These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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3,000 civil servants to get $10m in compensation after errors in records affected their starting pay, benefits
Errors have been found in the records of around 3,000 former and current civil servants, which impacted benefits they received such as their starting salaries and medical leave wages. Disclosing this on Wednesday (Nov 18), the Public Service Division (PSD) said it discovered the errors while upgrading the civil service's human resources and payroll IT systems. The Civil Service will compensate both current and past officers who were underpaid due to these errors, with the total sum amounting to around $10 million. Those affected represented about 2 per cent of the civil servant population over the past two decades, said the PSD. It took more than two years after the errors were discovered to trace and validate the IT system errors, check through 102,000 current and past records which date back to the 1990s, and re-calculate benefits, the PSD added. Most of the errors related to inaccuracies in the full-time national service records of civil servants. Further checks also found errors in the calculation of medical leave wages, as well as in a program used to compute payments that some pensioners make when they retire from the service. The mistakes arose primarily because of human error in data entry, as well as the coding of the IT systems involved, the PSD said. These systems also had inadequate error detection capabilities, it noted. PSD said the Government will not be recovering the $3.9 million in excess money paid out, “given that these resulted from errors made a long time ago”. It is also working with all statutory boards to check and verify their employee records. "The statutory boards will similarly make good any errors if discovered," said the PSD. Mr Loh Khum Yean, who is permanent secretary of the PSD, said the Public Service is deeply sorry for the errors and inconvenience caused. – The Straits Times
Budget catalyst for construction industry growth
The RM7.35 billion allocation for the Works Ministry under the 2021 Budget is a boon for the construction industry and will serve as a catalyst for the nation's economic growth. Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the construction industry played an important role in driving the economy as well as creating business and employment opportunities. "Those involved in the construction industry are not just limited to developers, contractors, engineers and architects, but also suppliers and lawyers as well as skilled and semi-skilled workers. "It is an industry with multiplier effects. For instance, an allocation of RM1 million will create double the impact," he told a press conference yesterday. Present were ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Syed Omar Sharifuddin Syed Ikhsan, Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) chief executive Datuk Ahmad Asri Abdul Hamid, Works Department director-general Datuk Mohamad Zulkefly Sulaiman and Malaysian Highway Authority director-general Datuk Mohd Shuhaimi Hassan. Of the total allocation set aside for the ministry, Fadillah said RM6.088 billion would be used for development expenditure with the rest for the ministry's operational expenditure. The Petra Jaya member of parliament explained that that the ministry had identified seven new projects, involving RM3.8 billion. Among those identified for next year include the second phase of the Third Klang Bridge in Selangor, upgrading works involving a bridge crossing Sungai Marang, Terengganu, for the Kuala Terengganu-Kuantan route, and the construction of the Cameron Highlands bypass project in Pahang. Other new projects include the upgrading of the Gerik, Perak, to Kulim, Kedah, federal road as well as the building and upgrading of the Pulau Indah Ringroad Phase 3 in Selangor. "Some of the new projects are still in the planning stage and there are others ready to be tendered by the end of this year." The government under Perikatan Nasional, he said, aimed to bridge the infrastructure development gap between urban areas and the interior as well as between Sarawak and Sabah and the peninsula. He said this was reflected in the allocation of almost RM10 billion to carry out infrastructure projects in Sabah and Sarawak. "A total of RM5 billion and RM4.5 billion in allocations have been set aside to carry out 1,039 projects in Sabah and 789 in Sarawak." – New Straits Times
Protesters slam charter vote
