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.
Hadi’s son-in-law to be referred to Pas disciplinary committee
Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s son-in-law, Zaharudin Muhammad, will be referred to the Islamic party’s Disciplinary Committee. The move was over his claims that there existed a “dedak cartel” involving several leaders in the party. – New Straits Times.
S’pore should spur learning of foreign languages, says minister
While bilingualism has long been touted as one of Singapore’s strengths, many European students are already learning many languages, said Education Minister Ong Ye Kung yesterday.
Noting that there are different groups of “third languages”, Mr Ong said learning a third language from a European country or the Japanese language “can give us access to good universities, jobs and therefore economic opportunities.” – Straits Times.
Bank of Thailand denies baht trickery
The Bank of Thailand insists it has not manipulated the baht to gain an advantage in exports amid speculation Thailand could be added to the US’s expanded watch list for currency manipulation.
The baht is the best performing currency in Asia, gaining 2.8% against the greenback so far this year. – Bangkok Post.
Muslim women concerned over growing antifeminist movement
The rise of a religiously conservative women’s movement has raised concerns among a few prominent Muslims who believe that feminist principles do not contradict Islamic values. A relatively new campaign, which called itself the Indonesia Without Feminists movement, has recently been rolled out, promoting illiberal messages to challenge budding feminist thoughts in the predominantly Muslim nation. – The Jakarta Post.
Cambodia dismisses Chinese naval base editorial as part of ῾misinformation᾽ campaign
Cambodia’s government has again denied that it will allow China to build a naval base on its coast, dismissing a recent editorial about the likelihood of such project as “misinformation” aimed at damaging the country’s international image. – The Cambodia Daily.
Comelec allays fear of ῾cheating᾽ after transparency server glitch
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday denied accusations of “cheating” after a glitch with the transparency server caused the delay in the release of partial election results to poll watchdogs and the media. – Philippine Daily Inquirer.