers” to know how their money is being used.

Solomon accused government authorities of an abuse of trust and pointed to Bank Negara Malaysia’s approval of an extension of non-performing loans as an example of “corporate interests being protected at the expense of the Malaysian public”.

He said large corporations were passing their risks to the public.

“It appears that there is no risk for large corporations to bear,” Solomon said.

Bank Negara, he said, “seems to be working for large corporations and at their mercy”.

Solomon pointed to reports that Malaysia has one of the biggest income inequalities in the region and said this was reflective of the failed policies of authorities entrusted with the well-being of Malaysians.

He also pointed to the low dividends of EPF compared to some other government funds such as Permodalan Nasional Berhad and Amanah Saham Bumiputera, despite EPF funds having larger funds and having been around for many more years.

Plenty of smoking guns on illegal migrants in Sabah

 

COMMENT On page 267 of the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) report, it is stated that “Indeed, as far back as 1999, it was already reported in local newspapers in Sabah that it was a lucrative business being involved in fake ICs or genuine ICs illegally issued. There was much money to be made by syndicates or individuals or corrupt officials because a false IC could fetch between RM400 and RM500, and a Malaysian passport could cost up to RM50,000.”

Some people have claimed that a lot of activities associated with the illegal immigrants in Sabah represent an industry, and present opportunities and temptation for corruption. Corruption is a big problem in this country. It is also very costly.

I also hear of illegal immigrants becoming victims of enforcement personnel. They become part of the problem rather than the solution. Their vulnerability is often taken advantage of. I have heard stories that very often, enforcement personnel, usually towards the end of the month, demand to inspect the purses of illegal immigrants and take away some or all their monies.

Let me briefly make some comments on the RCI and its report. The RCI is the latest attempt by the federal government to show the public that it is doing something to resolve what is perceived to be a government-created problem for Sabah. Perception, being what it is, could be real or imagined.

But in the Sabah case, there are many signs of smoking guns. The problems associated with the illegal immigrants are often described as the mother of all problems.

The unusually large population of foreigners, both legal and illegal, has permanently changed the economic, social, cultural, political and demographic landscape of the state. Many of them were initially illegal but became legal, rightly or wrongly.

By my reckoning, there are in Sabah more foreigners than locals, who feel fearful and threatened. I have some indicators for this but time does not permit me to elaborate. This is not surprising because this issue has been in the making for more than 30 years.

There appears to be lack of political will on the part of the government to resolve the problem once and for all. More and more Sabahans are convinced that this is a deliberate move or agenda for Sabah by the federal government.

Double standard?

During the late 60s and early 70s, plenty of Vietnamese refugees landed in the peninsula. They were confined to Pulau Bidong, off the coast of Terengganu. Within two years, they were all deported to other countries. The government was very pro-active.

At about the same time, illegal immigrants from the southern Philippines and Indonesia also started to come to Sabah. Unlike the Vietnamese, they are still in Sabah today. There appears to be double standard in the treatment between the non-Muslim Vietnamese and the mostly Muslim Filipinos and Indonesians.

Malaysia is neither a state party to the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951, nor the 1967 Protocol. This being the case, all refugees are treated as illegal immigrants.

All the moves, actions and pronouncements by government leaders have so far not produced the desired results. At one time the government declared an amnesty. It was extended several times so much so that the illegal immigrants did not take it seriously. No review was carried out to assess its effectiveness.

From time to time, you hear of some illegals being arrested and placed in the temporary detention centres. They have now become temporary on a permanent basis. Occasionally you hear of raids and deportations but the number of illegal immigrants appears to increase rather than decrease.

There is no basis to blame the illegal immigrants for being in Sabah. As human beings, they are looking for a better life and opportunities. They have human rights, no more and no less than any Malaysian. Their human rights must be respected. Human rights have no borders.

The question many genuine Sabahans ask is - why are or were they allowed to enter the state illegally and move around with impunity? It is believed that hundreds of thousands of them have been granted citizenship as well as the right to vote, in return for their support for the Umno-dominated BN government.

Former chief minister Yong Teck Lee had to vacate his Likas state assembly seat because he won it in 1999 with the help of phantom voters. Justice Muhammad Kamil Awang said that the 1998 electoral roll for the constituency was illegal, and the election held in March 1999 was null and void. The judge, among others, stated that the evidence adduced represented the tip of an iceberg.

The logical and correct move by the government would have been to rectify the tainted electoral roll. Instead, the Election Act was amended whereby once the electoral roll was gazetted, it cannot be challenged in any court of law. This is bad law and inconsistent with democratic principles.

Why should a responsible government be unwilling to clean a tainted electoral roll if it has no sinister motive?

Flawed RCI report

As the 13th general election was approaching, the government finally announced the establishment of the RCI on Feb 8, 2012, but without the terms of reference. I found this rather odd. It was like putting the horse before the cart.

The terms of reference were announced much later. The eight terms of reference were all investigative and not corrective in nature. The RCI was not assigned the task of identifying the real people responsible for the problem and the action to be taken against them.

Initially, the RCI was given six months to come up with the report. It had been the hope of many Sabahans that the report could be known before the general election. In the event, it was extended for another six months.

The general election took place on May 5, 2013.

The report was submitted to the Agong on May 14 this year. It was finally released in Kota Kinabalu on Dec 3 by the chief secretary to the government. As a civil servant, it was surprising for him to conclude that there is no political motive involved, despite all indications to the contrary. Even the RCI was silent on it. The chief secretary did not back his contention with hard evidence. One gets the impression that he was playing politics.

