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 importers to increase chicken supply from other sources as Malaysia halts export
Chicken rice seller Daniel Tan owns seven outlets selling the popular dish and uses more than 6,000 chickens a month, all imported from Malaysia.
Now, he worries if he can get enough chickens to keep his business OK Chicken Rice going.
On Monday (May 23), Malaysia said it will halt the export of 3.6 million chickens a month from June to address surging prices and the shortage of chickens in the country. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said on Monday night that importers will activate their supply chains to increase imports of chilled chicken from alternative sources, increase the import of frozen chicken from existing non-Malaysia suppliers, or draw from their stocks of poultry.
Singapore imported about 34 per cent, or close to 73,000 tonnes, of its chicken supply from Malaysia in 2021, according to SFA data.
Chicken is also the most widely consumed meat in Singapore, with a per capita consumption of 36kg in 2020. Almost all of Malaysia's chickens imported to Singapore arrive as live chickens and are then slaughtered and chilled in Singapore. SFA said: "While there may be temporary disruptions to the supply of chilled chicken, frozen chicken options remain available to mitigate the shortfall."
It added: "We strongly encourage consumers to play their part by being open to switching choices within and across food groups (such as consuming frozen chicken instead of chilled) as well as other sources of meat products. We also advise consumers to buy only what they need." – Straits Times
School principal walks free from sexual assault charges
A school principal, charged with four counts of committing physical sexual assault on four male students four years ago, was freed by the Sessions Court here today without his defence being called.
Judge Noor Aini Yusof, in acquitting and discharging Zainuren Mohamed, 59, said the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against the accused.
In her judgment, Noor Aini said there were contradictions in the evidence given by the mother of one of the victims and the victim himself.
She also said that there were contradictions in the evidence given by two teachers who were called to the stand and the other prosecution witnesses. "Also, one of the witnesses – the first person who brought up this allegation – was not called to testify.
"Because of the loopholes in his case, the court concludes that if the accused chooses to remain silent even if his defence is called, it is not safe for the court to convict the accused based on the available prosecution evidence in court," she said today.
During the course of the trial, a total nine prosecution witnesses were called to testify.
Zainuren was represented by counsels E. Gnasegaran, Audrey Wee and S. Vickneshwaran while Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhamad Syeqal Che Murat prosecuted.
In January 2019, Zainuren pleaded not guilty in four separate Sessions Courts here to four counts of committing physical sexual assault on four male students, aged between 11 and 14, at a school in Permatang Tok Jaya here between April 16 and Oct 10, 2018.
He was charged under Section 14 (a) of the Sexual Offences against Children Act 2017.
Outside the court, Gnasegaran told newsmen that his client was happy, now that his name has been cleared from the allegations. – New Straits Times
Chadchart's win omen of 'democracy', says Thaksin
Chadchart Sittipunt's landslide win to become Bangkok governor was the product of strategic voting by pro-democracy supporters and will be repeated in the next general election, according to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Some voters wanted to vote for the candidate of Move Forward, the second-largest opposition party, but decided instead to cast their ballots for Mr Chadchart who they thought had a better chance of winning, Thaksin said in an interview on The Room 44 website on Sunday.
The votes for Mr Chadchart were not manufactured, he said. Rather, they were enticed to back the independent candidate in the same way pro-government voters were urged to vote strategically for candidates on their side of the divide, the fugitive former premier noted.
Thaksin, who fled the country in 2008 before his conviction by the Supreme Court in the Ratchadaphisek land case, said he believed the Pheu Thai Party would be handed a landslide victory in the next polls if Sunday's voting pattern was repeated. Mr Chadchart was a former transport minister under the Yingluck Shinawatra administration.
In the same interview, Thaksin said he was pleasantly surprised at how fast his youngest daughter, the 35-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has adapted to politics. – Bangkok Post
Duterte hopes monkeypox less fatal than Covid-19
President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday expressed hope that the monkeypox outbreak being reported mostly in Europe would not be as fatal as coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
In a pre-recorded Talk to the People, Duterte requested Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Dr Abdullah Dumama to explain how dangerous monkeypox is. Dumama said the mortality rate of the rare viral disease is only about one percent.
“This has a fatality rate of at least 1 percent. It is not that virulent and cannot cause severe illness,” Dumama said.
Duterte said he hopes monkeypox is not as deadly as Covid-19 and joked about having concern for the monkeys.
“I hope it’s not because all our monkeys would be dead in that case, mass execution,” he added.
Monkeypox, a viral infection common in West and Central Africa, has been recorded in nearly 20 countries.
It is a viral zoonotic disease, meaning that it can spread from animals to humans. It can also spread between people.
Symptoms of monkeypox typically include a fever, intense headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, swollen lymph nodes and a skin rash or lesions.
The DOH earlier assured the public that no case of monkeypox has been detected yet within the Philippines or in its territorial borders.
