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 Covid-19 cases spike to 4,831, more than double previous day's figure
The number of new Covid-19 cases reported in Singapore rose to 4,831 on Tuesday (May 10), more than double the 2,271 cases on Monday.
The number of cases reported on Tuesday was also more than triple that of last Tuesday's numbers, which stood at 1,570.
These numbers were reported by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in an update on its website on Tuesday. The week-on-week infection ratio also rose to 1.49 on Tuesday from 1.1 on Monday.
Last Tuesday's ratio was 0.72.
The rate refers to the ratio of community cases for the past week over those of the week before. A rate of more than 1 shows the number of new weekly Covid-19 cases is increasing. MOH said there were 263 hospitalised cases on Tuesday, with six patients in intensive care and 24 requiring oxygen support. Four deaths were also reported.
Of the new local cases, 394 were detected through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. Another 4,225 were detected through antigen rapid tests (ART), which means they either had no symptoms or their symptoms were mild.
There were 212 new imported cases, with 16 detected through PCR tests and 196 through ART.
Singapore has recorded a total of 1,225,024 Covid-19 cases, with 1,356 deaths. – Straits Times
PM: National textile industry has huge potential
The country's textile industry, especially unique and creative fabrics such as weaving and batik, has great potential to bring the nation to the international stage and become a profitable commodity, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
In expressing confidence that the country's industry such as the Royal Pahang Weave, batik, songket and tekat (embroidery) is viable to be brought to the world, he said such textile industries could garner the attention of the people and generate income.
"I believe if large-scale promotion is carried out, (to introduce the national textile industry such as weaving and batik) in London, it could attract tourists to the city," he told Malaysian journalists here.
Ismail Sabri, who arrived in the United Kingdom capital early Tuesday morning, visited the Royal Pahang Weave exhibition held for the first time at the Malaysian High Commission in Belgrave Square. Earlier, the Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah granted an audience to Ismail Sabri and delegation and Her Majesty later visited the Royal Pahang Weave exhibition which began on Tuesday and will end on Sunday.
Tunku Azizah, who has been championing the country's weaving programme, also told Ismail Sabri about the exhibition which, among others, showcased weaving from prisons and featured woven clothing including the Raja Permaisuri Agong's woven garment collection. – New Straits Times
PM weighs in on Nara, Lazada furore
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has slammed a controversial online promotion for Lazada that some people regarded as being offensive to the monarchy as "unacceptable".
The government has decided to seek court orders to block access to the advertisement. Speaking to reporters at Government House on Tuesday, Gen Prayut said: ''Is that the right thing? Can we accept it? Can the media accept it? If you can't, neither can I. Then, let the law take its course.''
He also urged the media to focus its attention on publicising positive things while material that causes conflict should be kept in check. Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES) Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn said he had instructed related agencies to examine and gather evidence from all online platforms, including global giants Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, in order to request the 42 URLs identified so far be taken down.
Those platforms have been asked to remove or block access, he said, adding the ministry would seek court orders if the platforms refuse to cooperate.
Mr Chaiwut also said Srisuwan Janya, secretary-general of the Association for the Protection of the Thai Constitution, an activist group, on Tuesday lodged a complaint with the DES, asking it to pursue legal action against all parties involved in the video ad.
"Whether the Lazada platform will be closed will be considered in court,'' Mr Chaiwut added. – Bangkok Post
Sara thanks supporters, calls for unity in pandemic recovery
With more than 31 million votes, vice-presidential bet Mayor Sara Z Duterte thanked Filipinos for their support and for accepting the UniTeam’s message of unity.
In a statement Tuesday evening, Duterte also asked the public to work together to recover from the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, which heavily crippled the country’s economy.
“I called on everyone to take their booster shots for us to go through with this pandemic and so that we will beat this virus,” she said.
During the campaign period, Mayor Sara has repeatedly vowed that if their tandem wins, no lockdowns will be imposed in the country.
“We will not lock down jobs and businesses. We have the mask and the molnupiravir – a medicine used to treat Covid-19,” Duterte said, as she urged those belonging to the 18-year-old and above category to avail of booster shots.
Likewise, Duterte thanked all the supporters for rallying behind her in her decision to run for the vice presidency.
“Thank you for believing in me especially when I decided to run (for vice-presidency). We shall continue to guard our votes until we have reached the proclamation,” she said.
Duterte has so far secured 31,522,495 votes as of 7:32 am Wednesday in the ongoing Commission on Elections (Comelec) national vote canvassing.
The Comelec has so far transmitted 98.22 percent of the election returns. – Philippine News Agency
Fifth plenum ends with consensus on corruption fight
The fifth plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee concluded in Ha Noi on Tuesday, agreeing to accelerate the fight against corruption while also discussing the collective economy and Ukraine-Russian conflict issues.
