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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Royal Caribbean cruise ships to start sailing from Singapore to Malaysia in end-June
Singaporeans will soon have more options for travel, as Royal Caribbean cruise ships will start calling at ports in Malaysia from the end of this month, with stops at Penang and Port Klang.
The cruise line said on Thursday (June 2) that it will offer three- and four-night cruises on its ship Spectrum of the Seas from June 30.
This puts an end to more than two years of cruises-to-nowhere that started in Singapore in November 2020, as an attempt to bring back cruising safely amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Singapore had ceased port calls for cruise ships since March 2020.
According to Royal Caribbean's website, three-night cruises will stop at Penang, while four-night cruises will stop at both Penang and Port Klang. Prices for three-night cruises start from $310, while prices for four-night cruises start at $390.
Shore excursions include a visit to St. George's Church in Penang, and a trip to the Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur. All guests will need to have six months validity on their passport, and must have updated the MySejahtera app before their cruise. They also need to adhere to the local vaccination requirements, the cruise line added. The Singapore Tourism Board' s director of cruise Annie Chang said port calls will provide more vacation options which will hopefully draw in more first-time and repeat cruisers in the coming year as more ports in the region open up.
"We have been working closely with various governments in South-east Asia to align on cruise protocols and policies, and are excited to bring back port calls in Malaysia for sailings as a start," she said. – Straits Times
499 businesses support GST reintroduction-FMM
A total of 499 businesses have strongly supported the reintroduction of the goods and services tax (GST) to replace the current sales and services tax (SST) 2.0 as GST is seen to provide a more equitable tax structure and eliminate the cascading and compounding of taxes commonly found in the SST regime. In a statement, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) said the responses were based on a survey carried out by FMM on the reintroduction of GST in May 2020.
FMM president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said prices of Malaysian exports would become more competitive on the global stage as no GST is imposed on exported goods and services, while GST that is incurred on inputs could be recovered along the supply chain.
"Moreover, as this broad tax base system would increase indirect taxes, it will give flexibility to the government to reduce direct taxes (personal income tax and corporate tax) to make Malaysia a more attractive business destination," he added. As the government is now focusing on reviving the economy, Soh said manufacturers need to prioritise their time and energy on rebuilding their business.
Hence, the reintroduction of GST should not be considered in isolation but as a part of the holistic assessment of Malaysia's tax systems and the country's fiscal position, he added.
"While the introduction of a broad-base consumption tax would strengthen the country's fiscal position, GST 2.0 must be easy to manage but not increase the cost of doing business," he said.
As the change and transition to GST 2.0 can be challenging, he said FMM calls for the government to consult all stakeholders for a thorough review process to ensure a successful implementation of an effective tax regime. – New Straits Times
Covid downgrade 'needs time'
The Ministry of Public Health has yet to consider when it will reclassify Covid-19 as a communicable disease that requires close surveillance despite the recent easing of more restrictions.
Covid-19 was declared a dangerous communicable disease in late February 2020 by the national committee on communicable diseases to allow health authorities to respond more quickly to contain any outbreaks in the event of a spike in local transmissions.
Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul recommended waiting several weeks before making a decision on when to revise the status of the virus. When that happens, the government would no longer be obliged to cover related treatment costs. As the severity of the disease and cases have declined, redefining it as a disease under surveillance would mean it could be covered by patients' conventional insurance schemes, he said.
"As the situation changes, the government doesn't want to take on more of a financial burden. Covid-19 patients should resort to their own health insurance packages as is the case for other diseases," Mr Anutin said.
Starting from Wednesday, pubs, bars, karaoke bars, massage parlours and other nightspots in 31 provinces classified as green zones and blue "tourism-oriented" zones were allowed to resume operation but are still required to close at midnight.
Mr Anutin said the number of Covid-19 infections is expected to increase after the new round of easing, but added that if patients do not suffer severe symptoms, it will not affect other sectors.
By designating Covid-19 as a dangerous communicable disease, health officials can take more precautionary measures such as prohibiting public gatherings and ordering patients or suspected sufferers or carriers into quarantine. – Bangkok Post
Marcos inauguration set at National Museum
The camp of president-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has picked the National Museum of the Philippines in Manila as the venue for his inauguration as the country’s 17th chief executive on June 30.
The National Museum, after being inspected by Marcos’ inaugural committee, was found to be the “suitable” site for Marcos’ oath-taking, Presidential Management Staff (PMS) secretary-designate Zenaida "Naida" Angping said.
Angping said preparations are underway to ensure Marcos’ smooth inauguration.
"The National Museum of (the) Philippines building and its surrounding areas match our requirements for President-elect Marcos' inauguration. Preparations are already in full swing to ensure that it will be ready by then," she said in a press statement.
The National Museum, formerly known as the Old Legislative Building, has served as the venue for the inauguration of former presidents Manuel L. Quezon (1935), Jose P. Laurel (1943), and Manuel Roxas (1946).
It is one of three historical sites earlier being considered by the Marcos camp as possible inaugural venues.
The other two were the Quirino Grandstand and Fort Santiago.
