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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S'pore-Indonesia Leaders' Retreat: Indonesians welcome pacts, hope Parliament will see them through
Indonesian media welcomed the landmark agreements announced at the Singapore-Indonesia Leaders' Retreat in Bintan on Tuesday (Jan 25) and praised President Joko Widodo's government for its commitment in resolving longstanding bilateral issues.
In a commentary, Mr Kornelius Purba, a senior editor at the Jakarta Post, described the signing of the agreements on defence cooperation, extradition and flight information region (FIR) as "historic".
But he also cautioned Indonesians against hubris, noting that the agreements were reached on the basis of mutual benefit for both sides.
"It is not difficult to conclude that for many, if not most, Indonesians, the signing of the agreements was a triumphant moment for Indonesia," he wrote. "For too long, they might contend, Indonesia had kept a low profile just for the sake of ASEAN unity.
"The summit in Bintan was, from this perspective, a long-awaited victory of a big nation over its much smaller neighbour, which had tried to take advantage of it," he added. "However, we should look in the mirror. We Indonesians rarely ask ourselves what is wrong with us. Size does matter, but it is not everything."
He said while Indonesia is the largest member of ASEAN, it has no right to demand respect from others when it fails to respect them.
Indonesia and Singapore depend on each other and their relationship is based on mutual benefit, he added. – Straits Times
Over 11 million have received Covid-19 vaccine booster shots
Over 11 million people in Malaysia have received their Covid-19 booster jabs, up to Wednesday.
According to the Health Ministry's CovidNow portal, 48.4 per cent of adults in the country have taken their booster shots, including 203,943 individuals who received their jabs on Wednesday.
To date, 78.7 per cent of the country's population (25,704,857 people) have been fully inoculated with two vaccine doses.
Malaysia, on Wednesday, clocked 4,744 new Covid-19 infections and reported 21 new clusters. The new clusters were made up of 13 educational clusters, five workplace clusters, two community clusters and one high-risk group cluster. The country also logged 12 new fatalities the same day, including two brought-in-dead (BID) cases who died before receiving medical assistance.
Since the pandemic hit our shores in March 2020, some 31,930 people have succumbed to the virus.
On average, Malaysia reported 45 deaths for every ten million people in the country for the past two weeks. The country also detected 15 new cases for every 10,000 people within the same period. – New Straits Times
Race to clear Rayong spill
Frantic efforts were underway on Wednesday to clear up about 160,000 litres of crude oil which leaked from an undersea pipeline near Map Ta Phut in Rayong province on Tuesday, Marine and Coastal Resources Department director-general Sopon Thongdee said.
The pipeline belongs to Star Petroleum Refining Public Company Limited (SPRC).
Mr Sopon said the company told the department of the oil leak on Tuesday night. It was necessary to stop the oil drifting north towards beaches in Rayong.
Atthapol Charoenchansa, director-general of the Pollution Control Department, said a large slick was heading towards the coast between Mae Ramphueng beach and the Khao Laem Ya-Mu Ko Samet Marine National Park. Unless halted, it would reach the shore sometime tomorrow afternoon, he said.
The Marine and Coastal Resources Department, the navy and other agencies had been called in and action was being taken to solve the problem, he said.
An SPRC announcement said the leak occurred at a single-point mooring (SPM) area out to sea where tankers load or offload oil.
The company's emergency response team had taken steps in line with safety procedures, it said, without giving details.
The leak itself was plugged at 12.18am on Wednesday and dispersants sprayed on the oil spill. The company was continuing to assess the situation. – Bangkok Post
Vaccination key to exit pandemic: NTF exec
Vaccination is the key to the exit of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. an official of the National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 said Wednesday night.
Head of the NTF Strategic Communications sub-task group on current operations, Assistant Secretary Wilben Mayor, urged anew unvaccinated Filipinos to avail of Covid-19 jabs to get enough protection against the dreaded disease.
Once again, the government is encouraging you, the vaccine is the answer so we can fight and get out – exit this pandemic)," Mayor said shortly after the arrival of 1,023,750 doses of Pfizer vaccine at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 via an Air Hong Kong cargo flight.
The latest shipment is part of the government-procured jabs with funding from the World Bank.
The Philippines has so far received 216.5 million doses of different Covid-19 vaccines, both procured and donated, from various pharmaceutical companies, with 124,510,385 doses already administered nationwide.
At least 57.8 million Filipinos are fully vaccinated and 6,683,975 eligible individuals have received booster shots.
The government has urged those with complete shots to avail of booster shots for added protection. – Philippine News Agency
ASEAN+3 economic prospects positive in 2022
Economic prospects for ASEAN+3 (Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus China, Japan and Korea) look promising in 2022, despite challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economy, according to a report published on Tuesday by the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO).
