These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
Get up to speed with what’s happening in the fastest growing region in the world.
Stay informed with The ASEAN Post.
Twelve Cupcakes wages case: Co-founder Jaime Teo fined $65,000 for role in underpaying staff
Artiste Jaime Teo Chai-lin, 43, was on Tuesday (March 9) fined $65,000 for failing to prevent Twelve Cupcakes - a home-grown confectionery chain which she co-founded - from underpaying its foreign workers. The Singaporean, who is also a former model, pleaded guilty on Feb 4 to 10 charges under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. Fourteen other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing. Teo, who founded the firm in 2011 with former radio DJ Daniel Ong Ming Yu, 45, her husband then, admitted that she had been neglectful. The court heard that the arrears in salary totalling $98,900 from when the pair owned the company remain outstanding to date. Teo and Ong sold the firm to Kolkata-based Dhunseri Group for $2.5 million in 2016. Ministry of Manpower prosecutor Maximilian Chew told the court that Teo and Ong jointly decided to employ foreign workers in 2012. Seven of them - four customer service executives, two sales executives and a pastry chef - were underpaid between 2013 and 2016. For instance, the pastry chef, who was supposed to receive a monthly salary of $2,300 in mid-2014, received $1,600 instead and continued receiving a lower salary until mid-2016. The other six foreigners also received less than what they were supposed to. Teo was represented by lawyers Sunil Sudheesan and Diana Ngiam. In mitigation, her lawyers told the court their client had never played a decision-making role in the human resource (HR) aspect of the business when she was a director of Twelve Cupcakes. – The Straits Times
Covid-19 cases cropping up in schools
Covid-19 cases are emerging in some schools barely two weeks after they reopened on March 1 and parents are calling for the affected schools to close again instead of waiting for health authorities to intervene. Raja Nurul Huda Raja Halimul Rashid, for instance, registered a petition on change.org calling for the closure of Sekolah Kebangsaan Subang Jaya's afternoon session after four pupils were found to be Covid-19-positive. The school had moved to shut down the three affected classes and put the pupils and their 17 teachers under home quarantine, but the parents as well as 300 signatories of the online petition are clamouring for the entire physical session to be stopped to break the chain of transmission. Raja Nurul Huda said the safety of their children and teachers came first and this would provide parents the assurance and the encouragement to allow their kids to return following a sufficient quarantine period. "Despite efforts to remain open, attendance remains low due to fear. With a longer stay-home period for the children and teachers, there is more security for parents to send them back on a later date (March 16) and this is what we want at the end." Raja Nurul Huda said a total closure of the session would relieve the stress on teachers, who had to cope with the quarantine of 17 of their colleagues. "They can move to online learning (seamlessly) with proper schedules and approach. This is because it is difficult for a limited numbers of teachers to do both, teach offline and online classes effectively. "With proper online classes, learning during the temporary closure can be beneficial to all parties without leaving the quarantined students behind," she said in the petition registered on Monday night. Meanwhile, M. Ravin said his son was barred from sitting for the Chemistry and Additional Mathematics paper this week after a classmate was confirmed as having Covid-19 last Monday. "Now he and his 13 classmates can only take their affected papers in April. He was made to take his first swab test on Friday (March 5) and his next swab test is on March 13. "He may also be missing his Biology test on March 16 if the test results do not come out on time." Ravin said that while the move was understandable due to the pandemic, the stress faced by students, parents and teachers was no small matter. "After a year of delays, they also need the assurance that they will get their results at the same time with those who took the paper first. My son and his friends are also concerned that their paper will be harder. "A lot of resources and time have gone into this. Like him, I was also disappointed and felt they should have been allowed to take their test as they were cleared on their first swab. "The teachers and students pumped in so much of time and energy into preparing and taking exams during the pandemic." Efforts to reach both schools were unsuccessful. The New Straits Times is also seeking replies from the district health and education offices on the matter. – New Straits Times
Tourist spots to get extra shots
