These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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One-year-old among six imported Covid-19 cases from India, France and the Philippines
Six imported cases of Covid-19 were confirmed on Monday (Sept 28), including two children, aged one and three, who returned from India on Sept 15. The remaining four were a permanent resident and a work pass holder returning on Sept 16 also from India, a work pass holder from France and a work permit holder from the Philippines, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). All six were serving stay-home notices when they tested positive for Covid-19. In addition, there were two community cases, both work permit holders with Malaysian citizenship. One was working at Changi Airport. Both cases were detected as part of routine surveillance and screening. There was a total of 15 coronavirus cases confirmed on Monday at noon, taking Singapore's total to 57,715. Migrant workers living in dormitories made up the remaining seven of the 15 new infections. Four had been identified earlier as contacts of previous cases, and were already in quarantine when they were tested. The remaining three cases were detected through surveillance testing. No new clusters and no new locations visited by infectious Covid-19 patients were announced on Monday. The number of new daily cases in the community has remained stable at an average of fewer than one case per day in the past two weeks. – The Straits Times
Malls taking steps to curb Covid-19
Shopping malls have emphasised on the protection and well-being of shoppers as top priority at all times and have taken all possible steps to avoid Covid-19 infections. Malaysia Shopping Mall Association (PPK), in a statement last night, said complete sanitation, proper disinfection and deep cleaning of areas visited by those infected with Covid-19 had been carried out in strict accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Health. "Safety for all staff, tenants, patrons, visitors and shoppers is of primary concern and shopping malls are all following the accepted SOPs. "These include contact tracing, monitoring temperature, wearing of masks, providing hand sanitisers at mall entrances & other strategic spots for shoppers and also for staff," it said, here, today. PPK said once shoppers passed through the entrances, retailers again conduct the same procedure with contact tracing and hand sanitisation at their outlet entrances (with temperature checks being optional as the implementation of QR Code scanning would enable effective contact tracing to be conducted). "So, there is double screening for public confidence and safety. We are confident that this unprecedented pandemic will be overcome in the near future with the stringent and co-ordinated attention of our government, the public and the business community," it said. A number of Covid-19 cases involving the staff at five shopping malls in the Klang Valley had been reported in the last 10 days. – New Straits Times
All Sarasas schools face investigation
The Office of the Private Education Commission (Opec) has set up a special committee to investigate all 42 Sarasas private schools for more cases of student abuse following an incident at Sarasas Witaed Ratchaphruek School which provoked outrage among parents and the public. According to Opec, there have been recent complaints about bullying and inappropriate punishments at 34 Sarasas schools. "We have found that Sarasas Witaed Ratchaphruek School also ignored admittance quotas for its English programme. Under the rules, private schools are only allowed to admit 25 students per class for English lessons, but Sarasas Witaed Ratchaphruek School allegedly admitted 34 students per class," said Opec secretary-general Attapon Truektrong. Last week, several videos were widely shared online showing various occasions on which a teacher is seen assaulting kindergarten 1 pupils at the school. One video obtained from closed-circuit TV in the classroom showed the teacher pushing a girl to the floor and pulling her hair in the presence of teaching assistants who failed to intervene. Angry parents went to the school and confronted the teacher in the videos, identified as Ornuma "Khru Jum" Plodprong, on Sept 25. The school expressed regret and said it would take responsibility. It has fired the teacher and promised to take disciplinary action against other staff involved. School officials have met the parents and are providing assistance to families taking legal action against Ms Ornuma. Mr Attapon said Opec will work with the Department of Mental Health and send psychiatrists to evaluate the children in those classes. Moreover, Opec will work closely with the parents to take legal action against staff members who watched the teacher beat the young children but did nothing to stop it, he said. – Bangkok Post
COVID-19: Aceh, Bali added to list of prioritized provinces
