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.
S'pore GE: Temperature screening, e-registration and allotted time slots for voting during Covid-19
Voters will be allotted recommended time bands to visit polling stations and reduce crowding in the upcoming election. They will also be given disposable gloves and be allowed to bring their own pens to cast their ballots. Some 1,100 polling stations will also be set up - an extra 220 - with election officials spread out at least 1m apart, so everyone can keep a safe distance from one another. These strict precautions are among efforts that will be put in place so Singapore can safely hold an election amid the coronavirus outbreak. With public health experts expecting Covid-19 to be around for the long haul, and a constitutional deadline to hold the polls by April 14 next year, the next general election is almost certain to happen before the worldwide pandemic abates. – The Straits Times
2nd wave of dengue cases underway; 84 deaths this year
The Health Ministry has forecast a second wave of dengue cases nationwide from June to September this year, said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. He said from January to June 6, a total of 48,584 dengue cases were reported in the country, compared to 54,524 cases during the same period last year - an 11 per cent decrease. Meanwhile, 84 deaths were recorded in the same period, compared to 83 last year. Dr Noor Hisham said that although there was a downtrend in the number of dengue cases, infections are beginning to rebound. He said beginning six weeks ago, cases rose by eight per cent per week. He opined that premises which were closed during the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) became breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes. "It's possible that premises which were closed and had no movement of people could be breeding grounds for mosquitoes, therefore the public is advised to maintain hygiene in their respective areas. – New Straits Times
Govt denies phone tracking
The Ministry of Defence has denied requesting mobile phone location data from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to monitor the Covid-19 outbreak in Thailand. Defence Ministry spokesman, Lt Gen Kongcheep Tantravanich, said the ministry has no authority to demand private mobile phone information, shutting down reports that the ministry had asked mobile network operations to send in their customers' location data to assist with efforts to curb the spread of the disease. However, the director of the Policy and Planning Office under the Ministry of Defence, Gen Raksak Rojphimphun, said instead that the NBTC and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society have been nominated to supervise the tracking of mobile phone users' movements. He also said his office has met with all five mobile network operators to discuss the possibility of using users' mobile phone data for disease-control purposes. – Bangkok Post
Yogyakarta sultan threatens to close Malioboro after people seen gathering without masks
Yogyakarta Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, who is also the Yogyakarta governor, has threatened to close Jl. Malioboro after seeing people gathered in the popular tourist destination without complying with COVID-19 health protocols. "On Sunday night I passed by Jl. Malioboro and I saw a lot of residents gathered around the area, chatting without wearing masks," the sultan said on Monday, adding that they also did not adhere to the physical-distancing policy. He said he had coordinated with Yogyakarta officials to ensure that people who visited the tourist area, as well as residents in general, complied with strict health protocols to prevent further spread of COVID-19. The sultan also raised concerns about possible transmission, saying that it would be difficult for health authorities to carry out contact tracing if someone contracted the disease in the tourist area as many visitors came from outside Yogyakarta. – The Jakarta Post
Faking Facebook accounts a criminal offense, says DOJ
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked Facebook to take down over a hundred of dummy accounts bearing the names of students and alumni of several universities across the country, but the data must be preserved for possible prosecution of the perpetrators. “We have informed Facebook about this so that these could be taken down, but more importantly to preserve the data, whether we are talking about subscriber data, traffic data or content data of these accounts,” Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete said on Monday. He said the data would be used as evidence should the affected individuals decide to file a criminal complaint against the creators of the dummy accounts. “As we all know, computer-related identity theft is a crime, which is defined and punished by [Republic Act No.] 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act,” Perete told a news briefing. – Philippine Daily Inquirer
More than 340 people return home from San Francisco
More than 340 Vietnamese nationals flew home from San Francisco over the weekend, touching down in Việt Nam on Monday. The flight, which was operated by the national carrier Vietnam Airlines in collaboration with Vietnamese representative agencies in the US and the relevant US agencies, landed at Hà Nội’s Nội Bài International Airport. All passengers on the flight, which included children, the elderly, people who are ill and students, were immediately taken into quarantine after landing. Vietnamese representative agencies in the US had actively supported citizens including many who had to move from places far from the airport, some who needed special assistance including those over 80 years old, people in wheelchairs and infants. The Vietnamese Consulate General in San Francisco also sent officials to the airport to assist citizens. – Viet Nam News
Five Days on, Cambodian Interior Ministry and Thai Embassy Have ‘No Information’ on Missing Activist
The Cambodian Interior Ministry and Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh said they had no information related to the disappearance of a Thai pro-democracy activist, despite several international rights groups and news organizations reporting the incident that occurred on June 4. Last Friday, VOA Khmer reported eyewitness accounts from Phnom Penh’s Chroy Changvar district of popular Thai activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit being dragged into a black SUV by three unidentified men. The abduction was reported by Human Rights Watch in a statement released Friday morning. Five days after the incident, Interior Ministry spokesperson Khieu Sopheak said the government will not investigate the incident unless the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh or Wanchalearm Satsaksit’s family files an official complaint with the local police. – Cambodia Daily