Participants also discussed issues including the building of Party organisations and quality of Party members.
The Party Central Committee agreed with high consensus plans to establish provincial steering committees on anti-corruption, noting that this is a “timely and necessary” task.
If properly operated, these committees would make the fight against corruption stronger, more effective, and obtain more positive results, it stated.
Discussing the need to improve the quality of Party members, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said it was important to enhance the close relationship with the people and to consider the people as a solid foundation to build the Party and develop the quality of Party members.
He also emphasised the importance of developing and recruiting Party members, adding that they must not only be capable professionally but also qualified in terms of morality and lifestyles.
He said those who are not qualified to be members of the party must have their membership suspended.
The General Secretary also highlighted the roles of inspection, supervision and punishment in ensuring the transparency and trust of Party members and Party organisations among citizens.
He underlined the need for active preventive measures as well as the strict handling of the degradation in political ideology, morality and lifestyle as well as corruption and negative phenomena among members. – Vietnam News
PM lands in USA and receives warm welcome from Cambodian-Americans
Prime Minister Hun Sen has arrived in the United States to attend the ASEAN-US Special Summit – and he received a warn and enthusiastic welcome from Cambodian-Americans.
The PM’s plane landed at the Joint Base Andrews Airport, Washington, DC, where he was greeted by an official honour guard and delegation from the Cambodian-American community.
Later, the PM met members of the Cambodian American community at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington, DC.
The PM is accompanied on his trip by Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhon, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sun Chanthol, Senior Minister of Public Works and Transport, and Minister of Commerce Pan Sosak, Dr Hang Chuon Naron, Minister of Education, Youth and Sports and other senior officials of the Royal Government of Cambodia. – Khmer Times
Five ethnic armed organisations refuse to meet with Myanmar junta chief
Facing unprecedented armed resistance nationwide both from ethnic forces and newly formed guerrilla groups, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing recently invited leaders of ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) to an upcoming meeting, with Monday as the deadline to respond.
“I will be personally meeting all attending leaders,” he said on April 22. It marked the first time that he had appealed to the groups personally since the February 2021 coup, and after previous invitations by other military officials were widely rejected.
At the time of reporting, five EAOs openly declined the offer: the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), Chin National Front (CNF), Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), Karen National Union (KNU) and the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP).
Min Aung Hlaing’s most recent appeal came nearly two years after he publicly accused ethnic forces of trickery during the Union Peace Conference in August 2020.
The military commander-in-chief had warned EAOs against recalling the “ideologies of the 1950s,” a reference to the demands of ethnic equality and self-determination that accompanied the revolutionary struggles that grew out of the early years of Myanmar’s independence.
He went on to cite a Burmese proverb: “Do not try to sell dog meat by showing the head of a goat,” suggesting that these groups had acted disingenuously by opposing his military and the central government.
The statement was later mocked by critics for its irony, as Min Aung Hlaing’s own armed forces continued brutal offensives in ethnic states and stood accused of multiple violations of the now-defunct Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).
“The only person selling dog meat by showing a goat head is Min Aung Hlaing himself,” KNU spokesperson Padoh Saw Taw Nee told Myanmar Now, dismissing the junta chief’s offer of peace talks as insincere. – Myanmar NOW
Vice President expresses optimism for Bali tourism recovery
Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has said he is optimistic that Bali’s tourism sector will recover soon due to the decline in COVID-19 cases nationwide and an increase in booster vaccinations among Bali residents.
Amin delivered the statement while monitoring the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) area on Jerman Beach, Badung, Bali, on Tuesday.
“Today, I visited the beach to monitor MSMEs, and I saw that the community’s economic activities in Bali, especially in Kuta, have started to grow (again),” he said.
Bali’s booster vaccination coverage, which has reached 86 percent, has supported its becoming a safe place to visit, the Vice President noted. He said that he is optimistic Bali’s economy will revive.
"This shows that Bali has actually recovered. Thus, foreign tourists, as well as local tourists, do not need to worry about coming to Bali," he added.
The Vice President said the promotion of Bali's tourist destinations needs to be intensified, both inside the country and abroad. The supervisor of enterprise units on Jerman Beach, Ni Luh Gede Sri Mediastuti, reported to the Vice President that tourism around Jerman Beach has started to recover.
However, she noted that the situation has not fully improved yet. For that reason, she expressed the hope that the government would push Bali's tourism revival.
"Visitors have started to come. Our activities have been reactivated though not maximal yet; only 20 percent," Mediastuti said.
Earlier, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) had reported a significant increase in international tourist arrivals in Bali via air transportation.
According to the data, at Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali, the number of international tourist arrivals has jumped by a significant 487,133.33 percent – from just 3 arrivals recorded in March 2021 to 14,617 arrivals in March 2022. – AntaraNews.Com