These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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2 new Covid-19 dorm clusters found in Jurong, Seletar North
Two new Covid-19 clusters at foreign worker dormitories were announced on Thursday (Sept 10) by the Ministry of Health (MOH). They were Avery Lodge Dormitory in Jalan Papan in the Jurong area with 35 patients, and PPT Lodge 1A in Seletar North Link with eight cases. There were also 63 new coronavirus patients announced on Thursday, taking Singapore's total to 57,229. Of these, 55 stay in dorms. 26 of them are part of the new Avery Lodge Dormitory cluster. The new cases announced on Thursday included two community cases, comprising a Singaporean and a work permit holder. The Singaporean, a 36-year-old man, was linked to three previous imported cases who are his family members. They had returned from India on Aug 24, and were placed on stay-home-notices at a dedicated facility upon arrival in Singapore. While the man had not travelled overseas with them, he requested to take care of his spouse and young children at the quarantine facility, and was isolated with them from Aug 24, said MOH. – The Straits Times
Crowds throng Butterworth Court ahead of Guan Eng's indictment
The Butterworth Court complex is abuzz with newsmen and supporters of former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, who will face new corruption charges here, today. The crowd began to gather as early as 8am, and reporters were told that only a limited number of media practitioners would be allowed inside the complex. Prosecutors arrived by 9.05am. After passes were handed out, members of the press began entering the venue at 9.10am after going through two police checkpoints. Police personnel had set up barricades at major entry points. Lim is expected to be charged with two counts of dishonest misappropriation of property in relation to the RM6.3 billion Penang Undersea Tunnel project. Last month, the Bagan MP was charged with soliciting 10 per cent of profits from Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd in March 2011 and soliciting a bribe of RM3.3 million from the same company to help it secure the controversial project. Lim was also charged with wrongdoing in an unrelated case, along with his wife Betty Chew, and businesswoman Phang Li Koon. – New Straits Times
Charter rewrite to take 2 years
The process of amending the constitution and making laws organic in the new charter is expected to be complete by July 2022. Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, who is the government's expert on legal affairs, on Thursday provided a tentative time frame for the charter rewriting process. Mr Wissanu said while the version of the charter amendment bill from the main opposition Pheu Thai Party seeks to establish a charter-drafting body and have a new constitution rewritten by it within 120 days, the version of the bill presented by government-coalition parties sets a 240-day time frame for drawing up a new charter. Parliament is expected to deliberate both versions during their first reading on Sept 23 and 24, he said. Both bills are expected to be combined into one during the parliament reading session. However, Mr Wissanu said the charter amendment process may take a long time because even if both bills are endorsed by both houses of parliament, they will have to wait until a separate bill on a referendum on the charter rewrite is enacted before they are put to the vote. – Bangkok Post
MUI advises Muslims to pray at home as Indonesia sees increasing COVID-19 cases
Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) deputy chairman Muhyiddin Junaidi has advised Muslims to pray at home as COVID-19 cases in the nation have shown several spikes over the past few months. “Muslims in areas with a high number of [COVID-19] cases are advised to refrain from performing Friday and regular prayers in public places,” Muhyiddin said on Thursday as quoted by tempo.co. Indonesia saw another record-high of 3,861 daily virus cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 207,203. As for Muslims in areas with a low number of cases, Muhyiddin suggested they pay attention to health protocols and implement them when performing prayers in public places. He also reminded Muslims to carry out more good deeds by helping other people in need through zakat (alms) as well as donations. Muhyiddin also asked preachers to help educate Muslims on the importance of health protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic through sermons. He also encouraged all Muslims to say a certain prayer, asking for God's protection from the infection. –The Jakarta Post
Palace vows ‘no pork’ after Lacson findings in DPWH budget
Malacañang on Thursday gave assurance that the proposed P4.5-trillion national budget for 2021 was compliant with the country’s laws and the Supreme Court’s ruling against pork, but Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who had discovered lump sums in the spending plan, pointed out that the budget secretary’s commitment to ask the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to submit a revised list of programs, activities and projects belied the Palace’s stance. Lacson on Wednesday sought to remove P469 billion from the proposed P667.3-billion budget of the DPWH that he said consisted of unconstitutional lump-sum appropriations. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque responded for Malacañang on Thursday, saying President Duterte’s spending plan contained no pork. “We maintain that when we submitted the budget, we followed the court decision that says there should be no pork barrel and all the government’s expenditures should have a line item budget,” Roque told a news briefing. – INQUIRER.net
SBV tells banking industry to develop an inclusive finance system
The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) urged the banking industry to build an inclusive finance system that serves all members of society in Viet Nam in Ha Noi on Thursday. SBV’s deputy Nguyen Kim Anh told the industry's conference on the action plan to serve the national financial strategy to 2025 that: “The inclusive finance system needs to specify vulnerable groups, helping them access the financial system in a favourable manner.” Considering an inclusive finance system, which serves all stakeholders of society, as one of the important pillars in sustainable development in Viet Nam, Anh said: “Such a system will contribute to creating livelihood opportunities, rotating investment capital flows and saving in society and promoting sustainable economic growth.” Anh said the traditional economic growth model in other countries with the goal of rapid growth has gradually revealed its shortcomings when solving poverty but the increasing income inequality led to other political and social instability. – Viet Nam News
Minimum wage for workers up to $192 for 2021
Prime Minister Hun Sen has decided to increase the minimum wage for garment industry workers by $2 per month for next year. His decision came after the National Council for Minimum Wage agreed to keep the wage stagnant at $190 a month and proposed the figure to Minister of Labour and Vocational Training Ith Sam Heng for approval. Speaking to reporters after the Thursday meeting, Sam Heng said the decision was attributed to serious difficulties and impacts caused by Covid-19 on global supply chains, production and imports of enterprises and factories. “I reported the matter to Samdech Techo [Hun Sen]. He decided to add $2 to the minimum wage set by the national council. Hence, the minimum wage for workers in 2021 is $192 a month. Although we have difficulties, [we] have a positive outcome,” he said. Sam Heng said employers and trade union sides consisting of 17 members each never seemed to be satisfied with the raise. He was optimistic that the new minimum wage will help raise the living standards of workers and facilitate increased productivity. – The Phnom Penh Post