These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Changi Airport turns to online sales to keep retail businesses going
Customers can now choose from about 17,000 items on the iShopChangi platform, more than triple the number available before the coronavirus outbreak struck. That is one of the ways Changi Airport Group (CAG) has moved to help retailers at the airport reach out to non-travellers in Singapore, as international travel remains at a standstill amid the pandemic. CAG said online sales by Changi Airport retailers have surpassed pre-pandemic numbers, though it did not provide specific figures. Said CAG spokesman Ivan Tan: "Currently, more than 90 per cent of our customers are non-travellers... Wines and spirits, beauty and electronics continue to be most popular with our customers." The pivot to online sales comes with barely any travellers passing though the airport. Passenger traffic remains at less than 5 per cent of what it was before the pandemic, and retail sales at Changi Airport have plunged 74 per cent this year. At Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, which have remained open, only about half of the outlets in the transit areas are operating. Operations at T4 have been suspended, while T2 remains closed after plans for upgrading works were brought forward. Mr Tan said work has been done to transform Changi's food and beverage business through the launch of the Changi Eats food delivery service in June. There are now 40 brands offering over 800 food, drink and snack items on the platform. He said the number of orders received had grown almost fivefold since its launch, proving it was "plugging a market gap and demonstrating how we are value-adding to our customers". CAG has also helped businesses in areas such as rental rebates, shorter operating hours and training opportunities. Most recently, it launched shopping tours of its transit areas, held on weekends and by invitation only. They are targeted at customers who would otherwise have been travelling and shopping at Changi during the year-end holiday period. Mr Tan said: "These shopping tours allow us to continue to engage our customers and share our deep knowledge of travel retail products with them." – The Straits Times
MIDA identifies 23 high impact projects to boost 2021 FDI
The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) has identified 23 high impact projects potentially capable of bringing in investments worth RM75.4 billion into the country next year. Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Lim Ban Hong said as of Oct 31, MIDA was in the process of evaluating 786 projects worth RM35.8 billion in the manufacturing and services sectors from foreign investors. "MIDA is in the process of evaluating the projects, to be brought into the country next year, before it is tabled in the National Committee on Investment (NCI) for approval," Lim told the Dewan Rakyat today. He was responding to a question from Datuk Ahmad Nazlan Idris (Barisan Nasional – Jerantut) who asked the ministry to state its projection of foreign direct investments (FDI) for 2021 as well as efforts to attract more foreign investors to the country. On the projection of the FDI for 2021, Lim said it was imperative to look into the investments which have been approved for this year. From January until September this year, he said, the government approved a total of RM109.8 billion worth of investments in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors. He said the manufacturing sector was the biggest contributor to the total investment at RM65.3 billion, followed by the services and primary sectors which stood at RM42.8 billion and RM1.7 billion respectively. "The investments which were approved during this period involved 2,935 projects and it is expected to create 64,701 employment opportunities," he said. To ensure Malaysia remains a top investment destination for foreign investments, Lim said the government through the ministry has rolled out a number of measures and introduced several initiatives. Among them included empowering the government services delivery system to hasten the approval and implementation of projects through the digital platform. He said the ministry has also set-up a Project Acceleration and Coordination Unit to facilitate investment approvals and a one-stop system to manage applications for business travellers from other countries to enter Malaysia. "We have also introduced several incentives to encourage foreign investors to invest in Malaysia. "The minister has also conducted several seminars virtually involving stakeholders and potentials investors in the country and also from abroad," he said. – New Straits Times
Twitter suspends royalist account linked to influence campaign
