Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia on Monday said it has yet to decide on launching a new search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which went missing with 239 people on board nearly six years ago.

Malaysia’s ministry of transport said it has not received any new credible evidence to initiate a new search.

“However, the Ministry will review any new evidence that it officially receives,” the ministry said in a brief statement.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia’s economy is expected to expand by 4.5% this year, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday, down from the government’s initial estimate of 4.8%.

Mahathir cited “challenging times” for the revision to the government’s forecast, which was announced when the 2020 budget was tabled in November. He did not elaborate.

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 7 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Malaysian diplomatic missions in China will continue their operations to provide consular assistance to countrymen and maintain close collaboration with the authorities of the host country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Wisma Putra) said the cabinet decision to bring home non-essential staff and family members from the Malaysian diplomatic missions in China was made as part of the government’s state of preparedness in its response to the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic.

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 7 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Tajikistan hopes to become an important trade gateway for Malaysia to markets in Central Asia, said Tajikistan’s Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin.

On the other hand Malaysia, being strategically located in Southeast Asia, could become a bridge between Tajikistan and other ASEAN countries, he said.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The Transport Ministry has no plan to bar the cruise ships from entering the country following the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection.

Its minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the move would only be made after receiving a recommendation from the Ministry of Health (MoH) based on certain evidence.

“We only bar Chinese citizens from the Hubei region or any region that the Chinese government has declared a lock down.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Thursday payments received to offset the costs of a high-value order could not be constituted as a bribe.

Mahathir was replying to questions by reporters on the controversial sponsorship deal that executives of Malaysia’s AirAsia Group Bhd (AIRA.KL) struck with the budget carrier’s sole plane supplier Airbus (AIR.PA).

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 (NNN-BERNAMA) — A girl from China who had been earlier confirmed with 2019-nCov infection and treated at the Hospital Sultanah Maliha in Langkawi, has been discharged following recovery from the virus.

Commending the hospital for its successful treatment of the girl, Ministry of Health Director General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in a statement Tuesday said the girl’s successful treatment showed that the 2019-nCoV infection was treatable and that patients could recover completely, as had been reported in many cases in China.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The wife of Malaysian ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak went on trial Wednesday for alleged corruption in the same courthouse as her husband, with a top prosecutor saying she wielded considerable influence due to her “overbearing nature.”

AIX-EN-PROVENCE (France), Feb 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Around 20 of the 250 people flown back to France from China on Sunday because of the coronavirus outbreak are presenting symptoms of the virus, the country’s health minister said.

SEPANG, Feb 4 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived here Monday night for a two-day working visit to Malaysia.

The special aircraft ferrying Imran Khan and his high-level delegation from Karachi landed at the KL International Airport (KLIA) at about 10.15 pm.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Malaysia, which sent its first batch of one million medical gloves to Wuhan, China today, will be sending another million on Wednesday, Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok said.

The second batch will be sent through a MASkargo flight, following the first batch through an AirAsia flight commissioned by the government on Monday to bring back Malaysians from the 2019 novel coronavirus-hit city.