The public expected the report to be tabled and debated in Parliament.

Despite the reservations shown by many towards the RCI, the evidence adduced from the witnesses had endorsed what many Sabahans have suspected all along but denied by government leaders. What was disclosed by witnesses was not surprising. What is surprising is that the government appeared to be uncaring and insensitive to the welfare and interests of Malaysians in Sabah by placing the interests of foreigners over theirs.

In short, the RCI has cleared the real culprits - the government and political parties - of any wrongdoing. Instead, the RCI pointed the finger at civil servants. This is very surprising. The main function and responsibilities of civil servants is to translate government decisions and policies into action. They operate under the principle of ‘I am your obedient servant’.

Even if they are doing wrong, either deliberately or inadvertently, surely they cannot escape from government notice and attention for over 30 years.

Experience and events also indicate that the government was aware of what was happening. For example, the decision to establish the federal task force was made by the PM himself. I was present when the decision was made. I welcomed the move but I was disappointed that it took about one year just to create the post of the head of the task force. Yet the task force was supposed to resolve the issue once and for all.

That is why I am convinced that the federal government is not serious in solving the problem. There is so much disconnect between declared intention and actual action. It has been said ‘a man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds’.

I believe the task force is still in existence but so is the problem, only bigger and more complex.

In so far as the ‘Projek IC’ is concerned, the RCI concluded that it “probably existed” despite the availability of hard evidence to suggest that it definitely existed. The question of probability should not arise. The existence of ‘Projek IC’ is an open secret to the ordinary Sabahans.

Report not signed

Right-minded Sabahans who were looking for relief and justice would be shocked and disgusted with the report. It is a very disappointing report, to say the least.

It looks odd that in the report the term ‘royal commission of inquiry’ appears, yet on the cover it is being referred to as report of  the 'commission of enquiry'. The chairperson and the commissioners also did not sign the report. Other reports which I have seen are much more dignified.

The RCI agreed with the proposal by the National Registration Department (NRD) workshop to establish a permanent secretariat supported by a management committee on foreigners. It is surprisingly a very short recommendation and not even original.

Only time will tell whether or not this is the last of illegal problems in Sabah following the release of the RCI report and the implementation of its recommendations. In government circle, it is not unusual that when no one is brave enough to take tough decision involving strong political will, a committee would be formed.

That committee, in turn, forms sub-committees. Responsibility is diluted. More often than not, it is taken over by the passage of time.

I am reminded of the story of four people: Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job. It ended that Everybody blamed Somebody when actually Nobody asked Anybody.

Finally, you may then ask - what should be done? The illegal immigration issue is a national problem. They should be equally distributed among all the 13 states. It is not fair that Sabah alone shoulder the burden.

Some suggestions

• Illegal entry into Sabah should immediately stop.

• Sabah identification cards should be issued to all genuine Sabahans. Only Sabahans with Sabah ICs should be allowed to vote.

• Names on the electoral rolls without the Sabah ICs should be taken out from the electoral rolls.

Foreigners who obtained ICs illegally should be deported but allowed to return with proper travel documentation if their services are needed.

I realise this will be a massive exercise but it is necessary. A massive problem requires a massive solution. It is the government which made its bed, it must be prepared to lie on it. This is responsibility and accountability.

If the federal government was pro-active right from the beginning by not allowing illegal entry into Sabah, we would not be saddled with this problem today. But it was allowed to happen and continue for more than 30 years. I will not be surprised if many of the illegal immigrants have moved to other parts of the country in search for better opportunities.

Sabah is their entry point into Malaysia and to the rest of the world, courtesy of the federal government.

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SIMON SIPAUN is former state secretary of Sabah and former Suhakam commissioner. The above speech was given at the Bersih/Pacos forum on the RCI report in Kota Kinabalu on Dec 13.

Vanishing Of QZ8501 "A Massive Shock" - Tony Fernandes

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28 (Bernama) -- AirAsia group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said the company was still in the dark over what happened to AirAsia Indonesia Flight QZ8501 which went missing Sunday morning.

He told a press conference in Surabaya, Indonesia, the point of departure of the Singapore-bound Airbus A320-200, that the plane was in good condition and had undergone scheduled maintenance in November.

"This is a massive shock to us...unbelievable," said a sombre-looking Fernandes at the media conference which was telecast live over Indonesian television monitored here.

To a question, Fernandes said he did not want to speculate on what happened to the missing plane with 162 people aboard, stressing that "we don't know what went wrong".

The Malaysian aviation magnate said he left it to the search and rescue operation teams to locate the six-year old aircraft, which left Surabaya at 5.35 am but lost contact with Indonesian air traffic control at 7.24 am. It was scheduled to reach Singapore at 8.20 am, all local times.

Those on board comprised 155 Indonesians, three South Koreans, one Singaporean, one Malaysian, a French national and one Briton.

Fernandes said the priority now was looking after the next-of-kin of QZ8501's passengers and crew.

In a series of tweets earlier, he said:

"I, as your group CEO, will be there through these hard times. We will go through this terrible ordeal together."

Fernandes also said he was touched by the massive show of support, especially from fellow airlines.

"This is my worst nightmare," said the entrepreneur as he was making his way to Surabaya "where most of the passengers were from as with my Indonesian management".