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.
Singapore passes law to counter foreign interference after 10-hour Parliament debate
A law against foreign interference was on Monday (Oct 4) passed by Singapore's Parliament after a 10-hour airing in the House, three years after it was first raised and three weeks after the extensive, hotly debated legislation was tabled.
"This Bill is intended to address a serious threat that concerns our national security and sovereignty," said Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam.
"And these are important to ensure that Singaporeans continue to make our own choices on how we should govern our country and live our lives."
The Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act, or Fica, aims to tackle foreign meddling in domestic politics conducted through hostile information campaigns and the use of local proxies.
During the debate, 16 MPs from both sides of the aisle surfaced criticisms and concerns raised by lawyers, experts and civil society activists in recent days, including over the law's broad language and lack of judicial oversight.
These resulted in a parliamentary petition to delay its passage put forward by Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai, a raft of proposed changes tabled by the Workers' Party (WP), and recorded dissent from opposition MPs at the final vote - but the ruling People's Action Party's supermajority meant Fica's passage was a given. - Straits Times
Malaysia summons Chinese envoy to protest South China Sea incursion
Malaysia late Monday summoned Beijing's envoy to the Southeast Asian country in protest after Chinese vessels entered its maritime economic zone in the disputed South China Sea.
Kuala Lumpur summoned Chinese ambassador Ouyang Yujing "to convey Malaysia's position and protest against the presence and activities of Chinese vessels, including a survey vessel, in Malaysia's Exclusive Economic Zone", the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The ministry accused China of going against local and international law with the presence of its ships off the coast of Sabah and Sarawak states, on the Malaysian part of Borneo island.
Monday's move was the second time this year Malaysia has summoned Beijing's envoy to protest Chinese activity related to the hotly contested waters. - New Straits Times
Govt in talks for Covid pill
The government is in talks with US drugmaker Merck & Co to purchase 200,000 courses of the company's experimental Covid-19 pill, an official said on Monday.
Many Asian countries are scrambling to lock in supplies of molnupiravir, the name of the oral anti-viral drug, after lagging behind Western nations during initial rollouts of vaccines.
South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia have said they are already in preliminary purchase discussions with Merck, while the Philippines, which is running a trial on the pill, said it hopes that its domestic study will help it secure favourable procurement terms with the company.
Somsak Akksilp, director-general of the Department of Medical Services (DMS), told Reuters that Thailand is currently working on a purchase agreement for the drug which is designed to introduce errors into the genetic code of the virus, and would be the first oral antiviral medication for Covid-19. - Bangkok Post
Davao City issues new rules on use of face shields
Mayor Sara Z. Duterte has ordered that face shields shall only be used in crowded places, close-contact settings, and confined and enclosed spaces (3Cs).
In a statement Tuesday, the City Information Office said these guidelines are stated in Executive Order (EO) 51, series of 2021, known as "An Order Providing For The Guidelines On The Use of Face Shields" which was released on Monday.
The new order, which took effect immediately, cited President Rodrigo R. Duterte's announcement on September 22, to limit the use of face shields to the 3Cs as recommended by the Technical Advisory Group.
Crowded places are defined as areas where there is a mass gathering of individuals, which include but are not limited to swab testing sites, vaccination sites, evacuation centers, assistance distribution centers, and voter registration hubs of the Commission on Elections (Comelec). - Philippine News Agency
Gov't approves finance ministry's credit line to help poor students with online learning
Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai has agreed with the Finance Ministry’s proposal to help needy students with electronic devices to help them learn online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the ministry’s proposal, students from poor and near-poor families as well as those facing difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including students whose fathers or mothers have died of the disease, will be able to get loans to buy computers under support of the “computers and Internet services for children” programme.
According to the ministry, eligible students are those who have no computer and equipment for online study and have not yet received any support.
The People’s Committees of communes and wards are responsible to make and verify the lists of beneficiaries before submitting to the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies for approval. - Vietnam News
Cambodia’s vaccination campiagn against COVID-19 on track to reach goal by end 2021
Cambodia has raced past the 70 percent fully vaccination target by September and is now at 84.09 percent for those who have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
With the country moving towards the endemic stage of COVID-19 with high vaccinations of over 90 percent in two categories and close to 90 percent in one, Cambodia is now looking at reopening its economy which has been severely impacted by the virus which first appeared in the country in late September last year.
To date, since vaccination of the estimated 10 million adult population began on February 10, 9,913,396 have received at least one dose of the vaccine, achieving 99.19 percent.
Of this, 9,497,809 have been fully vaccinated with both doses of the vaccine while a further 907,176 have even received the third or booster dose of the vaccine since early August. - Khmer Times
Suu Kyi dismisses former chief minister's bribery claims against her as 'absurd'
Detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi has denied claims by her ousted government’s former Yangon chief minister that he gave her bribes, describing his testimony last week as “absurd.”
Phyo Min Thein told a court on Friday that he had paid Suu Kyi $600,000 and given her 11.4kg of gold in exchange for protection and support for his businesses.
Thein Oo, justice minister for Myanmar’s underground government, suggested after the hearing that Phyo Min Thein may have acted under duress.
Suu Kyi appeared at the court in Zabuthiri Township in Naypyitaw on Monday to defend herself against separate charges of violating Covid-19 rules during last year’s election campaign and of illegally importing walkie-talkies.
She made the remarks about Phyo Min Thein while speaking with her lawyers during a 30-minute meeting ahead of her hearing.
“She said she had no specific comments and it was ‘all absurd,’” her lead defence lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told Myanmar Now.
Phyo Min Thein was a leading figure in Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) government and was once even rumoured to be her potential successor within the party.
He was among the first NLD leaders to be arrested when the military toppled the NLD government on February 1. - Myanmar NOW
Govt relaxes some policies as COVID-19 transmission tapers
The Indonesian government has made several adjustments in the Java-Bali region, including opening fitness centers and international arrivals at Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali, amid the sloping transmission of COVID-19.
According to Java-Bali Region Community Activities Restrictions (PPKM) Coordinator, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the opening of fitness centers will only be implemented in the Greater Jakarta, Greater Bandung, Greater Solo, Greater Semarang, Greater Surabaya, and the Special Region of Yogyakarta areas.
The statement was delivered at a press conference that was accessed online from here on Monday. - AntaraNews.Com