These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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All S'pore Covid-19 cases in April were of the Omicron variant
All local and imported cases of Covid-19 last month which underwent genome-wide sequencing were found to have been infected with the Omicron variant.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Thursday (May 19) that of the local cases, 99 per cent were the sub-variant BA.2 strain and its lineages, which include BA.2.12.1.
The remaining 1 per cent was the BA.1 sub-variant. Of the imported cases, 98 per cent were the BA.2 sub-variant and its lineages, 1 per cent was the BA.1 sub-variant and its lineages, and 1 per cent from recombinant lineages which include XJ and XE.
The XJ and XE strains are hybrids of the original Omicron strain BA.1 and the BA.2 sub-variant.
Two imported cases last month were infected with the BA.4 strain. On Sunday (May 15), MOH said that it had detected two local cases of the BA.4 sub-variant and one local case of the BA.5 sub-variant. All three are the first community cases confirmed to have been infected with the BA.4 and BA.5 variants, which the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control had recently described as variants of concern.
On Thursday, MOH reported 4,578 new cases of Covid-19, down from 6,442 the day before. – Straits Times
Consumers upset, traders claim they are also feeling the pinch
As traders raise the prices of food, consumers are forced to adopt a prudent lifestyle.
The traders, however, claimed that despite imposing higher prices and subsequently having to deal with unhappy customers, they were still incurring losses.
Sulaiman Mahdin, 60, who sells local and imported beef at the Chow Kit wet market, said he had no choice but to pay whatever amount charged by his suppliers.
"Almost everything at the market these days is being sold at higher prices. Traders who get their supplies from the middlemen will suffer as they have to pay more and make less profit. There are days traders can only break even. "Previously, imported beef was sold at RM12 per kg. Nowadays, the price is between RM15 and RM17 per kg. We can't do anything but to raise our prices as well.
"Our hands are tied. It is either we comply or risk not having anything to sell by the end of the day," he told the New Straits Times.
Sulaiman, who owns a butcher stall called Man and Meats at the wet market for the last 40 years, said, he chose to maintain the usual prices for his products to ensure that his customers would keep coming to his stall.
"I maintain the old prices, although my suppliers are charging me extra. Only when I am forced to or as the last resort, I may have to raise prices and this is likely to happen when I can no longer absorb the losses," he said.
The NST checked several wet markets around the Klang Valley and found that most fresh produce were being sold at higher prices, including chicken, which was sold at between RM9.50 and RM10.50 per kg; prawns at between RM30 and RM40 per kg, and chillies at RM12 per kg. – New Straits Times
Prayut defends performance
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha defended his administration's performance over the past eight years, saying he has managed to lead the country through one crisis after another and that he is trying his best to move the nation forward.
Gen Prayut was speaking at the "Better Thailand: Open Dialogue" seminar on Thursday, initiated by the government at Siam Paragon. He recounted the day when he decided to seize power almost eight years ago, saying the country was deeply divided, with society polarised over political lines for over a decade.
He said the country was bogged down in conflict, leaving the people in distress while Thailand was becoming the "sick man of Asia". "Some people may have forgotten this. When the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) was formed, we were aware that [restoring order] would come at a price ... [but] we were criticised for being undemocratic," Gen Prayut said.
"At the time, the NCPO tried to ensure that people could still enjoy their freedom of expression in line with the law, with all sides given as much leniency as possible.
"The NCPO had a great deal of special power, but I only used it when it was necessary to solve problems. When it came to the justice system, independent agencies were still able to carry out their work without any interference.
"The primary aim [of the coup] was to maintain order and steer the country forward and restore international confidence in Thailand," Gen Prayut said. – Bangkok Post
Duterte gov’t leaves a legacy of ‘safe, secure’ PH: Palace
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and his administration will be stepping down from office with confidence that the Philippines is “safe and secure,” Malacañang said Wednesday.
This, after the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said Duterte will leave a government that has failed to fulfil its obligations to protect human rights and has “encouraged a culture of impunity.”
“In contrast to what a handful of critiques would want the international community to hear and read about our country, the Duterte Administration leaves a legacy of a safe and secure Philippines,” acting presidential spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a press statement.
The 48-page report was completed in April by CHR commissioners whose seven-year terms expired on May 5.
The CHR report, which was released this week, found the Duterte government has incited a “culture of impunity” by stonewalling on independent inquiries and refusing to bring to trial the police officers implicated in the supposed wrongdoings in the conduct of anti-drug operations.
The report presented around 882 drug-related cases involving 1,139 victims. Twenty-three percent of the drug-related deaths were examined by the CHR from 2016 to 2021.
The CHR reported that cops had used “excessive and disproportionate force” in most of the cases, contrary to their standard claims of self defense.
It also revealed that 73 percent of 511 victims who allegedly resisted arrest had been killed by gunshots to the head and torso, as well as multiple gunshot wounds.
Andanar merely dismissed the CHR report as a “rehash of old issues.”
Contradicting the report, Andanar said foreign nationals visiting the country are even seeing “how safe our streets and communities are.”