Additional doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be sought for provinces which are tourist destinations to boost confidence and the local economies there, according to Culture Minister Itthiphol Kunplome. Mr Itthiphol said on Tuesday the Culture Ministry and the Tourism and Sports Ministry have agreed to ask the government to provide these provinces with more doses of Covid-19 vaccines if they are designated tourism zones. They include Koh Samui in Surat Thani, Pattaya in Chon Buri, Chiang Mai and Phuket. Tourist spots that have received the first batches of Sinovac vaccines this month are Koh Samui in Surat Thani which has received 2,500 doses; Pattaya in Chon Buri (4,700 doses); Chiang Mai (3,500 doses); and Phuket (4,000 doses). The second batches will be distributed in June, with Samui to receive 16,000 doses; Pattaya (50,000 doses); Chiang Mai (32,000); and Phuket (16,000). The third batches will be rolled out in September, with Samui to receive 16,000 doses; Pattaya (48,000 doses); Chiang Mai (48,000); and Phuket (48,000). Mr Itthiphol spoke on Tuesday after meeting with representatives from concerned agencies to discuss easing Covid-19 measures for the Songkran festival next month. Mr Itthiphol insisted that water splashing will probably be allowed during the Songkran festival next month. "It should get the green light because the daily number of new Covid-19 cases has dropped from three digits to only two digits," the minister said. The Culture Ministry and the Tourism and Sports Ministry would present detailed measures for the Songkran festival to a sub-committee of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) tomorrow, he said. This year's Songkran would focus on the cultural aspects of the festival such as merit-making, sprinkling water on Buddha statues, pouring water onto the elderly's palms and asking for their blessings, Mr Itthiphol said. The Tourism and Sports Ministry has worked together with the private sector to come up with activities to attract tourists and generate income during Songkran while health measures will still be enforced, he said. Asked by reporters if foam parties which involve crowded gatherings would be allowed during Songkran, Mr Itthiphol said that the two ministries had agreed that participants should wear protective gear such as glasses, masks and raincoats to prevent close contact with one another. The Tourism and Sports Ministry will ask the Disease Control Department to consider the zoning for water splashing activities during Songkran as in pre-Covid times, Mr Itthiphol said. Asked if people travelling around on pickup trucks would be allowed to splash water on roads, Mr Itthiphol said that such activities are not traditional ones during Songkran but they happened when people travel to their home provinces. "Celebration activities will be considered. For now, it [water splashing on trucks] is not prohibited," Mr Itthiphol said. Officials were focusing more on ways to limit the number of participants in Songkran events. "We are paying more attention to the number of people at event venues... We will find a balance between helping the economy and the prevention of new clusters [of Covid-19] which would spread the disease in communities," the culture minister said. People would be advised to observe social distancing when giving traditional greetings to elderly people during the Thai New Year. Event organisers would also be asked to ensure social distancing. Chairs could be arranged for participants, Mr Itthiphol said. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday said that he had instructed the CCSA's sub-committee to discuss guidelines for Songkran celebrations with relevant agencies before submitting them to the cabinet next week. "The situation has now improved. With the collaboration of everyone, the Songkran events can be held. But what type of events will be held and how will have to be discussed to ensure they will not affect disease control measures. They may be less fun but still safe," Gen Prayut said. – Bangkok Post
PH, India in talks for supply of 8 million doses of Covaxin
The Philippines and India are in talks for the supply of eight million or more doses of Covaxin, a COVID-19 vaccine developed in India, India’s ambassador to the Philippines said Wednesday. “On Covaxin, we have an ongoing discussion. As you know the registration for emergency use is still pending with the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and there are ongoing conversations for a supply of Covaxin which can range anywhere from eight million doses upwards,” Indian Ambassador Shambhu Kumaran said over ABS-CBN News Channel. He said, however, that the timeline on when the vaccines could arrive depends on when the contract with the Philippines would be finalized. “It really depends on when we commence these discussions. The earlier we start, the larger the possibility. But I think the eight million is doable. How soon it comes in will depend on the time that we close the contract,” he explained. “Once we close the contract, the nature of the vaccines requires at least 45 days for the production to be completed. We could look at it to 20 million over the next year and a half but how much of that would come early is actually the big question,” he added. Bharat