These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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S'pore confirms imported monkeypox case; 13 close contacts identified
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed an imported case of monkeypox here.
The patient is a 42-year-old British man who works as a flight attendant and was in Singapore between last Wednesday and last Friday (June 15 and 17) and again on Sunday as he flew in and out of the country, said MOH on Tuesday night.
He tested positive for monkeypox on Monday and is currently warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). His condition is stable, said MOH, adding that contact tracing is ongoing.
Thirteen close contacts have been identified as at Tuesday.
All close contacts will be placed on quarantine for 21 days since their last contact with the patient. Two low-risk contacts have also been placed on phone surveillance, said MOH. Those under phone surveillance will receive daily phone calls during a 21-day period to monitor for any onset of symptoms.
If they are suspected of being infected, they will immediately be taken to the NCID for further evaluation and isolation to prevent further transmission.
This is the first imported monkeypox infection detected in Singapore since 2019, when a Nigerian man tested positive. – Straits Times
Paxlovid expected in private hospitals by early next week
Paxlovid, an oral antiviral drug to treat Covid-19, is only expected to be available at private hospitals by early next week.
Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) president Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh said private hospitals are currently working out the details with the government on the use of the drug in their healthcare facilities.
Although the government gave the green-light for the use of Paxlovid in private hospitals two weeks ago, Dr Kuljit said the Health Ministry only released the circular and guidelines on the matter last week.
"APHM is grateful to Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin on the recent announcement on the availability of Paxlovid in private healthcare facilities. "We are happy that the drug will be made available for free to patients and there will only be consultation charges and other related charges by the facilities.
"However, Paxlovid is not available in private hospitals yet. We are still in the process of working out the details and agreement with the government.
"Preparations are being made by some of the private hospitals to complete the required documentation in order to prescribe the antiviral drug in our facilities.
"We urge the public to be patient as the medication may only reach our pharmacies at the earliest by the end of this week or early next week.
"Meanwhile, some private hospitals will try to loan some from the nearby public hospitals if the need arises," he said in a statement.
Paxlovid is the first antiviral medication available in Malaysia to treat Covid-19 patients with mild to medium symptoms or patients in Categories 2 and 3 of the infection.
Khairy, on June 9, said private hospitals were allowed to use Paxlovid and subsequently, a circular and guideline was distributed to private healthcare facilities on June 16. – New Straits Times
Prawit counts on 'minnows' to back him
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has expressed confidence that small political parties will support the government in the upcoming no-confidence debate.
Quizzed on which way they would sway in terms of supporting other cabinet misters targeted in the censure motion, Gen Prawit, who also serves as leader of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), said: "They are on the government's side. There is no problem with that." And when grilled on whether the Setthakij Thai Party would protect him against attacks from the opposition, the deputy PM said the party is still a member of the coalition and would not turn against censured ministers.
Setthakij Thai is home to 18 MPs, including its leader Capt. Thamanat Prompow, who were all expelled by the PPRP for acting as renegades. Yet Capt. Thamanat remains steadfast in his loyalty to Gen Prawit, even though he was accused of being the mastermind of last year's censure debate revolt against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. At the time, Capt. Thamanat served as the PPRP's secretary-general and was seen as Gen Prawit's right-hand man.
Setthakij Thai is seen as a key player in the no-confidence vote as Capt. Thamanat has made it clear he will not support Gen Prayut.
On June 15, the opposition formally filed a motion of no-confidence against the PM and 10 other cabinet ministers including Gen Prawit.
The motion for the censure debate was submitted to House Speaker Chuan Leekpai by core members of the opposition led by Cholnan Srikaew, leader of the Pheu Thai Party. – Bangkok Post
BARMM report part of PRRD fulfilment of peace process
The recent report released by the Intergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB) reflected the fulfilled promises of President Rodrigo Duterte to sustain the gains of the comprehensive peace process in the Bangsamoro region.
The IGRB is composed of officials from the national government and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and BARMM Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal as co-chairpersons.
Iqbal, Dominguez, and BARMM officials met with President Duterte at the Palace on Thursday to discuss the second progress report of the IGRB, covering December 2019 to December 2021 where 11 key issues in the first progress report have been addressed.
“This report is a manifestation that President Duterte remains committed to bringing lasting and sustainable peace closer to the Bangsamoro people. He stayed true to his promise of honouring all signed peace agreements," Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. said in a statement Tuesday.
The concerns included the transfer of properties and assets of offices of national government agencies within the BARMM to the Bangsamoro government; nationally funded programs; Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration in the region; participation of the Bangsamoro government in the Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines; policing in the Bangsamoro; creation of an inter-agency committee for purposes of inventory; transfer of real properties of the ARMM outside the BARMM; joint exploration, development, and utilization of fossil fuels and uranium; Bangsamoro participation in the national government; establishment of a Shari’ah Supervisory Board and an Islamic Banking Unit within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; and participation of the Bangsamoro government in the Southern Philippines Development Authority. – Philippine News Agency
National Press Awards honour great contribution of journalists: PM
The 16th National Press Awards 2021 were presented at a ceremony in Ha Noi on June 21, the Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day.
