These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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SIA kicks off retrenchment exercise; affected staff told they will be paid until Dec 15
Retrenched Singapore Airlines (SIA) staff who started receiving their pink slips from Monday (Sept 14) have been told that they will continue to receive their salary until Dec 15 this year, The Straits Times has learnt. They will also retain their medical and other benefits until then. On top of this, each affected employee will be paid in lieu of the notice period in their employment contract. This can be up to three months' salary. Those who have been in service for two years or more will receive one month of pay for every year of service, capped at 25 months. The retrenchment exercise - which affects about 2,400 staff - is being conducted at the SIA Training Centre, near Changi Airport, for Singapore-based staff. Staff are informed in advance and given allocated dates for briefings. ST understands that on the first day, affected staff were driven to the venue in pre-booked taxis and driven back afterwards. Upon arrival, they were ushered into a waiting room and given snacks and water. For cabin crew, about
30 were ushered into the auditorium at a time, where Mr Tan Pee Teck, SIA's head of cabin crew, addressed them. They were then divided into two groups and proceeded for individual sessions, where they were given and briefed on their retrenchment contracts. – The Straits Times
Hisham to Shafie: No negotiations with Manila on Sabah
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein took a jab at the Sabah caretaker Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal for suggesting that Malaysia should negotiate with the Philippines on the latter's claim on Sabah. "I have reiterated this many times, the Philippines claim on Sabah is baseless and that Sabah will forever be an integral part of Malaysia," he said in a Facebook post today. Hishammuddin said any form of negotiations was tantamount to endorsing Manila's baseless claim on Sabah. "Malaysia does not recognise the Philippines' claim. So, there is no reason to hold negotiations. Or is Shafie proposing that the Philippines' claim has merits?" "In fact, as the leader of Sabah, Shafie should be more assertive, and not yield to foreign claims that undermine Sabah's sovereignty," he said. Hishammuddin also reiterated that the Malaysian government would never entertain, let alone negotiate on any foreign claim on Sabah. On Aug 28, Shafie suggested that both Malaysia and Philippines should resolve Manila's claim over Sabah once and for all through negotiations. His suggestions, however, had drawn ire from the public, as well as politicians, including from the Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) president, Datuk Seri Anifah Aman. – New Straits Times
Charter motions hit by forgery claims
House Speaker Chuan Leekpai has ordered the Secretariat of the House of Representatives to look into allegations that some MPs falsified signatures of other MPs to support multiple motions on charter amendments. Mr Chuan said on Monday that irregularities involving the signatures were found in three out of four motions on charter amendments, which were submitted to the House last week by the opposition camp. An investigation is underway to see if any of the signatures were forged. The four motions relate to amendments to a number of articles in the 2017 constitution, which outline the powers and duties of the junta-appointed Senate and the election system. The first motion sought to amend sections 159 and 272, which empower senators to join the House to vote in a prime minister, while the second sought to amend sections 83, 85, 90, 92, and 105 to revise the election system. The third motion sought to amend sections 270 and 271 to bring about national reforms, while the fourth was intended to abolish Section 279, effectively revoking the orders issued by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). They are among the seven motions on charter amendments tabled to the House. – Bangkok Post
Indonesia to provide more self-isolation centers for asymptomatic, mild COVID-19 cases
The Indonesian government is set to provide more facilities to house asymptomatic coronavirus patients or those with mild symptoms to self-isolate, as the number of daily COVID-19 transmissions continues to hit new highs in the country. “The government has prepared quarantine centres for those who test positive for COVID-19, with or without symptoms, so that no one will self-isolate at home," President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said during a Cabinet meeting on Monday. "It is important because self-isolation at home could result in the virus being transmitted to family members." A number of one-star to three-stars hotels would be transformed into self-isolation centres, Jokowi added. For Jakarta, particularly, the government had forged partnerships with a number of hotel groups such as Accor – which includes Ibis and Novotel hotels – Harris Hotels group and some others, Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto said. “Two-star and three-star hotels in Jakarta can be used as self-isolation centres for asymptomatic COVID-19 patients. There are 10 to 15 hotels with 1,500 rooms, or 3,000 capacity each,” he said on Monday. The number of hotels could be increased to 30, if necessary, Terawan said, adding that the partnering hotel groups had also agreed to provide self-quarantine facilities outside the capital city. – The Jakarta Post