Parliament's rejection of the people's constitution amendment draft has left anti-government protesters with no other choice but to press on with their street protests to achieve their goals, Jatupat "Pai Dao Din" Boonpattarasaksa, a protest leader, vowed on Wednesday. He was speaking after the draft, sponsored by rights group Internet Dialogue on Law Reform (iLaw) and supported by more than 100,000 people, was rejected at the end of the first reading. Only two drafts were passed on Wednesday at the end of the two-day parliamentary session held to scrutinise a total of seven drafts, including the iLaw measure. The drafts which were approved were proposed by the coalition parties and the opposition parties respectively. Mr Jatupat said he would not participate in a committee on reconciliation, touted as another attempt to defuse the political conflict between the government and protesters. He said Wednesday's decision by parliament was the last chance at compromise. Free Youth, a key element in the anti-government movement, posted on its Facebook page accusations of most MPs and senators serving the "dictator" and ignoring calls by the people. The group also accused parliament of barring attempts to amend Chapters 1 and 2 of the constitution, which deal with general provisions and the King respectively. This suggests any new constitution that was drafted would not really serve the people, said the group. Protest co-leader Arnon Nampa told protesters not to splash paint at the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother installed at the Royal Thai Police Headquarters. He said the target of the protesters was the police force and the protesters should not move away from that target as they would be walking into a trap set by the police. He did not elaborate. Another key protest leader, Panusaya "Rung" Sithijirawattanakul, insisted protesters wouldn't break into the headquarters of the Royal Thai Police as feared. – Bangkok Post
Jokowi 'ready' to receive first COVID-19 vaccine shot
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has expressed his willingness to be among the first people to be injected with the COVID-19 vaccine once it is ready for use. “If anyone asks whether the President was among the firsts or last [to receive the vaccine], as long as I’m asked I’ll be ready to be among the firsts,” Jokowi said during his visit to the Tanah Sareal community health centre (Puskemas) in Bogor, West Java, on Wednesday, as reported by antaranews.com. Jokowi visited the health centre to supervise a simulation for COVID-19 vaccination, accompanied by Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto and Bogor Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto. Despite stating his readiness, the President said health workers would be prioritized for the vaccine. “Who will get the first injections? They are the health workers, such as doctors, nurses and paramedics,” he said. The next groups on the priority list are members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police as well as civil servants and teachers, Jokowi added. Nevertheless, the government has yet to decide on which COVID-19 vaccine to use. “We are going to buy a vaccine from a brand that is listed with the World Health Organization. I’m not saying which brand just yet, but as long as it is on the WHO list, we’re going to use it,” the President said. “Apart from that, [we need to be certain] that the vaccine has the maximum effect.” Jokowi previously said that the government planned to carry out a mass vaccination program late this year or early next year. In August, Indonesia reportedly secured 300 million doses of a potential COVID-19 vaccine until the end of next year, following ministerial visits to China and the United Arab Emirates. Jokowi instructed Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Erick Thohir to meet with Chinese and Emirati officials to follow up on crucial vaccine cooperation as well as other economic partnerships. Following their four-day trip abroad, Retno said on Aug. 24 that the outcome of the visit had exceeded expectations, especially with regard to vaccine procurement. Indonesia has secured a commitment to receive 20 million to 30 million doses of the potential vaccine by the end of this year, some 80-130 million doses in the first quarter of next year and 210 million doses for the remainder of 2021, she said. – The Jakarta Post
Typhoon damage may affect PH’s rice sufficiency targets – DA
The damages caused by recent typhoons may result to a decrease in the country’s self-sufficiency for rice by a few percent from the current target of the Department of Agriculture (DA), Secretary William Dar said Thursday. In an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel, Dar said the DA wants to elevate the country’s rice self-sufficiency level for rice to 93 percent. “Now if we are able to meet that target, then we will only have to import seven percent of our total rice consumption,” he said. “With the typhoon damages now, that could go down and bring us back to almost 89 percent to 90 percent. We have yet to bring in 10 percent of our total rice consumption,” he added. Dar said that if the country is able to produce 90 percent of its target stock for rice, the supply for the remaining percentage will have to be imported from other countries. Asked if this means then that there will be more rice importation for 2021, Dar said: “Yes, that’s a given, because we are not able to produce yet 100 percent of our requirement.” Nevertheless, he assured that the country still has enough supply of rice despite the devastation caused by the recent typhoons, the latest of which was Typhoon Ulysses that brought severe flooding in parts of Luzon. He said that only eight days’ worth of rice supply have been damaged and that the country still has enough supply of rice for 82 days. “Within the year as I have said, by the end of the year meron pa tayong (we still have) 82 days to last meaning that will bring us another 82 days from January 2021, then meron na tayong production by late March and April,” he also said. Typhoons Quinta, Rolly, and Ulysses have caused P12.3 billion in damages to the agriculture sector based on DA’s data as of Thursday morning. – INQUIRER.net