The national COVID-19 task force has added Aceh and Bali to its list of prioritized provinces with the regions seeing rising daily case tallies. The two provinces were added to the eight provinces previously named top priorities in the government’s COVID-19 response, task force chief Doni Monardo said. The initial eight provinces named were Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, North Sumatra, South Kalimantan, South Sulawesi and Papua. “Now there are 10 provinces in total,” he announced during a virtual press conference after meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Monday, as reported by kompas.com. As of Monday, Aceh had recorded 4,325 confirmed cases and 167 fatalities, while Bali logged 107 new cases on Monday to increase its overall tally to 8,639 cases and 263 fatalities, according to Health Ministry data. Jokowi appointed Doni and Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan to supervise the implementation of COVID-19 measures in prioritized provinces. Task force spokesman Wiku Adisasmito previously said the President had set several goals for the aforementioned prioritized provinces, including a decline in the number of new cases recorded daily, an increase in recoveries as well as a decline in fatality rates. Read also: Indonesian Military deployed for coronavirus fight “The President demanded these goals be met within the next two weeks,” he said last week. Among the government’s many measures, it has kicked off Operasi Yustisi to monitor and discipline the public in regards to health protocol compliance in prioritized regions that are continuing to record spikes in COVID-19 cases. Separately, epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia’s School of Public Health Pandu Riono urged the government to enforce stricter social restrictions in prioritized provinces. – The Jakarta Post
Duterte, Angel Locsin ‘most admired’ man and woman in PH – survey
President Rodrigo Duterte and actress Angel Locsin have topped the list of “most admired” men and women in the Philippines in 2020. This is the second year that both ranked first together in YouGov’s “World’s Most Admired” list. Duterte received an “admiration score” of 19.67%, while the Darna star has a score of 15.03%, as per YouGov’s report on Sept. 23. Among the most admired Filipinas are second and third placers Catriona Gray and Sarah Geronimo, Liza Soberano who comes in sixth, Marian Rivera at number 10, and Vice President Leni Robredo who ranks 15th. Female international personalities admired by Filipinos include Taylor Swift, Angelina Jolie, Emma Watson, Oprah Winfrey and Queen Elizabeth II. On the list of men, the only other Filipinos who made it are Sen. Manny Pacquiao and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno. Foreign men whom Filipinos admire are Jackie Chan, Pope Francis, Bill Gates, Keanu Reeves, Barack Obama and Leonardo DiCaprio. Barack and Michelle Obama are the world’s most admired man and woman, with Barack bumping off Bill Gates from the top spot last year. In the Philippines, Barack ranks as the 8th-most admired man, while Michelle is at the 11th spot. YouGov, a United Kingdom market research and data analytics firm, held online polls in 42 areas from January to March this year to gather nominations that answer the question, “Thinking about people alive in the world today, which [man or woman] do you most admire?” Lists of 20 men and women were then compiled based on the nominations. – INQUIRER.net
Master plan for a competitive power market
A power development plan for 2021-30 with a vision to 2045 would not only meet electricity demand but also more importantly create a strong association between Việt Nam and other countries in the region towards a competitive power market. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoàng Quốc Vượng made the statement at a conference held in Hà Nội on Monday. Vượng said the power development master plan 8 had basically been completed and would be submitted to Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc for approval next month. The country's total power output is expected to increase by nearly 80,000MW by 2030. Large power sources such as coal, gas and LNG thermal power plants are expected to increase by over 30,000MW, while onshore and offshore wind and solar power plants will expand by approximately 50,000MW. “Most of these sources are located far from central power centres. Therefore, the development of transmission grids to carry the capacity of these power sources raises many issues that need to be considered. Research for the plan found that transmission patterns were likely to change, and instead of transmitting electricity from the North to the South as in the past, the direction would gradually change in the opposite direction,” he said. He added that the harmonious development of the transmission grid and the stable operation of the system needed to be carefully studied and considered. – Viet Nam News
Cambodia ready to welcome Japanese investors, says MoT
Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said that Cambodia is always ready to welcome and provide good hospitality to Japanese investors and tourists. The remark came during the inauguration of a new Japanese restaurant in Phnom Penh on Saturday night, attended by the Ambassador of Japan to Cambodia, Mikami Masahiro. Khon said that Cambodia is a close friend of Japan and always welcomes Japanese investment, especially in the tourism sector. “Cambodia has a lot of potential and it is favourable for tourist investors, especially who want to invest in eco-tourism, agro-tourism and rural tourism,” he said. Khon said there are numerous Japanese investors in the tourism sector, including the owners of hotels, restaurants and supermarkets and they have always shown confidence when investing in Cambodia. “Currently COVID-19 is under control in Cambodia and patients are recovering, under the guidance of the government and the Ministry of Health,” he said. Japanese ambassador Mikami Masahiro said at the event that Cambodia is developing rapidly, especially Phnom Penh. “As Cambodia has developed, the popularity of Japanese food has also increased, with about 300 Japanese restaurants now operating in Cambodia,” he said. – Khmer Times