These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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TraceTogether programme hits 70% participation among Singapore residents
Some 70 per cent of Singapore residents are now participating in the national contact tracing programme TraceTogether (TT), fulfilling a target the Government had earlier set-in order for the country to enter phase three of its reopening. But authorities will not implement TraceTogether-only SafeEntry at venues such as cinemas and malls until everyone has had the chance to collect their TT token or download the app, Minister-in-Charge of the Smart Nation Initiative Vivian Balakrishnan said on Wednesday (Dec 23). Dr Balakrishnan, who is also Foreign Minister, said on Wednesday (Dec 23) that 70 percent of residents here are either users of the TT app or the TT token as of Monday. "We've gone past the 70 per cent participation rate in TraceTogether. There's been more than two million people who have downloaded the app and have registered and are using it," he told reporters on the side-lines of a TT token distribution exercise in Kampong Kembangan Community Club in Eunos. "In addition, since Sept 14 when we started the distribution of the TraceTogether tokens, we have distributed so far about 1.75 million tokens. So that's a significant number and I'm very grateful for the trust and confidence of Singaporeans." On Oct 20, Education Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the ministerial task force leading Singapore's response to Covid-19, first said that the 70-per-cent target was among the requirements before Singapore could go to the third phase of reopening its economy. – The Straits Times
Rice smuggling still rampant, with no end in sight
Rice smuggling activities are still rampant in border areas despite regular enforcement operations mobilised by the Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry’s Padi and Rice Regulatory division. Foreign syndicates are known to smuggle rice, purchased cheaply in countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, through illegal routes or lorong tikus at the border into Malaysia where it is sold at the standard price of about RM2.60 a kilogramme or at even higher prices. According to rice industry coalition Padi Rescue chief coordinator Nurfitri Amir Muhammad, the tactic used by the smugglers has helped them to reap huge profits. It was reported recently that rice smuggled from Thailand is being sold at RM48 for a 10kg pack, which was RM16 higher than the usual price. Nurfitri Amir said he has received information from his sources that the syndicates have grown bold enough to use approved permits (AP) to smuggle rice into Malaysia through container ships. "My sources also claimed that by just using one AP, the syndicates can bring in excess goods and that this is happening at our ports and borders," he told Bernama. He also wondered how the syndicates dispose of the contraband rice "dumped" into the Malaysian market considering that rice stocks are usually sold to wholesalers and retailers such as supermarket chains and sundry shops. The issue of rice smuggling is not a new one and has over the years received wide media coverage. The authorities have swooped on smugglers whose modus operandi were exposed in the media but despite enforcement activities, smuggled rice is still being sold openly in the market. – New Straits Times
Virus fear threatens New Year
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has signalled a halt to the easing of travel restrictions and the reimposition of tough disease control measures, including a potential ban on New Year's celebrations, in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak in Samut Sakhon at the weekend. "This outbreak serves as an important reminder of how serious a threat the Covid-19 pandemic remains to our nation. At the same time, the global Covid situation has also taken a sudden and serious turn for the worse," the prime minister said during a TV Pool broadcast on Tuesday. He went on to say that December has seen the numbers of deaths each week surge into the hundreds and even thousands in many countries. "The worsening global Covid-19 situation will have a serious impact on Thailand, and we must prepare ourselves. "First, it means the world economy will take longer to recover which will impact our own economic recovery, too. "Second, it means that we will have to be even more careful about relaxing rules to let people from other countries into Thailand. "Since the situation is so bad outside of Thailand, the biggest risk is that people entering the country will bring the disease in with them, and this could spell disaster for our health system and have a catastrophic impact on the economy," the prime minister said. "That is why we must be especially careful at our airports, train entry points, bus and car entry points, sea entry points and all other places where people enter the country," Gen Prayut said. "I thank the many people involved in ensuring the security of these entry points for their diligence because it only takes a few infected people slipping past them to create great economic and health hardship for hundreds of thousands of others," he said. "And the third consequence of the worsening global situation will be the need for Thais to keep their guard up inside Thailand. – Bangkok Post
Kemayoran emergency hospital studies conjunctival swab test to detect COVID-19
