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.
Coronavirus: 7,800 BTO flats to be launched in August; some projects may be delayed up to 6 months
Home buyers who could not apply for a Build-To-Order (BTO) Housing Board flat in May because of the circuit breaker will be able to do so in three months' time, as the flats originally scheduled for launch this month will be combined with the August BTO exercise. HDB will offer about 7,800 BTO flats in Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Choa Chu Kang, Geylang, Pasir Ris, Tampines, Tengah and Woodlands in August. Another 5,700 flats in Bishan, Sembawang, Tampines, Tengah and Toa Payoh will be offered in November. Of these, the flats in Choa Chu Kang and Tampines North from the August launch, and those in Tengah from the November launch, will have shorter waiting times, HDB said in a statement on Friday (May 29). However, some BTO projects are expected to be delayed by up to six months because of the suspension of construction activities amid the circuit breaker period. – The Straits Times
Ringgit rises against US dollar
The ringgit strengthened against the US dollar in early trading today on an overnight recovery of oil prices – but investors are cautious over a possible escalation of the US-China trade war, said an analyst. At 9.08am today, the local note was quoted at 4.3470/3550 against the greenback, compared with Thursday's close of 4.3540/3600. AxiCorp global chief market strategist Stephen Innes said a recovery in oil prices overnight was positive for the ringgit, but bullish ambitions continue to be thwarted by a possible escalation in the trade war. Meanwhile, the ringgit was traded mostly easier against a basket of benchmark currencies. The local currency was almost flat against the Singapore dollar to 3.0669/0727 from Thursday's close of 3.0664/0719, and eased against the Japanese yen to 4.0441/0519 from 4.0412/0479 yesterday. – New Straits Times
AG 'rejects appeal' in KTB loans case
The Attorney-General (AG) has reportedly decided not to appeal last year's ruling in a money-laundering case linked with the Krungthai Bank (KTB) loan scandal, in which Panthongtae "Oak" Shinawatra, son of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was acquitted. A deputy attorney-general on Monday signed on behalf of the AG not to appeal the case, some local media, including the state-funded Thai PBS, reported on Thursday. The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct on Nov 25 ruled Mr Panthongtae had not known the source of a 10-million-baht cheque he received from a friend involved in the KTB loan scandal. Then the Office of Attorney General (OAG)'s Department of Special Litigation sent a recommendation to the Department of Appellate Litigation that the case should not be appealed. – Bangkok Post
50 days of Indonesia’s partial lockdown. Is it enough for the ‘new normal’?
On April 3, Indonesia released two regulations, a government regulation and a Health Ministry regulation, to pave the way for large-scale social restrictions (PSBB), the country’s equivalent to partial lockdown. A week later, Jakarta became the first region to implement the partial lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has extended the PSBB twice, with the latest slated to end on June 4. After Jakarta, other regions followed. Three other regions implementing the PSBB at provincial level are West Java, Gorontalo and West Sumatra. Aside from 58 regencies and municipalities within the four provinces, only 27 other regencies and municipalities have applied the partial lockdown even though as of Tuesday, the virus had spread to 406 regencies and municipalities in all 34 provinces. – The Jakarta Post
COVID-19 contact tracing: ‘We have 87 to 88 % batting average’, says Año
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año on Friday said that the government was able to detect 87 percent of the total COVID-19 cases in the country through contact tracing. According to the DILG chief, 4,000 contact tracing teams or about 40,000 contact tracers are employed to ramp up efforts to stop the spread of the potentially deadly respiratory ailment. Of the number, about 150 contact tracing teams are assigned for Metro Manila – one of the so-called “high-risk” areas for virus transmission in Luzon. “We have an 87 to 88 percent batting average meaning to say out of the total number of positive cases, 87 percent were traced through contact tracing and we are still, of course, intending to increase our batting average. We also increased the number of contact tracing all over the country,” Año said in an interview over ANC. – Philippine Daily Inquirer
National target programme looks to improve livelihoods of ethnic minority groups
Nearly VNĐ272 trillion (US$11.8 billion) will be mobilised to implement the national target programme on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas during 2021-30, according to a Government report submitted to the National Assembly (NA) on Thursday. The programme sets the target of doubling the income per capita of people from ethnic minority groups in the next five years compared to the current rate (VNĐ1.1 million to VNĐ1.2 million per month per person). By 2025, it aims to improve infrastructure, create jobs and address pressing issues of more than 16,100 households from ethnic minority groups and disadvantaged ethnic groups. – Viet Nam News
Closed borders give rise to trafficking in Cambodia
Cambodia is facing a new wave of human trafficking as desperate workers use illegal means to cross closed borders in the hope of finding work in Thailand, officials have warned. About 90,000 Cambodians returned from Thailand before borders were shut in March to stem the spread of the coronavirus and people smugglers are now helping them find their way back, said the government's anti-trafficking czar Chou Bun Eng. "Those who cross the border are breaking the law, but the traffickers, who collude with private firms in Thailand, are even more to blame," she told journalists on Wednesday. Interior Minister Sar Kheng said military and police stationed near the border were on high alert. – Cambodia Daily