These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Family Covid-19 cluster: At least one patient was active in community while symptomatic
A recent family cluster of five Covid-19 cases from two households is a sign that it is still critical for Singaporeans to continue safe practices, at least until there is a viable vaccine, experts cautioned. The Health Ministry said on Sunday (Aug 30) it is investigating if there were any breaches in safe distancing rules that led to the family cluster. Increasingly, Singaporeans have been letting their guard down, and gatherings - such as a birthday celebration of 20 people across four tables held in a restaurant - are not an uncommon sight. But the grim reality is that things can get better slowly and can also get worse very quickly, Professor Dale Fisher, a senior infectious diseases expert at the National University Hospital, told The Straits Times. "The public needs to have a long-haul view, and if individuals or groups decide to have their own set of rules, they stand to put the whole community at risk." The current practices of having no more than five in a group, wearing masks and keeping a safe distance have served Singapore well and kept the country safe, and if people believed in these practices previously, they should continue to do so and not allow fatigue to set in, Prof Fisher added. – The Straits Times
Health DG refutes claim he is COO of 'gem-mining company'
Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah is known as a doctor, surgeon and more famously, Malaysia's director-general of Health. However, unscrupulous parties on the internet have claimed that he is the chief operating officer of a 'gemstone mining company.' The company, Kashi Mining, on its website claims it is an 'award-winning company' and owns gemstone mines in Africa. This was rejected outright by Dr Noor Hisham in a Facebook posting today. He said he was informed that the company had used his image in its website and described him as its COO. This, he stressed, was false. "For your information, Kashi Mining has used my image in its website, saying that I am its COO. This is clearly false," he said. Checks on the company's website, which claimed it is based in Jalan Patau-Patau, Labuan, showed that it used Dr Noor Hisham's image as its COO. The name accompanying the image, however, is listed as Aidan Razif. The company is also found to have used the image of Mohamad Abdullah, who is Universiti Sains Malaysia's (USM) Student Affairs and Alumni Department senior deputy registrar, as its chief executive officer. Mohamad's name, however, was changed to Mohamed Lew. Mohamad, via his Facebook, labelled the claim as "ridiculous." "Scammer. Someone used my photo purportedly as its company management. Absolutely ridiculous." he said. – New Straits Times
Charter rejig gains pace
The constitution amendment movement is picking up steam with the House committee responsible handing in its report, included in which is the suggestion to switch to the electrical system employed by the 1997 charter and the requirement that the prime minister must be an MP. The report, which was handed in to House Speaker Chuan Leekpai on Monday, comes amid mounting calls for the rewrite and the establishment of a constitution-drafting assembly. The opposition camp submitted its version of a charter amendment motion on Aug 17 and the coalition government parties are expected to follow suit today. Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, chair of the committee, said the panel's report is neither a handbook on amendments, nor a draft charter. The document is a comprehensive set of proposals aimed at facilitating the transition to a new set of constitutional rules. According to Mr Pirapan, it touches on several key areas such as the proposed amendment to Section 256. Section 256 says charter changes require the support of at least one-third of the Senate, or 84 senators. The section also stipulates that a national referendum is required if a would-be amendment involves the charter amendment process, the chapters on general principles or the monarchy. He said while there is no guarantee that the report will be used in the charter amendment process, the panel's study is impartial and comprehensive and it can be used by any drafting assembly that may be formed. – Bangkok Post
Jambi student allegedly locked up, raped multiple times by tutor over 20 days
A female junior high school student in West Tanjung Jabung, Jambi, was allegedly locked up and raped multiple times by her own tutor over the course of 20 days. West Tanjung Jabung Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Guntur Saputro said the police had arrested the tutor, identified only as AG. “We have taken him into custody. We’ve also taken the victim home,” Guntur said on Saturday evening as quoted by tribunnews.com, adding that the perpetrator was still being questioned. Guntur said a preliminary investigation revealed that the 16-year-old victim had been a student of AG’s private learning course, as schools remained closed because of the ongoing COVID-19 emergency. AG had allegedly abused his pupil’s trust by asking her to come with him to a local hotel, where he reportedly sexually abused her for the first time, Guntur said. After the hotel incident, AG allegedly abducted the victim and locked her up in his private residence for 20 days, he said. The victim was unable to reach out to her family because AG had confiscated all means of communication. – The Jakarta Post
