These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Parliament: President Halimah approves extra $8 billion for Covid-19 support package
President Halimah Yacob has formally assented to the third Supplementary Supply and Budget Adjustments Bill that provides for an extra $8 billion in Covid-19 support, said Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin when Parliament sat on Tuesday (Nov 3). The Bill was introduced last month and 33 MPs aired their views during a two-day debate. The extra funds will help the Government provide support in sectors most severely affected by the coronavirus, including helping workers through the Jobs Support Scheme and Workfare Special Payment. President Halimah gave her assent to the Bill on Monday, she said in a Facebook post. She said: "It authorises a reallocation of expenditure from areas with reduced spending, such as disruptions to development projects due to Covid-19. "The Bill also includes some revenue foregone, but it does not result in a further draw on our past reserves beyond what I had given in-principle support for in March and May 2020." The Government approved an unprecedented four budgets this year amid the Covid-19 crisis, amounting to nearly $100 billion. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has estimated that this sum will prevent the economy from contracting by a further 5.6 per cent of gross domestic product in 2020, and 4.8 per cent in 2021. Economic support measures will also cushion the rise in resident unemployment rate by about 1.7 percentage points this year. – The Straits Times
Parliament building may be closed if Covid 19 infections detected
Parliament building may be closed if confirmed cases of Covid-19 infections are detected on its premises. The move is part of measures the Health Ministry has come out with in an advisory for parliament in the wake of the detection of several Covid-19 cases among its senate members. Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Harun declared that he had spoken to Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah and the latter had come out with a list of dos and don'ts. The advisory read out by his deputy Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said at the beginning of today's session highlighted that MPs cannot have meetings in big groups outside the assembly hall within the parliament compound or outside throughout the session. MPs are called to restrict their movement throughout the sitting and avoid mingling or attending big events and crowded places. "They (also) have to undergo swab tests every 2 weeks. Parliament will issue notices on this from time to time." He also said that the Health Ministry would conduct an evaluation of the Standard Operating Procedure if there are positive cases. "Any infections in parliament may result in the parliament building being closed if necessary." The declaration comes on the heels of several senate members having tested positive for Covid-19. Earlier, Dewan Rakyat approved a motion to shorten proceedings to 1pm until Thursday due to this. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan tabled the motion under Standing Order 12 (1), citing the Covid-19 infections of several Dewan Negara staff. – New Straits Times
Digital economy minister criticised for blocking porn website
Digital Economy and Society Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta has become a target of criticism after his ministry blocked access to Pornhub, a well-known adult website based outside the country. The ministry on Monday ordered all internet providers and mobile phone operators to ban all access to the website after the Criminal Court gave the ministry the green light to take action, because porn websites are illegal in Thailand. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 190 URL addresses of the website, which claims to be the world's leading free porn site, had been blocked under the DES order. But instead of receiving praise, Mr Buddhipongse has been attacked for violating the right of the people to free access to the media. "The Anonymous Party insists on the right to hold gatherings and the right to have access to all types of media," the group posted on its Facebook account on Tuesday. That freedom included media containing sexual content, as long as viewers were not forced to watch it, the group said. It called for a rally at the Government Complex, at Chaeng Wattana, at 4pm in opposition to the ministry's action. The Anonymous Party Facebook account is linked to rallies against the government. Its previous posts have included calls for all political activists to be released and a message urging all demonstrators to go to Bangkok Remand Prison to welcome those released from jail. National artist Suchart Sawadsri, who is a government critic, on Monday posted a message on his Facebook account vaguely dragging the issue into politics. "How will Thai politics get better if Pornhub is banned?" he wrote. – Bangkok Post
Daily COVID-19 cases decline, in line with testing
In the past few days, the number of COVID-19 infections has shown a downward trend. At the end of September and early October there were almost 5,000 positive cases daily, lately the number has decreased to below 3,000 cases. The number of COVID-19 positive cases reported on Oct. 31 was 3,143, down to 2,696 the next day and 2,618 on Monday before a slight increase to 2,973 on Tuesday. However, although the reported number of daily cases has decreased, the number of tests has also declined. The KawalCOVID19 initiative has recorded a decrease in tests and specimen examinations across the country. Acting director general of disease prevention and control at the Health Ministry, M. Budi Hidayat, said the decline in tests was because cases had also tended to fall. "The number of suspected cases has dropped, as well as the number of samples. In some provinces, cases have tended to fall, hopefully it will be a good trend," Budi said Monday as quoted by kompas.com. Referring to data from the World Health Organization, the number of suspected infections had continued to increase from the end of September to the end of October. Meanwhile the number of tests and specimen examinations has also decreased, which has caused a widening gap between suspected cases and tests being carried out. In response to the decline in the capacity of COVID-19 testing, Indonesian epidemiologist at Australia's Griffith University, Dicky Budiman, said that this could be vital, because we did not have an understanding of the real pandemic map in the country. According to Dicky, the low testing capacity is a classic problem in Indonesia, and there has not been any change. "Many policy makers will assume the situation has been brought under control due to the low coverage of testing. it will mislead them into making decisions in response,” he said. – The Jakarta Post