Viet Nam's GDP has been forecast to be among the fastest-growing this year at 7.5 per cent from the previous year, well above the bloc's average at 4.9 per cent.
AMRO points out that the emergence of the Omicron variant towards the end of 2021 brought new uncertainties and set back the progress of economic re-opening. However, high vaccination coverage has mitigated the risk of nationwide lockdowns, as experienced during the early days of the pandemic.
“The ASEAN+3 region has sufficient policy space to navigate through these new challenges, and stay on its recovery path,” says AMRO’s Chief Economist, Dr Hoe Ee Khor.
“A resurgence of infections continues to be the key downside risk, amplified by lingering global supply chain disruptions and rising global price pressures,” adds Dr Khor. “While the rise in global inflation is likely to prompt major advanced economies to roll back extraordinary monetary support earlier or more sharply than anticipated, the spill over effects for the region is likely to be limited because of greater resilience.” – Vietnam News
Omicron variant overpowers the Delta and Beta strains
For months, Delta was the dominant virus strain of Covid-19 infecting the people until the Omicron variant showed up recently and overpowered it. Experts are of the view that the Delta and Beta strains may still be in the community but what is dominating at the moment is the Omicron variant which is taking a surge with many people infected with it.
Since December 26, the Health Ministry has received very few cases of people infected with the Delta strain and those infected are mainly migrant workers as the majority of all the new Covid-19 cases are those infected with the Omicron variant, including the imported cases.
Health Ministry spokesman Hok Kim Cheng said that the Omicron variant is highly transmissible although the symptoms are mild while the Delta strain had caused thousands of people to die.
“The emergence of the Omicron variant does not mean that the Delta, a highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 virus strain, has disappeared,” he added.
At present, he said less than 150 people are admitted to Intensive Care Units across the country with Covid-19 while the majority suffered only mild symptoms and have recovered at home or are recovering at their houses without burdening the health system. All are victims of the Omicron variant.
He said although the Delta strain is still circulating in the community, the number of people getting infected with it is fewer and studies are being conducted to find the reason. – Khmer Times
Junta threatens ‘silent strike’ participants with major criminal charges
Those who adhere to or promote revolutionary forces’ calls to close businesses and stay home in protest on the upcoming coup anniversary could face life in prison, the military warned on Tuesday.
On January 22, the General Strike Coordination Body (GSCB) began promoting a February 1 “silent strike” in which all civilians are asked to refrain from going out in public – for work or errands – from 10am until 4pm that day.
The move, according to GSCB, is to empty the streets of the country in acknowledgement of those killed or arrested by the junta’s forces during the last year.
The military council responded to the call three days later by announcing that anyone found to be taking part in or promoting the silent strike would see their property confiscated and face multiple criminal charges.
Those charges include Section 52a of the Counterterrorism Law, Section 124a and 505a of the Penal Code, and Section 33a of the Telecommunications Law.
The terrorism charge carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years, and Section 124a – for sedition –carries a life sentence of 20 years. The other charges are accompanied by three to five years in prison.
“We just want the military to return the power to the people because we are going to take it back in any way possible,” Chit Win Maung, a leader of the strike committee in Magway, told Myanmar Now.
Junta threats were to be expected, Mandalay protest leader Dr Tayzar San said, but he does not think the warnings will deter people from opposing the coup regime. – Myanmar NOW
Vice President calls for joint efforts for preventing radicalism
Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has said that radicalism, extremism, and terrorism must be jointly stamped out by all parties to keep them from damaging the national fabric.
"We know that radicalism can trigger the emergence of extremism and terrorism, which can damage the foundations of this nation's life. We must prevent this jointly," he stressed at the National Halaqa I, organized by the Indonesian Ulema Council's Counter-Extremism and Counterterrorism Agency (BPET-MUI) via videoconferencing and accessed from here on Wednesday.
Amin said that efforts to prevent radicalism in Indonesia cannot only rely on the role of ulemas. All elements of society, from all backgrounds, must work hand in hand to prevent the spread of radical beliefs, he added. "Of course, ulemas will not be able to strive alone. The roles of families, teachers, and the community are essential in collaborative efforts to prevent the entry and spread of radicalism and terrorism," he noted.
The government has also strengthened countermeasures against radicalism, extremism, and terrorism in the country through the issuance of Presidential Regulation Number 7 of 2021 concerning the National Action Plan for the Prevention and Handling of Violent Extremism that Leads to Terrorism in 2020–2024, he pointed out. – AntaraNews.Com