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.
PM: Next GE will be key for Singapore
The next general election will decide if Singapore can sustain a good and stable Government that can safeguard the lives and well-being of Singaporeans, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday.
Addressing 2,500 People's Action Party (PAP) activists at what could be the last major party gathering before the next general election, he told them to be prepared for a tough fight. – The Straits Times
Still in KL, Cambodia’s Sam Rainsy wants to organise protests
Cambodia’s self-exiled opposition veteran Sam Rainsy said on Sunday he would help organise protests in Cambodia against authoritarian ruler Hun Sen to build on growing international pressure for change in his home country.
Rainsy told Reuters in Malaysia he thought Hun Sen was being influenced by foreign measures against his government after house arrest restrictions were lifted on fellow opposition leader Kem Sokha, who was charged with treason two years ago. – New Straits Times
Jokowi spends large on defense
Despite defense being the largest post in the annual state budget, the government has fallen behind its targets in modernising weaponry systems due to mounting amounts spent on personnel and maintenance of older equipment.
At the end of the second phase of its 15-year-old weaponry modernisation program, the Minimum Essential Force (MEF), the government has only reached 62.8 percent of implementation, far behind the targeted 72 percent, making it a challenge to complete the program as scheduled in 2024. – The Jakarta Post
PNP open to modifying war on drugs
The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said it is open to recalibrating the war on drugs after Vice President Leni Robredo earlier called for a reassessment of one of the Duterte administration’s centerpiece campaigns.
“In any government approach, it should be dynamic because time changes. Personally, I would like to open up options,” Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa, PNP officer-in-charge, said. “We had a drug war which I think is very successful, but if there is a need to recalibrate and maybe touch a few points, study it, then the PNP is open to it,” he said. – Philippine Daily Inquirer
Future Forward on thin ice
All eyes will be on the Constitutional Court on 20 November when it delivers a ruling which could make or break the embattled Future Forward Party (FFP) leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit in a media-shareholding case.
The party and its leader face a slew of legal cases that place their political future in jeopardy. In the worst-case scenario, the party, which has 80 MPs, could be dissolved and its 24 executives banned from politics. – Bangkok Post
Myanmar urges ASEAN to boost war on poverty
U Aung Thu, minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, urged ASEAN to intensify cooperation in rural development and poverty reduction.
“As total poverty eradication is essential for the sustainable development of a nation, I urge all ASEAN members to cooperate in lifting its citizens out of poverty,” he told ministers during a meeting in Nay Pyi Taw. – The Myanmar Times
Two reporters detained over coverage of Rainsy’s planned return
Two Cambodian reporters working for Voice of Democracy were briefly detained by local authorities in Banteay Meanchey province’s border checkpoint on Saturday while covering Sam Rainsy’s planned return to the Kingdom, according to a journalist association.
According to Cambodian Journalists Alliance’s statement released today, Vann Vichar and Chun Chanren were detained and questioned more than three hours on Saturday by military police officers in Poipet City. – Khmer Times