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: Experts warn against letting guard down as community cases inch up
Singapore has seen an uptick in community cases 12 days into phase two of reopening the economy, which will be a concern if the trend continues, experts said. More than ever, people need to be vigilant and cautious, despite a clear sense of "crisis fatigue", with many keen to return to their usual habits, said Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the National University of Singapore's Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. "This is when we need to be even more careful, when we collectively start to let down our guard," he told The Straits Times. He stressed that the country is still very much in the midst of an outbreak and remains in Dorscon orange - signifying a disease situation with moderate to high public health impact. This comes as cases soar worldwide, with over 10 million cases to date and many countries struggling with flare-ups as lockdowns are lifted. – The Straits Times
Ringgit unchanged at opening
The ringgit opened unchanged on Tuesday amid mixed market sentiment. At 9.05am, the ringgit remained at 4.2820/2880 against the greenback. AxiCorp global chief market strategist Stephen Innes said the market will refocus on the regional cyclical economic upswings and higher oil prices, which should be favourable for the ringgit. "The oil prices and stocks are trading higher as I expected but the rating agency downgrade was a bit of a sideswipe although not fully unexpected," he told Bernama. On June 26, S&P Global Ratings reaffirmed Malaysia's A- credit rating, but revised its outlook from "stable" to "negative". "The rating warning is not that hugely negative for a currency, but in the case for Malaysia it will bring more focus on the budget deficit and the poor shape the government coffers are in," he added. Against other benchmark currencies, the ringgit was traded higher. – New Straits Times
Nightlife makes return
All night entertainment venues, including soapy massage parlours, will open their doors again on Wednesday as restrictions imposed to curb Covid-19 are further eased in the final phase. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Monday gave the green light for all remaining entertainment facilities to reopen from tomorrow. They include pubs and bars, karaoke bars, and bath-sauna-massage establishments. Health and physical distancing measures and monitoring will be required. "It was extensively debated," CCSA spokesman Taweesilp Visanuyothin said after the full members' meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. All premises that reopen will be required to use the "Thai Chana" platform, created to alert businesses and customers to any Covid-19 outbreak. From tomorrow, shopping malls, department stores and community malls will be allowed to open until 10pm from the current 9pm. – Bangkok Post
'Stop blaming us': Surabaya mayor kneels down and cries over rising case number
Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini knelt down on the ground and broke into tears as she held a meeting with doctors and hospital directors in Surabaya amid the spike of COVID-19 cases in East Java’s capital city, which has become Indonesia’s epicentre of the outbreak. Risma, as the mayor is affectionately known, was holding a meeting with the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) and local authorities to discuss COVID-19 management at the Surabaya City Hall on Monday. In the video, which went viral shortly after the meeting, the mayor, known as Risma, was seen kneeling down, crying and apologizing after a pulmonologist from Dr. Soetomo Hospital in Surabaya shared in the meeting that the hospital was overloaded with COVID-19 patients. – The Jakarta Post
ECQ should continue in Cebu City – Cimatu
The implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) should continue in Cebu City due to continued rise in confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the area, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said on Tuesday. “We’ll have to maintain itong [this] quarantine level here,” Cimatu, who was appointed COVID-19-point person in Cebu City by President Rodrigo Duterte, said over ABS-CBN News Channel when asked about his recommendation for the quarantine measures in the city. “It’s bleeding now. The number of cases is increasing as well as the number of deaths.” The official noted that Cebu City logged 13 additional fatalities due to the respiratory illness just on Monday, which he said is even higher than the average number of daily recorded fatalities in the country at 10 to 12 deaths. “Compared to the average number of deaths in Metro Manila and all of the Philippines, it seems that the situation here in Cebu is even worse.” – INQUIRER.net
VN records positive growth amid gloomy global forecasts
Việt Nam’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 1.81 per cent year-on-year during the first half of this year, the lowest six-month growth pace since 2011, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). “As the Government prioritised the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic over economic growth, a positive growth rate in January-June still indicates strong efforts of both the Government and society to maintain business operations while combating the COVID-19 pandemic,” said GSO Deputy General Director Nguyễn Thị Hương at a press conference on Monday. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed its 2020 world economic growth forecast further last week as the COVID-19 pandemic had greater damage to economic activity than initially predicted. – Viet Nam News
Newspaper publisher charged over social media posts
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on June 28 charged the publisher of the Khmer Nation newspaper for incitement over social media posts he made last week in which he criticized Prime Minister Hun Sen; a police official confirmed. Phnom Penh Municipal Police Chief Sar Thet on June 29 said that the defendant, Ros Sokhet, has been detained at Prey Sar Prison on charges of incitement to provoke serious social chaos. “The court already detained him and he was sent to Prey Sar prison on Sunday,” he said. – The Cambodia Daily
Myanmar local banks launch debit, credit cards to drive cashless push
The Myanmar Citizens Bank will introduce a co-branded debit card service together with the Myanmar Payment Union (MPU) and Japanese payment services provider JCB, the bank announced over the weekend. MCB's MPU-JCB Co-Brand Debit Card will enable holders to access MPU’s merchant network across Myanmar and make withdrawals at MCB ATMs, other ATMs which accept the MPU/JCB logo and ATMs which accept the JCB logo in other countries. It can also be used in making payments via point-of-sale (POS) machines at local and international sales counters as well as make payments and top-ups online. Cardholders will be able to withdraw cash of up to K300,000 at a time and up to K1 million per day at any ATM. Local online payments of up to K5 million per day via POS will be allowed while overseas payments utilising the cardholder's bank account balance will also be enabled. – Myanmar Times