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.
Primary 1 registration for 2021 cohort goes online from July 1; MOE announces cap on PR children intake for some schools
Registration for children starting Primary 1 next year will start on July 1 and end on Oct 30, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Wednesday (May 27). In the light of the COVID-19 situation, there will not be any in-person registration at schools for the upcoming exercise this year, said the ministry in a statement. Primary 1 registration is conducted over seven phases. The changes will affect Phases 2A1, 2A2 and 2B, while the other stages, Phases 1, 2C and 2C Supplementary will largely remain the same, said the MOE. The earlier phases - 1 and 2A - are for children whose siblings are current pupils of the school, and children whose parents are members of the alumni association, or who are members of the school advisory or management committee. – The Straits Times
Sabah COVID-19 quarantine centre residents making a mess
The Sabah Health Department (JKNS) has urged those under quarantine at designated centres in the state to be more conscientious in maintaining good hygiene and dumping rubbish. Its director, Datuk Dr Christina Rundi, said complaints have been made by agencies managing the centres that some temporary residents have become a nuisance. "We understand that some might feel uncomfortable or dissatisfied at having to undergo quarantine at the centres. "However, JKNS urges those at the centres to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of personal hygiene and the environment. They have to know that cleanliness is the basis of health," she said in a statement. As of yesterday, 2,223 people are under quarantine at 55 centres in Sabah, while 9,192 are under stay-at-home orders. Sabah's number of COVID-19 cases remains 343, with 33 people still being treated at hospitals. – New Straits Times
PM looks to bolster SMEs
The government has come up with fresh measures, including quotas under procurement projects to buy products and services from small- and medium-sized (SMEs) enterprises to help alleviate the hit from the Covid-19 crisis, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said. Speaking in a TV Pool broadcast on Tuesday evening, Gen Prayut said that in recent weeks, he had personally visited a number of business associations to listen to their pandemic-related woes. "I particularly wanted to see the ones I had never had a chance to meet personally, especially those representing smaller sized businesses, because I know that they are among those that are really suffering a lot," said Gen Prayut. "I asked them to share with me the plight of their members and their thoughts and recommendations ... My purpose is to find quick, short-term ways in which we can soften the blow of the COVID-19 crisis on their members' incomes. I got some very useful ideas." – Bangkok Post
Volunteer army in Indonesia helps fight coronavirus with data, web
As Indonesia's most populous province weighed tough movement restrictions to stop the new coronavirus, it turned to a loosely-knit volunteer group of data scientists and health experts. The Kawal COVID-19 (Guard against COVID-19) group organized a data model presented to the provincial governor that showed there could be 70,000 deaths by July in West Java if no restrictions were imposed compared with only 20,000 if it took tough action. West Java province locked down. "They were keen to provide help and we accepted it," said Ridwansyah Yusuf Achmad, an adviser to the West Java governor who organized the online meetings with Kawal volunteers and praised the group as patriotic for donating its expertise. – The Jakarta Post
Duterte: No vaccine, no school opening
President Rodrigo Duterte said late on Monday that he would not allow students to go back to school until a vaccine for COVID-19 was available, drawing objections from educators and lawmakers who insisted modifications to the learning system could be introduced to prevent a longer disruption of education forced by the new coronavirus pandemic. Children are due to return to school toward the end of August after classes for more than 25 million primary and secondary students were shut down in March as the contagion reached the Philippines. Earlier this month, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases approved the proposal of the Department of Education (DepEd) to move the opening of classes for basic education to Aug. 24, with the school year ending on April 30, 2021. – Philippine Daily Inquirer
Time to build a comprehensive and inclusive environmental law: minister
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Trần Hồng Hà has said amending the Law on Environment Protection is urgent to ensure the country’s sustainable development. Presenting a draft for a new law to the National Assembly (NA) on Tuesday, he said the current law has not kept up with rapid changes as the environment quality has become worse and some dumps can no longer receive new waste. The COVID-19 pandemic has sounded the alarm over the need to change environmental management and control methods, he said. “It is time to build a comprehensive, inclusive and effective law on the environment,” he said. The amendments aim to make Vietnamese environmental regulations relevant to international laws, with the ultimate goals of improving environmental quality, protecting public health, balancing the eco-system and protecting biological diversification, towards sustainable development, he said. – Viet Nam News
Govt seeks parliamentary approval for additional Dala Bridge loan
The Ministry of Construction last week submitted a proposal to Parliament for an additional US$20 million loan from South Korea for the construction of the Myanmar-Korea Friendship Bridge, or Dala Bridge. The loan, which will be drawn from Korea's Economic Development and Cooperation Fund at a rate of 0.01 percent, will be used to cover additional costs for changes to the design of the bridge, said U Kyaw Lin, Deputy Minister of Construction. The changes include extending the width of the waterway to 300m from 250m before and bridge opening to 370m from 320m before. An agreement on the initial loan of US$137.8 million from the Koreans for the bridge was signed on November 16, 2015. As such, the changes will bring the total borrowed to US$157.8 million. As part of the 2015 agreement, the Myanmar government will also fork out a further US$30.3 million for the construction of the bridge. After including the additional costs for the design change, the total cost to build the Dala Bridge is now expected to amount to US$188.1 million. – Myanmar Times