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.
Practices of online travel booking sites flagged
Some Singaporeans paid more than they bargained for when booking their holidays, misled by pricing and marketing practices commonly used by online travel booking providers.
The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) flagged this concern today (30 September) as part of the findings of a nine month-long market study on the online travel booking sector in Singapore. – The Straits Times
Police to be stationed at PPRs in the city
Malaysian police will soon station two personnel at every People’s Housing Project with high crime indexes in the city to curb crime at these hotspots.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim said the effort will involve 38 PPRs around the federal capital and it will be done with the help of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall.
He said the move was to reduce crime at hotspot areas and to facilitate and expedite police work as part of efforts to prevent crime. The collaboration with city hall will also lead to the police renting units at the chosen PPRs in this initiative. – New Straits Times
Wamena residents flee in mass exodus following attack rumour
After the student protests that ended in unrest and killings in Wamena, Papua, last Monday (23 September), both indigenous and non-indigenous residents have started to leave the city.
The residents are fleeing the city amid rumours that there will be a huge military deployment to prevent further turbulence in the area.
Engelbert Surabut, a civil servant in the Jayawijaya administration, said the residents were fleeing as a result of many rumours about worsening security in the city. – The Jakarta Post
Thai horror crash spurs action
Road safety advocates are calling on authorities to enforce road safety regulations more strictly after 13 people were killed when the pickup truck they were riding on overturned Sunday morning.
Nikorn Chamnong, a member of the House of Representatives' transport committee and a road safety advocate, said officials should not hesitate to enforce road rules when they spot risky road user behaviour.
"If they see more than six people on the tray of a pickup truck that is exceeding the speed limit, they should stop the vehicle right away," he said.
Early Sunday morning, a pickup truck carrying 18 people overturned in Samut Prakan's Bang Phli district - killing 13 students from a technical college in Si Sa Ket and seriously wounding the driver, police said. – Bangkok Post
Health ID to be issued for citizens
Each Vietnamese citizen will be issued with a unique health ID card, which they will be able to use throughout their lives, according to the Ministry of Health.
The ID will be automatically generated through the general identification system of the ministry and used to identify individuals for healthcare services.
According to the regulation issued by the health ministry on creating, using and managing health IDs, each healthcare facility will have an account to access the national health identification system. – Vietnam News
Prak Sokhonn addresses General Debate of 74th session of UNGA
Cambodia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Prak Sokhonn on Saturday underlined the importance of peace, calling on the world to allow peaceful coexistence between countries with different political systems.
Addressing the general debate of the 74th session of the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York yesterday, Mr Sokhonn said the world should allow peaceful coexistence between countries with different political systems, different religious or cultural references, different concepts of the economic role of the state.
“On the pretext of the universality of certain values, some powers would impose their model of society and governance thereby fermenting a new form of division of the world that reminds us of the worst moments of the Cold War,” Mr Sokhonn said.
Mr Sokhonn said at present, countries are labelled as enemies because they are simply deemed competitors or because they refuse to take sides irrespective of their context and history. – Khmer Times
Report lauds Myanmar’s improving business environment
Myanmar is now listed among the top 20 improvers of the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report.
The report states that Myanmar is listed among top improvers in ASEAN because of reforms to the country’s business landscape.
According to the report several initiatives in particular stand out, the foremost among them Yangon’s strengthening of construction quality control by imposing stricter qualification requirements for architects and engineers and investments in its water and sanitation infrastructure. – The Myanmar Times