Biotech has applied for an emergency use authorization (EUA) of Covaxin in January. However, FDA Director-General Eric Domingo said in February that Bharat Biotech has yet to submit documents from clinical trials. Kumaran said that Bharat Biotech has submitted the interim data from phase 3 trials of the vaccine to the FDA on Tuesday evening. “I am not sure why we have not started negotiations. I hope that we can start tomorrow. We are ready. The company is ready. I believe that there was perhaps a degree of patience on the Philippine side because the phase 3 data have not been shared, but I am happy to share with you and your viewers that the interim data was shared last evening with the FDA,” he said. According to Kumaran, Bharat “has had one or two representations with the FDA for the supply of the vaccines but the commercial negotiations which involve signing of a term sheet and eventually moving into a contract are still pending.” Bharat Biotech earlier revealed that preliminary data from phase 3 trials for the Covaxin showed it has an efficacy rate of 81 percent. – INQUIRER.net
HCM City should embrace AI technologies: experts
HCM City must focus on research and development of artificial intelligence, especially training human resources in AI, experts have said. Dương Anh Đức, vice chairman of the city People’s Committee, said the aim was to promote R&D in AI applications in the next five years. AI is increasingly used in various fields like transportation, public security, production, finance, and e-commerce. The city hopes to annually increase by 20 per cent the number of scientific works, AI patents and AI applications, and to invite leading foreign AI experts to work in the city. While AI technologies are used in many sectors in the city, research and training are weak compared to other places in the world, and it also lacks AI experts, scientists and policymakers, according to the official. According to a master plan for developing IT human resources, Việt Nam needs one million workers in the field but only 600,000 IT students are trained at 400 higher educational institutes and eight major IT training centres as of the end of last year. Statistics from the Institute of Information Technology Strategy show 72 per cent of IT students lack practical experience while 42 per cent are weak in team work. Only 15 per cent of IT graduates meet their employers’ requirements and do not need much further training. The country has more than 700 IT companies, 220 of them foreign-owned, mostly based in major cities or software parks. Despite the huge likely demand for AI experts in future, the field has attracted little attention in the country, and no university offers comprehensive courses in it. Experts said the city should catch up with global AI trends by investing in training and building an open-source database. It should establish AI departments at universities and develop new courses, they said. It should encourage businesses to embrace AI to enhance their competitiveness, and solicit investment in and promote AI products made locally, they said. It should set up AI hubs that include training centres connected with one another through the city’s data centre and infrastructure, they added. Vũ Hải Quân, director of the Việt Nam National University of HCM City, said the city should develop an AI research and training team, build digital infrastructure, offer incentives to encourage enterprises to use AI, and improve human resources in AI. Linkages between the state, businesses, scientists, and investors should also be promoted, he said. The city should focus on developing start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the field, he added. – Viet Nam News
Vietnamese province detects numerous cases transporting Chinese citizens to Cambodia
Authorities in An Giang Province, located in the Mekong Delta region, have constantly uncovered cases of illegally transporting Chinese citizens from northern border areas all the way to the southern part of Vietnam to enter Cambodia. The Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in An Giang on Monday evening said that they had received the reports from Tan Chau Town and Chau Doc City about 34 cases of Chinese people making illegal entry into Vietnam. All of the 34 border jumpers have been quarantined and tested for COVID-19 as per local regulations. During a patrol on March 7, police in Chau Doc City also discovered a vehicle carrying 13 Chinese people trying to cross the border into Cambodia. The 13 Chinese people later admitted that they had departed from the city of Nanning in China, crossing mountain roads to the border area near Vietnam before unlawfully entering the Southeast Asian country through a trail near the Huu Nghi Border Gate in northern Lang Son Province. They were transported to Ho Chi Minh City and transferred onto different vehicles before being detained at an eatery in Chau Doc City at around 3:00 am on that date. In another case, local authorities in Tan Chau Town detected two vehicles carrying 14 Chinese citizens in the direction from Chau Doc City to