These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Punggol Coast MRT station ready by 2024, 40% of work completed
The upcoming Punggol Coast MRT station will be ready by 2024, with about 40 per cent of construction work completed. Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung gave this update on Friday (Nov 13), at a ceremony to mark the completion of tunnel boring works from the existing Punggol station to the future Punggol Coast station. The new station, a 1.6km extension of the North East Line, was initially slated for completion in 2023 but has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will connect commuters to the developing Punggol Digital District, a business park that will be co-located with the Singapore Institute of Technology campus. Mr Ong, in his speech, said the MRT station was an essential component of the development. He said: "There is no point building a new district that people cannot get to. Just look at places like Tokyo Station in Japan, Piccadilly Circus Station in London and Grand Central Station in New York. They are synonymous with the vibrant and prosperous districts that they serve. "I hope the upcoming station will become synonymous with the good jobs, quality education and smart lifestyle that Punggol Digital District brings." Punggol Coast MRT station is expected to be used by more than 75,000 employees of the new business park, students and residents in the area. It is part of the Government's plan to expand the rail network from around 230km today to 360km by the early 2030s, and to bring eight in 10 households within a 10-minute walk of a train station. The business park in Punggol, being developed by JTC Corporation, will offer more than 28,000 new jobs in infocomm technology fields such as cyber security and data science. – The Straits Times
Federal digitalisation and infrastructure funds from central will benefit Sabah
Sabah stands to benefit from the 2021 Budget particularly on high technology, infrastructure and empowerment funds, said its deputy Chief Minister Datuk Dr Joachim Gunsalam. Referring to the RM1.5 billion High Technology Fund for industrialisation, he said the government wants to make Malaysia a destination for high-value economic activities. "I see this as an avenue for Sabah to push our potential development in higher value-added industries especially biochemical. "In addition, the grants to assist Small to Medium Enterprises (SME) to digitalise and automise coupled with the RM1.2 billion micro credit schemes would surely help them," he said in a statement. Joachim, who is also the state Industrial Development minister, said the 2021 Budget provides RM100 million and an additional RM42 million for improving internet connectivity. He added that such infrastructure development is relevant to industrial parks in Sabah such as the Palm Oil Industrial Culture (POIC) in Lahad Datu which has been seeking funds to upgrade its roads and other infrastructures. Meanwhile, the Kundasang assemblyman added that the authorities should speed up in identifying target groups eligible for the macro allocation from RM11.2 billion meant to narrow the disparity gap, RM4.6 billion to empower Bumiputera entrepreneurs and RM95 million micro credit scheme for Bumiputera women entrepreneurs. "These figures are all macro allocations. It is up to the officials to quickly identify the target groups who qualify for the funds and help them to access them." The Minister added that the training programmes to enhance locally manufactured products and the RM35 million to promote locally made products will augur well for the state. "It is pertinent for Sabah to capitalise on these initiatives to encourage more production and sale of the state's locally made products such as traditional handicrafts and local foods." – New Straits Times
Union demands end to use of city buses to block protesters
The city bus workers union is demanding an end to the use of BMTA buses to block the path of protest marchers, saying the agency is being wrongfully dragged into the political conflict. The State Enterprise Workers Union branch at the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) on Thursday said no more city buses should be used by police as blockades to halt the progress of protest marchers. The union also staunchly opposed a move by the Metropolitan Police Bureau and BMTA to bring claims against the protesters for damage to buses used as barriers. "The workers union strongly disagrees with police and the BMTA suing the protesters for the damage," it said in a statement issued on Thursday. The union statement did not say who should be responsible for the damage. But its previous statement, on Oct 26, said police should bear the cost. Ordinary "hot-air" buses have been parked across roads to obstruct protest marches on at least six occasions, including on Oct 14 when they were used to block the way to Government House. Most recently, they were used last Sunday at Sanam Luang. Three buses were parked to prevent demonstrators from walking over to the Grand Palace, with police lined up behind them. Buses were also seen on other roads the marchers may have chosen to use when leaving the Democracy Monument. The union is also at odds with BMTA director Surachai Iamwachirasakul for allowing city police to use the vehicles for the wrong purpose. Its Oct 26 statement demanded that he protect the fleet from such misuse, and even threatened legal action against him if he continued to ignore their call. "People are being misled into believing the BMTA is taking sides in politics, and that is damaging the agency," union leader Boonma Pongma said. – Bangkok Post
Shortage in hospital beds as COVID-19 case number rises in Bandar Lampung
Bandar Lampung, the capital of Lampung, faces a shortage of hospital beds to treat COVID-19 patients as the city has seen a fast rise in confirmed cases. As of Wednesday, Bandar Lampung has recorded 1,200 cases, which account for 49.07 percent of the province’s cumulative 2,445 cases. Bandar Lampung has been designated as a red zone, or an area with a high risk of COVID-19 contagion. This has seen occupancy at Bandar Lampung’s 10 COVID-19 referral hospitals rise, with seven of them close to being full. Only eight of 194 beds are available at these seven hospitals combined. On Wednesday alone, the city saw 36 new cases, which contributed to the province’s 95 new cases reported that day. The previous day, Lampung booked 99 new cases. Bandar Lampung Health Agency head Edwin Rusli said he would raise the capacity of isolation facilities at several COVID-19 referral hospitals. “We’ve asked hospitals to add isolation rooms for COVID-19 patients,” he said on Wednesday as quoted by kompas.id. Nevertheless, Edwin said that he had not yet decided on the exact figures of the additional beds needed, as his team was still assessing the situation. In the meantime, the Bandar Lampung COVID-19 handling team is about to work with a new referral center, Budi Medika Hospital, to help address the bed shortage. As an alternative, the city administration also plans to utilize a haj guesthouse as an isolation facility to accommodate coronavirus-positive patients. Edwin expressed confidence that, with those arrangements, no COVID-19 patient would be rejected for treatment at hospitals. Thus far, referral hospitals only accept patients with symptoms. Lampung saw a significant increase in confirmed cases early this month as compared to last month. Prior to extended holidays in late October, the province saw between 20 and 50 cases per day. – The Jakarta Post