US$10.9B extended to PH for COVID-19 response
The Philippines had been extended loans and grants totalling US$10.94 billion (more than P529 billion) as of August to finance its fight against the health and socioeconomic crises arising from the coronavirus pandemic. So far this year, the country obtained already half the US$21.62 billion in additional official development assistance (ODA) it received in 2019, according to a report of the National Economic and Development Authority’s (Neda) ODA Portfolio Review 2019. Neda said 16 loans and three grants were recent additions to the expanding ODA portfolio “in support of the government’s efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic and to mitigate its economic impact.” In a statement on Monday, acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said the government needed to borrow more in 2020 to help fund emergency response, social protection programs and other related expenditures that would provide immediate relief to Filipinos affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to 2021 budget documents, the government will borrow more than P3 trillion this year and a similar amount next year to finance the swelling budget deficit, as COVID-19 response-related expenses ballooned while tax and nontax revenues remained weak. Three-fourths of the borrowings will come from the sale of government securities in the country. Offshore debt paper issuance and foreign loans will augment financing for the P4.5-trillion national budget in 2021. – INQUIRER.net
Foreign arrivals to Viet Nam down 66 percent in eight months
In the first eight months of 2020, foreign arrivals into Viet Nam reached only 3.8 million, down by 67 percent compared to the figure of 11.3 million recorded in the same period last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted travel. The number was announced by the General Statistics Office Of Viet Nam (GSO) over the weekend. Most of the arrivals were before March 22, the day Viet Nam started closing its border to nearly all foreign arrivals in a bid to curb coronavirus spread. The country only in recent months allows a few exceptions – foreign diplomats, investors, highly skilled workers and experts, along with some flights repatriating Vietnamese citizens. All foreign entries are quarantined for 14 days upon arrival. Of the 3.8 million, 3.05 million arrived in Viet Nam by air, while 580,000 and 140,000 entered the country via land and sea routes. The agency said while 163,000 foreign arrivals in August is an improvement of 17 percent compared to July, it still marks a 99 percent decline compared to the number in 2019. Visitors from Asia, accounting for more than 73 percent of the total number of international arrivals to Viet Nam this year, fell by nearly 70 percent over the same period last year. Arrivals from key markets such as China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Malaysia all posted record losses of 72 percent, 70.5 percent, 67 percent, 68 percent, 59 percent, and 70 percent, respectively, within the eight months of 2020. However, arrivals from neighbouring Cambodia increased by nearly 71 per cent, according to the GSO. – Viet Nam News
Fire ravages Battambang historic market
A massive fire tore through the Battambang Central Market (Phsar Nath) on Sunday night, damaging at least 33 stalls and severely affecting 44 more. An electrical failure was attributed to the fire, which quickly spread to grocery stores and stalls selling dishes and clothes. No one was injured, provincial governor Pheng Sethy said. The authorities are working to clean up the market, which is a heritage site. Sethy said the extent of the damage has not yet been assessed. “The immediate task now is to clean up the market and restore the environment. We have worked to dismantle and transport the burnt waste from the market and establish security to prevent theft, which would lead to more losses for vendors,” he said. Provincial deputy governor Soeum Bunrith, who has been assigned to estimate the impact of the fire, told The Post a joint commission has decided to remove all the stores located around the entrance of the market to restore the environment. “The damaged goods have caused a bad smell, affecting the environment and public health, which needs to be cleaned immediately,” he said. The commission urged the State-run energy utility to reconnect the electricity network in accordance with technical standards because in the past, the management of the electricity network in the market was privately owned. The commission also called on the Battambang Water Supply Authority to study and reorganise the water supply network and set up fire hydrants in and around the market to prevent fires. The market was built in 1937 and widely considered a historical building. – The Phnom Penh Post