In his remarks at the ceremony, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highlighted the growth of Viet Nam’s revolutionary press over the past 97 years, contributing greatly to the struggle for national independence and the cause of national construction and defence.
He highlighted that the country currently has more than 800 press agencies and over 22,000 members of the Viet Nam Journalists Association.
The Government leader congratulated 115 authors and groups of authors who have won prizes in the 16th National Press Awards, stressing that the awards honour and express thanks to journalists who have made important contributions to the country’s success in 2021, a year with unprecedented difficulties and challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The press has built trust and helped consolidate the great solidarity, consensus and support of the people and businesses for the Party and State’s sound policies on a vaccine strategy and COVID-19 prevention and control programme, enabling Vietnam to become one of the few countries leading the world in the vaccination rate,” PM Chinh said.
He also applauded the press for spreading kindness and joint efforts of organisations, individuals and enterprises to ensure social welfare during the time of the pandemic, and encouraging and honouring the work and sacrifice of frontline forces in the fight against the pandemic. – Vietnam News
Testing the waters? Sokha believed to be gauging support after Rainsy split
In what is seen as an attempt to gauge his support following his public announcement that he has severed all ties with his former political ally Sam Rainsy, former opposition leader Kem Sokha has embarked on a tour of provinces. His announcement has also been seen by some quarters as having improved his chances of a political reconciliation with Prime Minister Hun Sen, because unlike Rainsy he has never adopted a confrontational stand.
However, detractors say that Sokha’s denouncement of Rainsy, with whom he co-founded the now court-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), may have all but killed his hopes of a political comeback by garnering support of that party’s former supporters. Sokha who is facing a “treason” trial at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court last week officially announced he had cut off ties with Rainsy, amid increasing divisions since before the recent Commune Election.
On Thursday, a day after announcing his disassociation with Rainsy, Sokha and his confidantes travelled to Kampong Cham province and on Saturday to Siem Reap province where they met dozens of supporters. “We keep our original position unchanged, we are always waiting for Kem Sokha, whenever he has political rights, and we will continue to travel together for our nation,” one of Sokha’s lawyers Chan Chen said on his Facebook along with four pictures of Sokha meeting supporters.
Contacted yesterday, Chen said Sokha’s visit was just to know the well-being of the people, not to conduct any political activities. – Khmer Times
Disappearance of teachers in northern Rakhine sparks manhunt
Residents of a village in northern Rakhine State’s Maungdaw Township have been searching frantically for two members of their local primary school’s staff who went missing late last week.
Thirty-four-year-old headmaster Bo Win and 27-year-old Ohnmar Kyaw, a teacher at the same school in the village of Thin Baw Hla, disappeared last Thursday while on their way to the town of Maungdaw to attend an administrative meeting.
The pair were on one of three motorcycles that were travelling together when they fell behind because their vehicle couldn’t keep up with the other two, members of the group told Myanmar Now.
Maung Shwe Tun, the village administrator, said that he and the others making the trip waited for the two teachers to catch up, but when they didn’t, they began to search for them.
“We waited a long time, but they never arrived. We tried calling their phones, but all we got was a message saying they were in an area without service, so we went back to look for them,” he said.
Local residents who joined the search said they later found the motorcycle near Zee Pin Chaung, a village not far from the Bangladesh border.
“We found the missing motorcycle near a jackfruit tree that is about a five-minute walk from the entrance to Zee Pin Chaung,” said one local who did not want to be named.
Other items belonging to Ohnmar Kyaw, including a comb, books and shoes, were discovered the next day in a wooded area near the village of Kyauk Chaung, which is also close to Zee Pin Chaung, according to a teacher who took part in the search.
Another teacher who later called Ohnmar Kyaw’s phone again said that it was answered by a man who demanded to meet with education officials. – Myanmar NOW
Government spending on fuel subsidies is huge: Jokowi
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has called on the public to understand that fuel subsidies provided by the government are huge, worth Rp502 trillion (US$33.8 billion), equivalent to the cost of building a new capital city.
"Our subsidies here (fuel) are not just big but huge. It can be used to build the capital city because the figure reaches Rp502 trillion. We must understand this. How long can we survive with subsidies of this size?" the president stated at a meeting of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) here on Tuesday.
Jokowi drew attention to the current severity of global conditions, which have had an impact on various sectors, including the prices of fuel oil.
The head of state cited as an example that the price of Pertalite in Indonesia is still Rp7,650 (52 cents) per liter and Pertamax, Rp12,500 (84 cents) per liter. The prices are not the actual price, but they are subsidized prices, he added.
Meanwhile, Jokowi noted that in Singapore and Germany, the price of gasoline had reached Rp31 thousand (US$2.09) per liter, while in Thailand, it was Rp20 thousand (US$1.35) per liter.
"If we do not understand the numbers, we do not realize how serious the problem is. Some Rp466 trillion is needed to build the capital city, (while) this is for subsidies. It is impossible for us to not provide subsidies. It would be noise. We also make the socio-political calculation," Jokowi remarked.
President Jokowi emphasized that the people should receive information regarding the current difficult global conditions. – AntaraNews.Com