Typhoon Ulysses: Like ‘Ondoy’ all over again
It was like Typhoon “Ondoy” (international name: Ketsana) all over again for many in Metro Manila after torrential rains from Typhoon “Ulysses” (international name: Vamco) inundated large areas of the national capital overnight. Marikina City again was the hardest hit and the riverside Provident Village in Barangay Tañong was submerged once more in muddy water that reached the second floor of homes of the middle-class community on Thursday. Many residents climbed to the roofs of their houses to escape the rising water, parents clutching their young children, all of them wet in the rain. George Bolima, who moved to the residential subdivision three years ago, brought his family to the second floor of his house around 8 a.m. Fearing the steadily rising floodwater, and without food and water, he hoped for an early rescue. “If the flood continues to rise, then we have nowhere else to go,” he told the Inquirer in an exchange of cellphone messages. Bolima, who lived with his siblings, parents and a 2-month-old baby girl, said the floodwater began rising at 7 a.m. and in just an hour swallowed the entire first floor of his house. “We know that we cannot all be rescued simultaneously here in Provident Village due to the high number of people calling for help. But we are hoping that the private sector can also help us,” he said. “We are afraid, the children are afraid. If the flood reaches us, we will have nothing left.” Bolima could have run out battery hours later as he was no longer responding to the Inquirer’s messages. According to Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro, 223 people from Provident Village had been rescued as of 7 p.m. on Thursday. He earlier told the Inquirer in a phone interview that around 9,800 other people were given shelter in the city’s 49 evacuation centers. He said many people could not be accounted for by the local authorities because they had fled to the homes of relatives or friends in safer areas, or preferred to spend the night in their cars to wait for floodwaters to subside. “All the memories of Ondoy came back to us,” Teodoro said. “We know that we did all we could to prepare for this typhoon, but this is an act of nature. We should take seriously the issues relating to climate change and really include [these] in our priority programs.” The mayor admitted that his city’s resources were “overstretched” so he asked for rescue workers from the centres national government. He said he held a conference call with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) late Wednesday night. Both agreed to deploy rescue teams to several villages that had been submerged. But rescue efforts in Barangays Nangka, Tumana and Malanday were made difficult by the narrow village streets, the strong water current, and passageways blocked by electric wires that could already be grasped by hand due to the high-water level. – INQUIRER.net
37th ASEAN Summit and related summits begin
The 37th ASEAN Summit and related summits officially kicked off on Thursday morning in the form of a teleconference, focusing discussions on responding to COVID-19 and economic recovery in the post-pandemic period. Delivering welcoming remarks at the summits’ opening ceremony in Hà Nội, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam and President Nguyễn Phú Trọng highlighted the central role of ASEAN and the spirit of “Cohesive and responsive” in regional co-operation in response to the pandemic. In spite of COVID-19 ravaging the region in 2020, ASEAN member states have demonstrated determination and efforts to overcome challenges and made political commitments at the highest level, he said. “Public confidence in the COVID-19 response capacity of ASEAN governments is at a high level. ASEAN has been successful in maintaining its activities and its role and position over the past year. ASEAN’s partners continue to attach importance to relations with the bloc and support its centrality.” Positioning a suitable foothold in a post-COVID-19 world is a major matter for ASEAN. Strong desire and willingness of maintaining regional peace, stability and solidarity based on respect for international laws have become and need to be a core value of Southeast Asia and the ASEAN Community, he said. He called on ASEAN countries “to promote their collaboration to realise initiatives and recovery strategies in a practical and effective manner”. “ASEAN must uphold its central role and values in regional dialogues. The bloc can make effective contributions to the efforts of fostering multilateral co-operation, upholding international laws and strengthening international multilateral systems with the United States and other countries,” he said. – Viet Nam News
A pandemic of rumours
The Ministry of Health has categorically denied reports that over half of 900 people tested in connection with the “November 3 incident” were positive. Secretary of State Youk Sambath made the statement yesterday after a man on social media made the allegation, starting nationwide rumours. Sambath expressed regret over those who fabricated the unfortunate news, and considered the incitement to be a poisonous intent to cause social unrest. “In connection with the ‘November 3 incident’, from November 4 to 11, there were 2,497 tests administered for first and second tests. Of those, only four were positive for COVID-19. Other than that, all the results were negative,” she said. While rejecting the misinformation, she asked the relevant authorities to deal with these criminals to prevent social unrest. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hun Sen has brushed aside a rumour that the government would lock down Phnom Penh and impose a travel ban to stem the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr Hun Sen said on his Facebook page yesterday, that recently, a handful of bad people have spread rumours that the government will lock down Phnom Penh and ban interprovincial travels. “As the head of the government, I would like to confirm that there will be no lockdown of any country or capital, province or region,” he said. “The unfortunate propaganda of these bad guys is aimed at making the country chaotic with the prices of goods rising, while people would not live in peace.” He added that the main way to fight against COVID-19 is that all people protect themselves according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, especially by wearing a mask, washing hands, not gathering and keeping a safe distance. – Khmer Times