Wood industry regains growth momentum
Despite a tough year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the national wood sector looks set to achieve its export turnover target of US$12 billion, and some wood processing businesses have so many orders while they are in short of workers to complete them, according to the Việt Nam Timber and Forest Product Association (Vietforest). The wood industry has consistently maintained two-digit growth rates in recent years, but the pandemic caused negative growth in the second quarter of 2020. Exports of wood products to key markets such as the US, China, South Korea, Japan and the EU sharply fell from April to June and many factories had to temporarily close due to a lack of orders, materials and capital. However, once the pandemic was basically controlled in July, countries started to restore production. Wood businesses resumed production with demand for wood furniture up significantly. The efforts of local producers have reaped positive results as the export value of timber and non-timber products in August topped $1 billion. In the first 10 months of the year, wood product exports reached $9.6 billion, up 12.4 per cent from the same period last year. Đỗ Xuân Lập, Vietforest’s chairman, said the market has faced fluctuations due to COVID-19, but domestic wood producers have not waited for customers and have sought new sales channels. Nguyễn Chánh Phương, vice chairman cum general secretary of the Handicrafts and Wood Industry Association of HCM City (HAWA), said since exhibitions and fairs were halted during the pandemic, the association sought orders online and digitised exhibitions. The HAWA Online Platform for Exhibition (HOPE), which connects Vietnamese wood processing and furniture firms with international and local buyers, was launched in August. HOPE features images of 360-degree showrooms, factories and workshops, a 3D product catalogue, social apps to enable 24/7 interaction between exhibitors and visitors, digital marketing, live events, and more. Phương said technology has brought opportunities but takes time for the administration. The contactless economy creates lower-cost exposure opportunities that can understand customers better, and turn them into projects to boost business operation. – Viet Nam News
Negative tests, positive end: Prime Minister cleared of COVID-19 and declares closure of ‘November 3 incident’
Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced that the “November 3 incident” is under control after he tested negative for COVID-19 in the final round of testing, after coming in contact with the infected Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó. Yesterday, Mr Hun Sen and those directly and indirectly involved in the “November 3 incident” were given their fourth and final COVID-19 test. In a Facebook post yesterday, Mr Hun Sen said, “The results of the fourth and final test are good for me, my wife and those who live with us, showing clearly it is negative for COVID-19. There is no infection of such a malignant disease.” “So as of tomorrow, I will go out to work and exercise outdoors. But I will not allow my children and grandchildren to come to my house for a while to ensure that I contract no virus to spread to them,” he said. “While waiting for the results of other people, I would like to announce that the ‘November 3 incident’ comes to a close,” he said. He said the mandatory quarantine would c
lose today for Phnom Penh with 1,569 people, Kandal province with 67 people, Pursat province with 40 people, Prey Veng province with 23 people and Kampong Thom province with three people. “On November 21, for Kampong Chhnang province with 11 people, on November 23, for Kep province with 18 people, Preah Sihanouk province with 40 people and Kampong Cham province with one person, and on November 25, for Preah Vihear province with 20 people and Ratanakiri province with 10 people,” he added. Mr Hun Sen claimed that he was able to declare an end to the ‘November 3 incident’ as the government managed to control 1,802 people in 11 provincial capitals involved in 14 days of proper testing and quarantine, and he discussed this issue thoroughly with the Minister and top officials of the Ministry of Health. “The operation of the ‘November 3 incident’ is very large and complicated to find those involved because it involved many people and many cities, provinces, districts, communes and villages that are difficult to find. But with the right leadership, hard work, solidarity and good cooperation, we could find all the people involved so that no community outbreaks could endanger our people,” he said. He said the announcement of the end of the ‘November 3 incident’ does not mean that the government will end its efforts to fight COVID-19. Mr Hun Sen said instead,” we need to work harder to prevent the hidden murderer [coronavirus] by wearing masks, hand washing and keeping a safe distance, as directed by the Ministry of Health”. – Khmer Times