Ho Chi Minh City at around 9:00 pm on March 6. All of the 14 Chinese, together with their two drivers, were taken to a local medical centre for quarantine as per regulations on coronavirus prevention. Officials in Tan Chau Town, however, have yet to clearly track the details of their journey because the border jumpers were uncooperative. Prior to that, at around 9:00 pm on March 4, police in Chau Doc City, in collaboration with their counterparts in An Phu District, discovered a car transporting seven Chinese citizens, including two women and five men, making an attempt to cross the border into Cambodia. According to the Chinese citizens, they had been given instructions to illicitly enter Vietnam via a trail near the Huu Nghi Border Gate in Lang Son Province at around 9:00 pm on March 1 before being picked up by a seven-seater car and then taken on a sleeper bus to Ho Chi Minh City, where they continued to catch another seven-seater car to Chau Doc City. The police officers of Chau Doc City stopped them in the middle of their journey near the Con Tien Bridge. The constant detection of the Chinese border jumpers has alleged that there is a large-scale ring helping Chinese citizens travel through trails and paths to Vietnam and take transit cars or passenger buses to Cambodia. – Khmer Times
Myanmar military storms Mizzima’s office in a third raid on local media in two days
The Myanmar military raided the office of news outlet Mizzima in the Star City compound in south-eastern Yangon on Tuesday afternoon, the publication’s editor told Myanmar Now. Editor-in-chief Soe Myint said no staff were arrested when the military’s security forces broke into his newsroom. “We have not been using the office since the coup [on February 1]. There wasn’t even any sign post indicating our office was there,” Soe Myint said. Mizzima was one of five local media outlets whose publication licenses were revoked by the military council on Monday night. After the junta’s announcement, Mizzima said in a statement that it would continue publishing and broadcasting as independent media in order “to fight against the military coup and for the restoration of democracy and human rights” in the country. Established in 1998 in Delhi, India, the formerly-exiled media organisation had returned to Myanmar in 2012. It publishes bilingual online publications in Burmese and English and a weekly English magazine. In 2017, Mizzima received a digital TV channel license for broadcasting. Mizzima was the third media house to be raided by security forces in recent days. Myanmar Now’s office in downtown Yangon was searched on Monday afternoon and Kamayut Media was raided on Tuesday afternoon. Kamayut’s cofounder Han Thar Nyein and editor-in-chief Nathan Maung were also arrested. After the coup, the military threatened news organizations not to refer to their takeover of the government as a “coup,” nor to describe the military as “the regime” or “the junta,” declaring such terms as violations of publishing laws. Since the military coup, at least 35 journalists have been arrested by police and soldiers while doing their jobs. Only 19 have been released from detention. Ten journalists, including Myanmar Now’s own reporter Kay Zon Nway, are facing charges under the Penal Code that carry a maximum sentence of up to three years in prison. Kay Zon Nway was arrested while livestreaming a protest in Yangon late last month. She is being held at Insein prison and has been remanded to custody until March 12. – Myanmar NOW
Over 3.3 million Indonesians receive first COVID jab
The number of Indonesians receiving their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine rose by 239,001 to reach 3,337,026 as of Tuesday afternoon, the Task Force for COVID-19 Handling reported. In the meantime, 39,340 additional people received their second vaccine shot, bringing the total count to 1,197,772. The first phase of vaccinations kicked off on January 13, 2021 and targeted 1,468,764 healthcare workers. The second phase of vaccinations started on February 17, 2021 and is targeting 38 million people, comprising over 21 million senior citizens and 16 million public service officers, including state officials, government employees, religious figures, traders, teachers, lecturers, athletes, journalists, and tourism operators. Vice Health Minister Dante Saksono said the government is aiming to vaccinate around 21.5 million elderly people against COVID-19 by June this year. On Tuesday, the Drug and Food Control Agency (BPOM) also issued an emergency-use authorization (EUA) for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The agency also endorsed the entry of the vaccine by issuing a special entry permit. With the issuance of the EUA, Indonesia will soon receive the first batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine under the COVAX Facility of the global cooperation scheme for vaccine and immunization (GAVI). The government has set a target of inoculating 181,554,465 people, or 70 percent of the total population of Indonesia, to build herd immunity against the coronavirus. – AntaraNews.Com