These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today. Get up to speed with what’s happening in the fastest growing region in the world.
Early voting begins in Sandakan by-election
Early voting for the Sandakan parliamentary seat by-election, involving 270 police personnel, began at 8 a.m. today. The candidates’ agents and election observers from various organisations and NGOs appointed by the Election Commission (EC) are witnessing the process; while the EC is live-streaming the event on its Facebook page. – New Straits Times
COI: All three soldiers in gun’s cabin breached safety rules
Each of the three soldiers in the cabin of an artillery gun that was being rectified on Jan 19 this year, including the late Singapore actor Aloysius Pang, committed safety lapses that eventually led to his death, an independent Committee of Inquiry (COI) has found. – Straits Times
Democracy is the real loser: Prabowo
Gerindra Party chairman and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto presented a litany of alleged election violations to members of the foreign press at a closed briefing on Monday, claiming that the opposing camp had engaged in structured, systematic and massive fraud. Since polls closed on April 17, Prabowo has declared victory multiple times, despite quick counts from established pollsters projecting that Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had won the election with 54 to 55 percent of the vote. – The Jakarta Post
Department to bump up tax base
The Revenue Department aims to add 200,000 individuals to the income tax base every year, says director-general Ekniti Nitithanprapas.
The number of individual income tax filers surged by 300,000 from 10.9 million in 2017 to 11.2 million last year, he said. Salary earners and small businesses both online and offline contributed to the higher tax base. Additional income tax payment for 2018 also inched higher to 17.6 billion baht from 17.4 billion the preceding year. – Bangkok Post
῾Bikoy᾽ surfaces at IBP office, claims his life is in danger
A former marketing executive faced journalists on Monday, claiming he was “Bikoy,” the hooded man in a series of videos on YouTube who linked members of President Rodrigo Duterte’s family to the illegal drug trade, and that he came out of hiding because his life was in danger. – Philippine Daily Inquirer
Seven die of heatstroke in Yangon and Bago regions
Three people have died of heatstroke in Yangon General Hospital, out of 12 people who were admitted for the condition from April 22 to May 6, as temperatures in most part of the country soared, a senior hospital official said. – Myanmar Times