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.
S'pore eases border measures for more South-east Asian countries; new VTLs launched with Finland and Sweden
Passengers arriving from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines are among those who will see more relaxed border measures from Nov 11, the authorities in Singapore announced on Monday (Nov 8).
Travellers from these countries will be allowed to present a negative, professionally administered antigen rapid test (ART) taken within two days prior to departure for Singapore.
It is an alternative to the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction tests currently required. - Straits Times
Dewan Rakyat to hear issues surrounding contract doctors
The issue on permanent appointments for contract doctors and the government's move in facing the second wave of the 'Hartal Doktor Kontrak' will be among the focus at today's Dewan Rakyat sitting.
According to the Order Paper on the Parliament's official website, the matter will be raised by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PH-Port Dickson) to the Health Minister during the Ministers' Question Time.
Meanwhile, Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli (Pas-Dungun) will ask Senior Works Minister on preparations made to prevent untoward incidents on roads and slopes, especially in the East Coast states, ahead of the upcoming monsoon season. - New Straits Times
Govt weighs migrant entry dilemma
In response to a rising number of illegal migrant workers attempting to sneak into Thailand and Covid-19 clusters linked to them, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed the Labour Ministry to speed up efforts to resolve these issues and worker shortages.
Following the PM's order, the ministry on Monday begun discussing proposals submitted by business operators and non-governmental organisations on labour provision, said Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin.
It was emphasised at the gathering that all parties still need to strictly follow the government's Covid-19 control measures while at the same time refer to a guideline for managing migrant workers issued in accordance with the cabinet's Sept 28 resolution on managing migrant workers, said the minister. - Bangkok Post
Get vaccinated to ‘overcome’ pandemic, Duterte tells Filipinos
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte renewed his appeal to the Filipinos to get vaccinated and strictly follow the minimum health standards to help overcome the Covid-19 pandemic.
Duterte made the call as he welcomed the arrival of more than 2.8 million doses of Russian-made Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine at Villamor Airbase in Pasay City on Monday night.
"I appeal to all our kababayans (fellow Filipinos) to cooperate and do their part to help overcome this pandemic. The government cannot do this alone and we need your active participation by getting vaccinated and strictly following the minimum health standards," he said in speech. - Philippine News Agency
HCM City district told to take preventive measures as COVID clusters emerge in families
HCM City authorities have ordered Hoc Mon District to enhance pandemic prevention measures, especially to minimise the number of severe cases and COVID-related deaths following a surge in the number of cases in recent weeks.
Speaking during an inspection in Hoc Mon on Sunday, Nguyen Van Nen, secretary of the city Party Committee, warned of the high risk of infection due to people neglecting preventive measures, especially since early October when the city lifted most of its restrictions.
“It’s paramount to stop the source of infection and focus on treatment in order to minimise the number of severe cases and deaths.” - Vietnam News
Kinders closed: Education Ministry orders closure of kindergartens
The Ministry of Education has ordered all kindergartens to close till further announcement due to children below five years of age being unvaccinated against Covid-19.
The directive comes just hours after Prime Minister Hun Sen in his speech at the inauguration of the Ministry of Land Management’s New Office Building yesterday said, “I don’t recommend all kindergartens to reopen yet. It has matters that it should not do so.”
“Since the kindergarten level has children below 5 years of age, they are unvaccinated and are not under the category to get vaccinated yet. We need to hang on and we should do it step by step. Don’t be too fast,” he added. - Khmer Times
KNU says it killed 271 in escalating clashes with junta forces in October
Some 271 junta soldiers and allies died last month in clashes in southeastern Myanmar with the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), which suffered just a handful of casualties while defending its territory, the rebel group has said.
The KNU clashed with junta-backed forces on 275 occasions throughout October despite the junta’s announcement of a ceasefire from October 1, said Colonel Saw Kler Doh, spokesperson for the KNU’s Brigade 5.
“We had to defend our territory according to how serious their attacks were,” he said. “There were several clashes but we can’t say all of them were very serious. There were multiple clashes taking place in different areas on a given day.” - Myanmar NOW
Children aged 6-11 to be vaccinated in schools: ministry
The government is planning to cooperate with schools to provide Sinovac COVID-19 shots to children aged 6 to 11 years, Spokesperson for COVID-19 Vaccinations at the Health Ministry Siti Nadia Tarmizi has informed.
"We are planning to use the ‘children immunization month’ to carry out the vaccination," she stated at the ‘Children Vaccination is Love for Families’ talk show, which was accessed here on Monday.
According to discussions with experts, such as the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI), children are more courageous in getting vaccinated if they see their friends are fine after taking a shot, she noted. - AntaraNews.Com