Use anti-communist task force funds for storm aid – senators
Opposition senators on Tuesday said a large chunk of the proposed budget for a government agency that had been gaining a reputation for branding progressive lawmakers, activists and administration critics as communists and enemies of the state would be better spent for victims of the recent destructive typhoon. About P16 billion of the P19-billion 2021 budget for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) was allocated for the development of 800 barangays around the country that had been “freed” of communist rebel influence. According to Sen. Risa Hontiveros, the anti-insurgency fund, which had been criticized by some senators as “pork-barrel-like” and prone to abuse, should instead be used for relief and rehabilitation of areas badly hit by Typhoon “Rolly” (international name: Goni). “During these times of calamities, our people in Bicolandia and other areas are in dire need of the millions of [pesos] from the government. It is clear that the billions earmarked for the NTF-Elcac would be better spent on helping Filipinos battered by the typhoon get back on their feet,” she said. Hontiveros made the statement on Tuesday after the hearing on the alleged Red-tagging by the task force of members of the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives and some celebrities. The Senate committee on national defense and security opened an inquiry into the NTF-Elcac’s claims that members of the Makabayan bloc were high-ranking members of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People’s Army and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP). – INQUIRER.net
Second stimulus package to focus on most affected sectors
The second stimulus package to aid the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic would focus on the most affected sectors, including aviation, tourism and consumption, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. The ministry has recently sent the draft of the second stimulus package to relevant ministries and agencies for comments, which included strong fiscal policies for vulnerable businesses and community groups. The highlight was policies for the aviation and tourism industry. The ministry proposed special policies to remove difficulties for aviation companies which were seriously suffering from the pandemic. Accordingly, the Government could provide guarantees to aviation companies in getting loans together with mechanisms for the State Capital Investment Company to invest in airlines. The policies for the aviation industry would support cash flow and liquidity for airlines to help them avoid bankruptcy which might bring instability to society and the economy. The financial support for the aviation industry in Government-backed loans was estimated at around VNĐ11 trillion (US$474 million). Due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, aviation companies were facing tumbling revenues and shortages of cash which might push them into insolvency. Trần Thanh Hiền, chief accountant of the national carrier Vietnam Airlines, said that airlines could run out of cash if they did not receive new short-term loans. The ministry also proposed a 70 percent reduction on environmental protection tax on jet fuel in 2021 with an aim to reduce costs and ease the pressure on cash flow for struggling airlines. The reduction could cause a drop of VNĐ2.46 trillion to State budget revenue, according to the ministry. For the tourism industry, the ministry proposed a reduction of 80 per cent of deposits for two years, from November 2020 to November 2022, aiming to help tourism enterprises have more working capital for their operation. Tourism companies must have deposits worth VNĐ100-500 million at commercial banks. – Viet Nam News
Ministry: All who aid Rainsy will face legal action
The Ministry of Justice yesterday warned that any activists or supporters of the court-dissolved CNRP who participate in aiding Sam Rainsy’s return will be considered to be attempting to overthrow the government and will face legal action. Rainsy, who is living in exile in Paris, recently announced again that he would return to the Kingdom soon to eliminate what he called a treasonous regime. “We need to rescue and liberate our nation from the hands of a treasonous regime, from killing our nation, like they are killing our mother,” Rainsy announced in a video clip posted on Facebook in August. “I will come to gather the forces. I believe about 90 percent of the population love the nation, but only one percent are loyal to [Prime Minister] Hun Sen.” Ministry of Justice spokesman Chin Malin said yesterday that those who participate with Rainsy and other former CNRP leaders in the plot will face legal action. “They intend to incite activists and supporters to revolt against the government and overthrow it. There
fore, whether they participate in the implementation of this plan or support the illegal plan in any form and by any means, is to participate in committing crimes and they will be held responsible before the law,” he said. Malin compared Rainsy’s new plan to the one last year, when more than 70 former CNRP activists were arrested over what the government call an attempted coup. They were later released on bail. “This new plan is no different from the one on November 9, 2019. It is a wicked plan that is illegal because it is organised by a group of criminals,” he added. – Khmer Times