Meanwhile, Duterte renewed his call to parents and their kids to get vaccinated against Covid-19. – Philippine News Agency
Viet Nam joins Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity
Viet Nam will join 12 countries in the region in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) as US President Joe Biden launches the initiative on Monday during his visit to long-term ally Japan.
The formal rollout of the IPEF was held in a hybrid format in Tokyo – with US President, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking part in person, and leaders from Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand joining remotely.
The White House said this economic framework with an initial 13 countries represents 40 per cent of global GDP.
The framework will focus on four key pillars – Connected Economy (including rules on digital economy, standards on cross-border data flows and data localisation, online privacy, and use of artificial intelligence); Resilient Economy (first-of-their-kind supply chain commitments that better anticipate and prevent disruptions); Clean Economy (commitments on clean energy and decarbonisation, infrastructure that promote good-paying jobs); and Fair Economy (effective tax, anti-money laundering, anti-bribery regimes, etc.)
Addressing the launch from Ha Noi, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said the current landscape calls for the adjustments of our growth model and economic linkages towards greater sustainability and resilience in order to fully harness the internal power and optimise external resources minding that internal resources are fundamental, strategic, long-term determinants while external resources are a constant game changer.
“Multilateralism and international solidarity must be grounded in security, trust, responsibility,” he noted. – Vietnam News
Cambodia urges people to be vigilant, alert over monkeypox
Cambodia on Monday called on people to be vigilant and alert over the recent outbreak of the monkeypox virus in some parts of the world, although no cases have been detected in the kingdom.
“Monkeypox is another emerging public health concern in the world. Please continue your health precaution measures to prevent the possible transmission although no case of monkeypox is found in Cambodia yet,” Health Ministry’s secretary of state and spokeswoman Or Vandine said in a news release.
“People should be vigilant and alert, taking all precaution measures for your own health,” she said. Vandine advised authorities at ports of entry to check all inbound passengers from countries where cases have been detected, and if any passengers are found to have itchy rashes and fever, a report to health authorities must be made. She also instructed all hospitals and health centres across the Southeast Asian country to closely monitor the situation and to report immediately if any suspected cases of monkeypox are detected.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that available information suggests that human-to-human transmission is occurring among people in close physical contact with cases who are symptomatic.
“People who closely interact with someone who is infectious are at greater risk for infection: this includes health workers, household members and sexual partners,” the WHO said. – Khmer Times
Controversial spokesperson for Suu Kyi, Thein Sein governments dies of heart attack
Myanmar’s former presidential spokesperson Zaw Htay died of a heart attack on Monday morning in Naypyitaw, according to sources close to him.
The 48-year-old collapsed at home and was pronounced dead at Naypyitaw’s 1,000-bed hospital, a source in the junta administrative capital told Myanmar Now.
He is survived by a teenage daughter.
Junta spokesperson Gen Zaw Min Tun, who graduated alongside Zaw Htay in the 37th intake of the Defence Services Academy, told local news outlet Eleven Media that Zaw Htay had passed away at around 9am.
Also known by his pen name Hmuu Zaw, Zaw Htay was widely perceived as a controversial figure, having served as spokesperson for rival governments.
From 2016 until 2021, he was the director-general of the offices of the now-detained State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and ousted President Win Myint within the National League for Democracy (NLD) administration.
The former army major was also a presidential spokesperson for the Thein Sein-led government under the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), a military proxy party which held office prior to the NLD.
After serving within the USDP, Zaw Htay’s reappointment to the NLD government was criticised by some party supporters who accused him of acting as the “military’s source” within the new administration. – Myanmar NOW
Indonesia leading on global efforts reducing disaster risks: UNDRR
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Director Ricardo Mena lauds Indonesia as a country that is leading in global efforts for disaster risk reduction.
"This is very important (effort) and I think this is where we think that Indonesia is leading on the global efforts of reducing disaster risks," Ricardo Mena stated in a special interview with ANTARA here on Monday (May 23).
Mena said that Indonesia has given a strong message about the importance of disaster risk reduction efforts by hosting the 2022 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR).
"We believe that Indonesia is giving very strong message through the engagement and hosting of the GPDRR here in Bali. We are very thankful to the Indonesian Government for that," he remarked.
The UNDRR Director also highlighted Indonesia's leadership in adopting long-term disaster risk reduction plan.
"I think what I would like to highlight is that Indonesia is one of few countries in the world that has adopted a very long-term plan to reduce disaster risks," he uttered.
"And this is very important because if you want to really address the root causes, you cannot do it in two, three or five years. It's impossible, and we look and welcome very much the fact that Indonesia has plan to reduce disaster risks that goes even beyond 2040," he added.
To that end, Mena also encouraged other countries to follow Indonesia's steps in adopting long-term plans for disaster risk reduction.
"Otherwise, it is very difficult to do it in such a short period of time to address the enormous number of risks that we have already accumulated over the past development processes in the past three decades," he said. – AntaraNews.Com