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.
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Malaysian govt, PH opposition sign historic bipartisan deal; polls not expected before Aug 2022
Malaysia is not expected to go to the polls for at least another year, under a historic bipartisan deal signed between the government and main opposition bloc Pakatan Harapan (PH) on Monday (Sept 13) that paves the way for political stability and institutional reforms.
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, accompanied by several members of his administration, inked the deal with PH, led by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Anwar Ibrahim, at a signing ceremony in Malaysia’s Parliament, hours after the Lower House sat for the first time under Datuk Seri Ismail’s administration.
Mr Ismail said in a statement that the deal, which is called the Memorandum of Understanding for Transformation and Political Stability, covered six main areas.
Among the key areas of reform is to transform administration, empower Parliament and strengthen the independence of the judiciary, Mr Ismail said.
“The ‘Malaysian Family’ spirit stresses unity, camaraderie and togetherness. This has manifested itself in the MOU between the government and (Harapan) this evening,” he said.
The deal also outlines that Parliament will not be dissolved before August next year, meaning Malaysia will not face a general election for at least another year, said PKR’s communications director Fahmi Fadzil. This was also confirmed by several other opposition leaders. - Straits Times
WHO delivers 23 metric tonnes of life-saving medicines to Afghanistan
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has delivered around 23 metric tonnes of life-saving medicines and supplies to Afghanistan, the United Nations health agency said.
The shipment, which is among the first humanitarian aid to arrive at Kabul airport since operations were disrupted on Aug 15, was flown by a Qatar Airways flight donated by the Qatari government, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported, quoting a WHO statement.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus thanked the Qatari government for its generous and timely support, which has allowed WHO to replenish depleted stocks and meet the needs of the most vulnerable Afghans.
"As health needs increase in Afghanistan, we must move quickly to address the shortages in medical supplies to keep life-saving health services running," the statement said.
"A second flight donated by the State of Qatar is expected to arrive later this week, carrying more WHO medical supplies," it added. - New Straits Times
Jabs for kids crucial for on-site education
Schools will resume on-site learning in November, provided that sufficient vaccines are made available for students next month, the Education Ministry has said.
Education Minister Treenuch Thienthong said on Monday the decision to reopen on-site classrooms in November came from lessons learned from conducting online and on-air studies during the pandemic.
Speaking at a press conference at the ministry attended by senior education and disease control officials, Ms Treenuch said the ministry consulted with the public health and the interior ministries before setting the Nov 1 target for school reopening. However, a return to class depends on the vaccine rollout, said Ms Treenuch who added that Pfizer vaccine jabs will be offered next month to students aged 12-17.
The Pfizer vaccine will be offered to 4.5 million students generally from Mathayom 4-6 (grades 10 to 12). The jabs will also be offered to those studying in por wor chor (vocational certificate) and por wor sor (high vocational certificate) programmes at vocational institutes, which are both state and privately run.
Also eligible for the vaccine are students enrolled in religious, science and border police schools and educational establishments not run by the Education Ministry.
Students, 18 years and older, will also be eligible for vaccination.
The Education Ministry said the inoculations will be provided only if parents give their consent. The jabs will be distributed first to students in the dark-red zones hardest hit by the pandemic, including Bangkok.
Ms Treenuch said the goal was to roll out the first doses to students within the next month. - Bangkok Post
ITCZ to bring rain showers over parts of PH
The intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), now the prevailing weather system in the country, will bring rain showers over parts of the archipelago, a weather forecaster said Tuesday.
Scattered rain showers and thunderstorms will be experienced over Caraga, Northern Mindanao, Palawan, Central and Western Visayas due to the ITCZ.
"There are times when heavy rains will be experienced in these areas, and this may cause floods and landslides," Ariel Rojas of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.
Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will have warm and humid weather. - Philippine News Agency
'No one is left behind': Vietnam's authorities provide support for foreigners amid the pandemic
Despite limited resources, the Vietnamese Government and local authorities are sparing no efforts to support and ensure safety for the expat community in Vietnam amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
As the vaccination drive is being accelerated across the country, the Vietnamese Government is determined to provide vaccinations for all foreigners living and working here, ensure them equal access to vaccines like local people.
With the motto of “leaving no one behind”, on September 6, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chinh issued a document asking all localities and sectors to organise registrations and free vaccinations for foreigners in each locality regardless of nationality, form of residence and employment.
In HCM City, the current COVID-19 hotspot, the city's government has mobilised all resources within its capacity to inoculate foreigners.
Duong Anh Duc, vice chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee, said the city authority tasked the Department of Health to allocate vaccines and organise vaccination campaigns for foreigners. - Vietnam News
C-19 survivors face double whammy
Despite advice from experts that people who have recovered from Covid-19 pose no threat to others and should not be stigmatised, discrimination against them is still widespread in the Kingdom.
Even the families of former Covid-19 patients are sometimes discriminated against by their own communities.
Several recovered victims have reached out to Khmer Times with harrowing accounts of their terrible experiences.
Sophea Veth, a 23-year-old college student, was infected with Covid-19 and was treated at Krapeu Ha treatment centre in Kandal province, a former primary school. He told Khmer Times yesterday that he had been discriminated against by his own family after his mother has passed away while he was under treatment.
He said this had a negative effect on his mental health.
“At the time I was being treated in the centre, my mom passed away due to illness. I couldn’t join her funeral. I needed someone to cheer me up. Once I was discharged I went home and my family and relatives kept far away from me due to my having had Covid-19,” he said.
“I was discriminated against by my own family and relatives. They treated me like a virus that would kill them if they touched me even though I had been discharged already. They used foul language and showed a disrespectful attitude,” he added. - Khmer Times
Junta soldiers torch 27 houses, murder civilian in Magway village
Soldiers torched 27 houses and killed two people during an assault on a Magway Region village that began early on Sunday morning, several residents have told Myanmar Now.
The raid on Htei Hlaw, which is in Gangaw Township, began at around 4am, shortly after junta troops clashed with members of the local People’s Defence Force (PDF) in the village.
Junta soldiers injured three PDF fighters and killed another, locals said. Then at around 6am the soldiers began setting fire to houses, they added.
“We can still see a lot of smoke coming from the village,” said one Htei Law local. Most of the village’s roughly 1,000 residents have fled and are now sheltering in the surrounding area.
“The losses are immeasurable,” the local added. “We had to leave all our belongings in our houses. We barely made it out alive, all our belongings were consumed by the fire.”
One man, 55-year-old Ba Win, refused to flee with the others and was shot in the head, a second Htei Hlaw resident said.
“He got his brains blown out by the soldiers. He’s just a regular villager. He didn’t even do anything,” he said.
Junta troops occupied the village until around 3pm. When some villagers returned to assess the situation afterwards, they found their livestock had been killed.
“They slaughtered the animals by themselves and cooked them in the villagers’ houses,” the second resident said. – Myanmar NOW
Over 42.10 million Indonesians fully vaccinated against COVID-19
As many as 42,104,839 Indonesians have received their second COVID-19 vaccine dose as of Monday, according to the Health Ministry.
The number of fully vaccinated Indonesians rose by 370,105 on Monday compared to the day before, the ministry said in a press statement released on Monday.
Meanwhile, the number of Indonesians receiving their first COVID-19 vaccine jab increased by 544,363 to reach 73,310,563.
The ministry also said the number of people receiving their third or booster shots reached 784,374, an increase of 5,544 compared to the previous day.
Overall, Indonesia is seeking to vaccinate 208,265,720 citizens to build herd immunity against the coronavirus under the nationwide vaccination drive, which was rolled out on January 13, 2021. - AntaraNews.Com