The COVID-19 emergency hospital at the Wisma Atlet Kemayoran in Central Jakarta has started a study on early COVID-19 detection through a conjunctival swab test, after patients reported experiencing eyesight issues prior to showing the disease’s usual symptoms. “This could be a cheap and quick screening method to detect COVID-19 in patients in order to advance treatment,” Tugas Ratmono, the coordinator of the COVID-19 emergency hospital, said as quoted by tempo.co on Monday. This research was based on a hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can also spread to the patients’ eyes because the eyes and nasal cavity are connected by a canal. “People are prohibited from rubbing their eyes with their hands because the eyes could be an entrance for the coronavirus to enter human’s bodies,” Tugas said. The research is being conducted by the hospital’s main researcher Rina La Distia Nora with her co-workers Rina Dwi Ningtias Mei Riasanti and Gladya Utami. The study is titled “Early SARS-CoV-2 Detection of Conjunctiva Swab Sample Through PT-PCR Examination”. The study itself was conducted in hopes that swab tests could be done with a conjunctival swab. The sample will later be examined through the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), which is similar to the extraction of samples from the nasal cavity and throat. Wisma Kemayoran, Tugas continued, was supporting the study so that it could be applied to detect COVID-19. “This research is very important, not only to explore other possibilities to treat COVID-19 but also strategies to overcome other health threats,” Tugas said. A study published in the monthly peer-reviewed medical publication Journal of Medical Virology in June also examined the possibilities of detecting SARS-CoV-2 RN in conjunctival secretions. – The Jakarta Post
Cops kill drug suspect in shootout during Tacloban buy-bust
A drug suspect was killed in a shootout with the police during a buy-bust operation in this city on Tuesday night. Andres Mirasol, 62, considered a high-value target, was gunned down after he allegedly drew his firearm. Reports from the Tacloban City Police Office (TCPO) disclosed that the city policemen, joined by the elements of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), conducted an operation against the suspect. Upon learning that he was transacting with a poseur-buyer, Mirasol drew his gun and fired at the law enforcers, prompting the latter to retaliate. Mirasol was rushed to a private hospital but was declared dead on arrival by the attending doctor. Recovered in the crime scene were 27 plastic sachets containing shabu, two opened heat-sealed plastic sachets containing shabu residues, two heat-sealed plastic sachets containing dried marijuana leaves, and a small pile of shabu. In another buy-bust operation in the city, operatives seized 11 pieces of plastic containing suspected shabu with a street value of P216,500 from two suspects identified as Levi Maragrag, 19, and Bryan Miralles, 25. The suspects are detained at the lock-up jail of the TCPO, pending the filing of charges against them. – INQUIRER.net
Việt Nam’s cooperative economy potential has not been tapped: PM
Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has asked the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA) to work closely with authorised agencies to fully exploit the potential of cooperatives, promoting the development of the collective economy and cooperatives through the effective implementation of public services and programmes. He made the request at the 6th National Congress of the Vietnam Cooperatives’ Alliance for the 2020-2025 tenure held in Hà Nội on Tuesday. It was necessary to remove difficulties for cooperatives and scale up effective cooperative models. Phúc said the legal framework relating to the collective economy and cooperatives as well land, tax and credit should be reviewed to create optimal conditions to spur cooperatives’ operations and their members’ creativity. It was essential to allocate resources to implement the State's preferential policies for the collective economy and cooperatives which is in accordance with the balancing capacity of the state budget and the condition of the country. Domestic and global experience showed that connecting separate smallholders to form cooperatives and cooperative unions is the best way to improve the livelihoods of the millions of farming households, he said, adding that developing the collective economy must start from people’s demand. The PM said he was glad to hear a report delivered at the congress that in the 2016-2020 period the collective economy and cooperatives continued to develop in both quantity and quality. By the end of this year, there were 26,040 cooperatives, attracting 8.1 million members. The number of cooperatives that operate efficiently accounted for 59 per cent of the total number of cooperatives, an increase of three times compared to 2015’s figure while those applying high technology and production associated with the value chain rose by 6.8 times compared to that of 2015. Collective economy and cooperatives contributed about 4.8 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. – Viet Nam News
A merry COVID-19 Christmas
In the year of COVID-19, celebrating a normal Christmas is out of the question. Large gatherings and fairs have been cancelled and planned feasts have been scaled down to minimise the risk of spreading the virus. Joseph Lu, a member of the Phnom Penh Grace Christian Church in Boeng Keng Kang I commune where his aunt is a pastor and he spent much of his childhood, will celebrate this year’s Christmas service in front of a computer instead of mingling with others in his congregation. Lu said typically the church would have a large Christmas service with performances, gift-exchanging and a communal lunch. Teens from sister churches in Preah Sihanouk province and Phnom Penh’s Kamboul district would visit and put-on joint performances. Members of the congregation would also travel around Phnom Penh handing out gifts and singing Christmas Carols. This year, it’s all been called off and replaced with a service on Zoom. “Many people are disappointed because it’s a time for them to gather and have a good time for Christmas. It is really sad,” Lu said. But not all travel is off limits during the Christian holiday. Those looking to close the chapter on this uniquely disastrous year by travelling outside Phnom Penh will be able to do so, although businesses and the Ministry of Tourism aren’t expecting a travel boom. When asked about travel during the holidays, Ministry of Tourism spokesman Top Sopheak said people will be travelling around the country but in smaller numbers than years past. “The Ministry of Tourism encourages [people] not to travel in big groups, but [people] can travel as a family or small group and must follow measures of the Ministry of Health, such as wearing masks, cleaning hands and social distancing,” Sopheak said. – Khmer Times