The Quirino Grandstand was where Marcos’ father and namesake, the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., held his inauguration as the country's 10th president in 1965.
Angping said the Quirino Grandstand was not chosen as the venue for Marcos’ inauguration because the ocular inspection team had noticed that it was surrounded by several field hospitals accommodating individuals infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). – Philippine News Agency
Viet Nam successfully produces vaccine against African swine fever
Viet Nam has become the first country to develop a commercial vaccine against African swine fever which meets technical requirements and ensures sterility, safety and potency with an immunity length of six months, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has announced.
This is a breakthrough event for Viet Nam’s husbandry sector as there is no effective commercial vaccines against the disease yet.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said the successful production of a vaccine against African swine fever would contribute to the development of domestic livestock and export overseas.
"We can confidently produce vaccines against African swine fever to meet the domestic demand and export the vaccine overseas. So far, no country has announced success in commercial vaccine production,” he said.
“The potential of exporting African swine fever vaccines produced in Viet Nam to other countries is huge,” he added.
The trade name of the published vaccine is NAVET-ASFVAC, a product of Navetco National Veterinary Joint Stock Company.
It is expected that the ministry will officially issue a circulation license on Friday (June 3). – Vietnam News
Ironclad ally: China lauds PM’s remarks regarding Taiwan
China has expressed appreciation for Prime Minister Hun Sen’s comments that Taiwan is a Chinese province and an inalienable part of China’s territory. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: “There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is part of China, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China.”
“This is a consensus of the international community. The Taiwan question is purely China’s domestic affair and brooks no foreign interference.” “The Chinese side’s just cause of safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity, opposing secession, and realising national reunification has received and will surely continue to receive understanding and support from Cambodia and the rest of the international community.” “
China highly appreciates PM Hun Sen’s remarks on Taiwan,” Zhao told a media conference on May 30.
On May 27, Mr Hun Sen, via video conference during the Nikkei Future of Asia Conference themed “Redefining Asia’s role in a divided world” described Taiwan as a Chinese province and an inalienable part of China’s territory.
Cambodia, he said, was concerned about military intervention in Taiwan but the situation between Russia and Ukraine is not the same as China and Taiwan.
“We cannot compare the Russia-Ukraine conflict with the China-Taiwan conflict. At this point I do not support the comparison because the situation is not the same.” – Khmer Times
Myanmar military fires heavy artillery at IDP camps in northern Rakhine
Residents of Kyauktaw in northern Rakhine State say that junta troops stationed at a nearby pagoda opened fire with heavy artillery on two camps for displaced villagers on Monday.
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) staying at the Nyaung Chaung and Mahamuni camps were forced to flee when the shelling began at around 8pm, local sources reported.
“There was no clash last night. The military just started firing light and heavy weapons at the IDP camps from the pagoda. I think they fired around 30 artillery rounds,” a local woman told Myanmar Now.
A man staying at the Mahamuni camp said that the incident terrified people living in the two camps, which were established during a previous conflict between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) that has recently shown signs of reigniting.
“Everyone was in a state of panic. They didn’t calm down until the shelling finally stopped,” said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The incident came just days after troops stationed at the Mahamuni pagoda, located about 10km northeast of Kyauktaw, reportedly fired several shots in the direction of the nearby Mahamuni IDP camp.
“They also fired their guns late last week, and a few stray bullets came into the camp,” said the camp resident.
“Everyone was pretty scared and shaken, then, too,” he added.
According to another resident of the area, the initial shots fired on Monday came from Military Operations Command (MOC) 9, based in Kyauktaw. – Myanmar NOW
Minister encourages tourism improvement to boost tourist arrivals
Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno asserted that he will continue to encourage efforts to improve the tourism and creative economy sectors in Indonesia to attract foreign tourists, especially travellers from Singapore.
The improvement is aimed at boosting foreign tourist arrivals that are targeted to reach 3.6 million in 2022.
"We have just started a sales mission in Singapore, which is the first sales mission we have conducted after the pandemic in relation to one of the largest potential markets for Indonesian tourism," he noted at the Goodwood Park Hotel, Singapore, according to an official statement received here on Wednesday.
On that occasion, Uno met travel agencies, airlines, and the media. Around 95 percent of tourism sector entrepreneurs in Singapore that attended the event expressed their enthusiasm.
In fact, they already have a target to organize tourism activities and help in boosting the tourism sector in Indonesia starting in the middle of this year or in June 2022.
"We hope that our visit would spur tourist arrivals from Singapore and unleash our economic opportunities to open up business and job opportunities," he affirmed.
Uno spoke of having assigned the ministry’s Tourism Marketing Directorate to facilitate the resolution of issues and obstacles in an effort to increase the arrivals of tourists from Singapore.
Thus, issues, such as institutional matters, burdensome insurance requirements, visas, and the number of ferry services that need to be increased between the two countries, should be resolved at the earliest.
Uno targeted that in the next few weeks, the ministry would start to resolve issues related to visas and insurance with the help of the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI).
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit or in 2019, Singapore was the third-largest contributor to foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia. – AntaraNews.Com