He also cited that the crime rate in the country has dropped since Duterte assumed presidency in 2016.
Duterte, he added, is even enjoying “high satisfaction, performance, approval and trust ratings at the end of his presidency.” – Philippine News Agency
Viet Nam, Singapore to strengthen cooperation ahead 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations
Speaker of the Singaporean Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin said Singapore’s Prime Minister wants to visit Viet Nam in 2023 when the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, during his meeting with Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Thursday.
President Phuc said that the presence of Speaker Tan at the 31st SEA Games provides great encouragement to the host country Viet Nam and the Singapore sports delegation.
The Vietnamese leader praised the good results of talks between Vietnamese NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and his Singaporean counterpart.
Assessing that trade growth between the two countries is very positive, with more Singaporean projects investing in Viet Nam, the President said that the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park is considered a symbol of economic cooperation between the two countries.
The President said he wishes to have more Singaporean cooperation projects in Viet Nam and the two sides to strengthen cooperation in the field of human resource training because this is the most solid foundation in the country's socio-economic development.
Singapore's NA Speaker Tan thanked President Phuc for taking the time to receive him and reiterated his good impression of the Vietnamese leader’s recent visit to Singapore in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leaders of the two countries agreed on many important solutions to promote bilateral relations.
Noting that 2023 will be the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Singaporean Speaker said there will be many commemorative activities.
He added that the Prime Minister of Singapore wishes to visit Viet Nam on this occasion. – Vietnam News
US to open investigation into shoe-throwing incident
The United States said that it will be opening an investigation into the individual who hurled a show at Prime Minister Hun Sen during the Premier’s visit to the country. The incident took place on May 11 in Washington D.C. when a man named Ouk Touch aimed and threw a shoe at Prime Minister Hun Sen. This is according to Chad Roedemeier, spokesman for the US Embassy in Cambodia, on May 19.
The Spokesman for the US Embassy in Cambodia responded that the United States attaches great importance to the safety and security of diplomats and dignitaries visiting the United States. With the May 11 incident, the United States will launch a thorough investigation under US law.
The US Embassy in Phnom Penh’s confirmation comes just days after Prime Minister Hun Sen asked the United States to comment on the shoe-throwing case against a leader, whether it was freedom of expression or violence. – Khmer Times
Public health officials accuse department’s junta-appointed director-general of corruption
Four senior officials have requested that the military council take action against the head of the public health department in Naypyitaw for allegedly abusing her power.
According to documents obtained by Myanmar Now, 59-year-old director-general Dr Myint Myint Than is accused of forcing staff to work overtime and carry out chores in her household, as well as soliciting bribes from pharmaceutical companies, and misappropriating funds.
The complaint was filed in late April by Myint Myint Than’s deputies Aye Aye Sein, and Drs Htin Lin, Htun Tin and Kyaw Kankaung.
An official in the department of public health, which falls under the junta’s health ministry in Naypyitaw, told Myanmar Now that the military council’s anti-corruption commission had started investigating the complaint.
“The situation has become worse under her leadership, and vaccines for children under age five went out of stock,” the official said. “People used to be able to get inexpensive vaccines for polio, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, but now these vaccines are out of stock in the department. People have to buy them from private pharmacies.”
The complaint alleged that Myint Myint Than had misused funds for health initiatives to be implemented in coordination with international organisations, and had falsified expense reports and sold surplus medications and supplies for profit.
“If we were to distribute one million condoms for HIV prevention, we would submit a cost estimate per condom. Even if the market rate for a condom was 100 kyat, they would write that it cost 300, 400 or 500 kyat per condom,” the official in the public health department said. – Myanmar NOW
Expect budget deficit to slide to 4.5% of GDP: Finance Minister
This year’s state budget deficit is expected to narrow to 4.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), or lower than the target of 4.85 percent of the GDP, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said.
"I want this year's budget deficit be lowered from Rp868 trillion to Rp840.2 trillion," Indrawati said during a working meeting with the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives here on Thursday.
The deficit reduction will come from the 2022 state revenue outlook, which is expected to be Rp420.1 trillion higher than the target, she explained.
However, she claimed that not all of the excess revenue will be allocated to close the budget gap but will be utilized for subsidies, social protection, and education spending, among others, she affirmed.
"The allocation of excess state revenue to reduce the deficit is very little, only Rp27.8 trillion. If we want to be fiscally ambitious, it can be, but it will be reduced for other (allocations)," the minister said.
Therefore, Indrawati described the plan to cut the deficit as a policy option proposed by the government along with the projected state revenue increase of Rp420.1 trillion by the end of the year.
With the lower deficit outlook for 2022, automatic budget financing from the state budget will reduce from Rp868 trillion to Rp840.2 trillion, she said.
Meanwhile, on a separate occasion, Bank Indonesia (BI) said that Indonesia's external debt (ULN) fell by US$4.2 billion from US$415.7 billion to US$411.5 billion in the first quarter of this year.
This development was caused by a drop in the position of public sector external debt, which includes the government, central banks, and the private sector, BI communication department head Erwin Haryono informed. – AntaraNews.Com