Twitter has suspended a pro-royalist account linked to the palace that a Reuters analysis found was connected to thousands of others created in recent weeks spreading posts in favour of His Majesty the King and the monarchy. The Reuters review found tens of thousands of tweets that an expert said appeared to be from accounts amplifying royalist messaging in a push to counter a months-long protest movement that has swelled from opposing the government to breaking a longstanding taboo by challenging the monarchy. Internal army training documents reviewed by Reuters showed evidence of a coordinated information campaign designed to spread favourable information and discredit opponents. The pro-monarchy @jitarsa_school account was suspended after Reuters sought comment on Wednesday from Twitter on the recent royalist campaign on the social media platform, where protesters have long had a strong presence. Protesters and royalists have cited the importance of social media in propelling the protest movement, which has become the biggest challenge in decades to the monarchy as well as the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Created in September, the @jitarsa_school account had more than 48,000 followers before its suspension. "The account in question was suspended for violating our rules on spam and platform manipulation," a Twitter representative said on Sunday. She said the suspension was in line with the company's policies and not a result of the Reuters request for comment. – Bangkok Post
Bogor’s COVID-19 hospitals at near capacity
COVID-19 hospitals in Bogor regency, West Java, have shown a rapid increase in patient intake, Bogor Deputy Regent Iwan Setiawan has revealed. According to Iwan, several hospitals have reached full capacity and some are 75 percent occupied, exceeding the World Health Organization’s (WHO) suggestion of 60 percent capacity. The occupancy rate increased in the wake of a series of mass gatherings centered around the return of Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab from self-exile in Saudi Arabia, as well as a long weekend in late October, he added. These factors have also contributed to the rising number of daily COVID-19 cases since the sixth phase of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB). “The highest occupancy rate can be seen at hospitals in Cibinong, Ciawi and Kemang. This was caused by the rising trend of daily positive cases. Therefore, we extended the PSBB policy,” Iwan said as quoted by kompas.com. He expressed his concerns that the regency was unable to control the spread of the virus. Bogor regency extended PSBB measures for another 28 days. Having more COVID-19 cases in upcoming days would mean that the hospitals might no longer have the capacity to treat patients. Therefore, Agus urged the public to keep implementing health protocols and remain cautious upon conducting activities outside of their homes. To ease the pressure off hospitals operating at full or near capacity, the Bogor regency administration added isolation rooms for asymptomatic COVID-19 patients as well as those with mild symptoms. Agus said the administration had collaborated with the Artha Graha Peduli Foundation to use its AGP-SGA Training Center in Cibogo village, Megamendung district, as an emergency isolation facility for COVID-19 patients. The facility comprises three buildings that can accommodate 66 beds for patients and 21 for health workers. It’s also equipped with bathrooms, a fitness center and public kitchen tents. “We are not referring the patients to other regions; we are still able [to accommodate them] as we are cooperating with Artha Graha Peduli in Megamendung,” Agus said. The Bogor Regency Health Agency announced that as of Saturday, the occupancy rate of COVID-19 hospitals in the area has surpassed 80 percent, with 662 out of the total 812 beds occupied. The agency also reported that eight hospitals had already reached full occupancy, namely Sentra Medika Cibinong Hospital, Cileungsi General Hospital, Bina Husada, Thamrin, Dompet Dhuafa, KBP, Permata Jonggol and Anisa Hospital. – The Jakarta Post
DOF to PITC: Return P1 billion in interest on ‘idle’ funds
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III is pressing Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) for the turnover to the national coffers of over P1 billion in interest on P33 billion in taxpayer money sitting idle in the accounts of the state-run procurement company, the Inquirer learned on Sunday. In a Nov. 27 letter, the head of the government’s economic team urged Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, the PITC chair, to revert to the treasury P1.151 billion representing the balance of interests earned on funds held in trust by PITC for its client agencies to purchase various goods, such as fire trucks, army boots and first-aid kits. “Following our discussion, we would like to request the return to the Bureau of Treasury by PITC, the interest earned on such funds held in trust,” Dominguez said in the letter, a copy of which was sent to Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, who had exposed the existence of billions of pesos in idle funds in the trading company overseen by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). “From 2018 to 2019, the interest earned on such funds totalled P1.151 billion,” said Dominguez, whose letter Drilon shared exclusively with the Inquirer on Sunday. Dominguez called Lopez’s attention to the cash and balances held in trust by PITC for several government agencies amounting to P33.3 billion by the end of 2019. That went slightly down to P32.6 billion as of Oct. 31, representing PITC’s completed deliveries, but the remaining balance indicated the huge backlog of procurement requests. Lopez declined to comment on Dominguez’s letter. PITC President and CEO Dave Almarinez has not responded to a request for comment from the Inquirer as of press time Sunday. Earlier, Drilon said he believed government