Drilon sees overprice in COVID-19 testing kits bought by government
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Monday questioned the government’s procurement of allegedly overpriced testing kits and medical equipment for COVID-19, saying the items were more than P400 million more expensive than those bought by the private sector. Drilon raised the issue at the 2021 budget hearing and asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to look closely at three contracts awarded by its Procurement Service (PS) and by the Department of Health (DOH). “There are a number of procurements done by the DBM-PS and based on our research, the prices were higher compared to the prices in the private sector,” he said in a separate statement. “From the three awards that we have studied alone, we could estimate that the total price was jacked up by almost half a billion. We could have saved around P422 million in taxpayer money if we exercised due diligence,” he added. One of the questioned transactions was the procurement of P688 million worth of testing kits from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. that were allegedly overpriced by P208 million. The DBM-PS bought 2,000 kits from Pharmally at P344,000 each, with each kit capable of conducting around 200 tests. But Drilon said the kit could be bought for P240,000 each. – INQUIRER.net
Four jailed in connection with Essex lorry tragedy
Four people have been jailed in connection with the Essex lorry tragedy last year in which 39 Vietnamese citizens died. Three others were also given suspended sentences at Hà Tĩnh People’s Court on Monday. They were prosecuted in connection with the death of Phạm Thị Trà My, 26, who sent a number of harrowing text messages to her family when she was trapped in the refrigeration unit of the lorry as it entered the UK in October. Nguyễn Quốc Thành, born in 1994, of Cần Thơ City was sentenced seven and half years in jail, fined VNĐ 20 million and had US$ 3,000 revoked; Nguyễn Thị Thuý Hoà, born in 1984, of Nghệ An province sentenced to six years in jail and fined VNĐ 15 million, Trần Đình Trường, born in 1985, of Hà Tĩnh Province, sentenced of five years in jail and fined VNĐ 10 million and Nguyễn Xuân Triều, born in 1996, sentenced to two and a half in jail plus fine of VNĐ 10 million. Lê Văn Huệ, 53 years old, Võ Văn Kỳ, 58 years old and Võ Văn Hồ 68 years old, all from Nghệ An Province, were given between 12 and 18 month suspended sentences and fined VNĐ 5 million each. The trial was first opened in August, but was adjourned due to the absence of the majority of witnesses. On Monday, the seven accused were found guilty of "organising and brokering illegal emigration". The defendant Võ Văn Kỳ was absent from the court as he is being treated for cancer. – Viet Nam News
Zero Covid-19 Deaths in Laos and Cambodia
Laos and Cambodia are now the only two countries in Southeast Asia to have avoided deaths related to Covid-19. Cambodia, with a comparatively larger population of 16 million, has confirmed a total of 275 cases of Covid-19. It has recorded zero deaths related to the virus, and confirms 274 people have recovered. Laos has confirmed a total of 23 cases of Covid-19 among its population of seven million, reporting no new cases of local transmission and no deaths, according to the National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control. Of this number, 22 patients have already recovered. On 14 September, Case 22 had made a full recovery, leaving hospital and returning to quarantine for fourteen days. According to the latest update from the Center For Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Southeast Asia has now confirmed a total of 562,825 cases of Covid-19. The Philippines has recorded the highest number of infections in Southeast Asia and ranks 21 in the world. The country has recorded a total of 265,888 cases, 42 deaths, with 207,504 recovered. Indonesia has seen the second-highest number of cases, ranking 23rd in the world with a total of 221,523 cases, 32 deaths, and 158,405 recovered. The World Health Organization has confirmed a total of 28,918,900 cases of Covid-19 across the world, with 922,252 deaths in 216 countries. – The Laotian Times