agencies were choosing to “park” their unused funds for procurement of goods with PITC to dodge budgeting and procurement laws that required them to return unspent appropriations to the treasury at the end of the fiscal year. In a letter to Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado dated Nov. 25, Dominguez asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to recommend to the President the return of the entirety of PITC-held funds to the treasury. Lopez, however, insisted that there was nothing irregular in PITC’s transactions, arguing that all funds deposited with the corporation were either ongoing procurement or already awarded to suppliers. Dominguez, in his letter to Lopez, cited the Commission on Audit (COA) 2019 audit report on PITC showing that the company apparently did not follow procedure by recording the interest earnings on the fund transfers as income and using the money for its operations instead of returning it to the treasury. – INQUIRER.net
Supporting innovative start-ups for sustainable development
Together with advantages of a golden population, abundant human resources and huge potential to grow, applying scientific and technological achievements would help Việt Nam catch up with the world, said Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Trần Văn Tùng. In his opening remarks at the High-level policy dialogue on connecting resources to support innovation on Saturday, in the framework of TechFest Viet Nam from 27-29 November 2020, Tùng said that Việt Nam’s ecosystem for innovation had entered a new stage that requires further connections to make use of resources effectively. “In order to have a close connection, the human factor is essential and indispensable,” Tùng said. He said the Ministry of Science and Technology continued connecting Việt Nam’s start-ups with the US’ Silicon Valley, expecting that Vietnamese start-ups could gain international experience and build an innovative ecosystem which could create breakthroughs to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. Start-ups in Silicon Valley usually heard that one would not succeed if they had not failed before, and that people could learn from failures, Tùng said, encouraging start-ups to “Go ahead! You may fail but don’t be afraid of failing.” As the fourth industrial revolution was thriving, it was a must for Việt Nam to promote and speed up its innovation ecosystem so that innovative start-ups could connect and work with major groups as well as organisations, Tùng emphasised. The forum brought together young entrepreneurs and start-up ecosystem supporters – policymakers, development partners, investors, bankers and researchers – to discuss how to support innovative start-ups and help them overcome challenges. Deputy Minister Tùng reiterated the Government’s commitment to continuing to promote the development of the domestic start-up ecosystem, at the same time, attracting the participation of start-ups, investors, and the best experts in the world. There are now more than 1,400 organisations capable of supporting start-ups in Việt Nam, including 196 co-working spaces, 69 business incubators and 28 business promotion organisations. The number of venture capital funds that consider Việt Nam a target market or have operations in Việt Nam is 108. These numbers have continuously increased over the past years, demonstrating the active participation of the ecosystem. – Viet Nam News
Cambodia’s COVID-19 community outbreak increases to 14, tally now at 323
Cambodia’s Ministry of Health this morning announced eight new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the tally thus rose to 323. According to ministry’s press release, the new cases are all Cambodians living in Phnom Penh, of them five women, two men and a child. They are all related to the Nov. 28 Community Event (first community outbreak found on the spouse of a senior official at the Ministry of Interior). They have been admitted to the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital in the capital. The 323 confirmed cases in the Kingdom include 207 Cambodians, 45 French, 18 Chinese, 13 Malaysians, 9 Indonesians, 9 Americans, 6 British, 3 Vietnamese, 3 Canadians, 3 Indians, 2 Hungarians, 2 Pakistanis, 1 Belgian, 1 Kazakhstani, and 1 Polish. Meanwhile, no new patient has recovered; therefore, the total number of cured patients remains at 301, or 93.20 percent of the confirmed cases with no fatal case. Regarding the Nov. 28 Community Event, named by Prime Minister Hun Sen this morning to avoid any possible discrimination, as of Nov. 29, 3,332 specimens of those coming in contact with the event have been taken, but only 2,248 specimens have been tested (up to 01:30 am of Nov. 30), of them 14 are COVID-19 positive. The Ministry of Health also announced the schedule for the tests: 1st test: Nov. 29-30, 2nd test: Dec. 8, and 3rd test: Dec. 12 at Aeon Mall 1, Ministry of Interior, Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital (for concerned students and teachers), and Prey Sar Prison (for all concerned people at that place). The Ministry of also clarified that the first community case reported, that of a 56-year old Cambodian female was a local outbreak and not imported as it was erroneously reported that she had returned from the United States. The additional eight community cases are all Cambodians. – Khmer Times