These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Data breach of potentially 100,000 Razer customers worldwide discovered by cyber-security consultant
The personal and shipping information as well as order details of about 100,000 Razer customers around the world had been in danger of being exposed because a server was misconfigured, allowing the public to have access to the data. But their credit card numbers and passwords were safe, Razer said in a statement last Friday (Sept 11). The statement by the home-grown gaming hardware firm also said the problem was fixed two days earlier, last Wednesday. When contacted on Tuesday, a spokesman for Singapore's Personal Data Protection Commission said it is aware of the incident and is looking into the matter. This agency comes under the Infocomm Media Development Authority. The data breach was discovered by cyber-security consultant Volodymyr Diachenko, who wrote last Thursday on LinkedIn that he estimated the total number of affected customers to be around 100,000, based on the number of e-mail addresses exposed. Razer has not confirmed the figure. Mr Diachenko said the server was misconfigured for public access since Aug 18 and he immediately notified the company via their support channel. But his message was processed by non-technical support managers for more than three weeks until the data was secured from public access. He said exposed information included full names, e-mails, phone numbers, customer internal IDs, order numbers, order details, as well as billing and shipping addresses. – The Straits Times
Selangor career fair to offer 18,000 jobs
About 18,000 job opportunities will be offered by more than 60 companies through the "Selangor Mega Job Fair 2020" and the district career carnivals, organised by the Selangor government from October to December. State Youth Development, Sports and Human Capital Development exco Mohd Khairuddin Othman said the programme, in collaboration with the Human Resources Ministry, Social Security Organisation (Socso) and JobsMalaysia, was aimed at addressing the issue of unemployment due to the Covid-19 Movement Control Order (MCO) period. "The career carnival, themed 'Working Selangor', will start at the Shah Alam Convention Centre (SACC) on Oct 3 and 4 where about 5,000 job opportunities in various sectors, especially industry and service sectors will be offered. "For other districts in Selangor, the carnival will be organised in stages and we sincerely hope that the people of this state, especially those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, will take this opportunity to get new jobs," he said. He said his team was targeting 15,000 jobseekers to attend the carnival at the SACC and advised them to register their attendance early at the official JobsMalaysia Selangor website or contact the JobsMalaysia Selangor Centre at 03-55247740 and 03-55231309 starting today. "We expect a large group of visitors, so early registration is strongly encouraged so that we can comply with the standard operating procedures (SOP) set by the National Security Council. – New Straits Times
Tollway booths to be scrapped next year
The Ministry of Transport will remove tollway booths and remodel billing systems to incorporate vehicle recognition, in a bid to reduce congestion on tollway and expressways next year. Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob on Tuesday told reporters that the ministry's vehicle registration database will be shared with the Department of Land Transport, Department of Highways and Expressway Authority of Thailand under a memorandum of understanding to track vehicles using tollways and expressways when barriers and toll booths are taken away next year. He said a toll system without barriers and toll booths is being developed to be used on roads by the Department of Highways, Expressway Authority of Thailand, Department of Land Transport, Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc, and Don Muang Tollway Plc. According to the new system, called M-Flow, licence plate detectors will be used to later match the vehicle information in the licence registration database and bill motorists every month to post-pay without the assistance of barriers and toll booths, the minister said. In the meantime, the tracking system for post-payment will be tested at Thap Chang Toll gate. All tollway and expressway gates will be modified by next year, he said. "This system has another benefit ... we can check for illegal vehicles," he said referring to the linked database and the licence detection system. – Bangkok Post
COVID-19: Indonesian nurses, ministers pay a tribute to fallen healthcare workers
The Indonesian Nurses Association (PPNI) hosted an online gathering Tuesday to honour medical workers who have lost their lives during the battle against COVID-19. “Medical workers have vital roles in battling COVID-19. They don’t even know when to feel tired, even though they are supposed to be tired [from the relentless work],” PPNI chairman Harif Fadhillah said in Tuesday’s event, entitled Pray for Nurses. “This event is to remember our friends who died because of the virus. We also want to honour their lives and provide a little solace to their families,” he added. Given the fact that one nurse can provide medical care to tens of sick people, losing thousands of competent nurses would be a huge loss to the country, Harif said, suggesting the government give more protection to medical workers. According to data recorded by the PPNI, 78 nurses nationwide have reportedly died from COVID-19. “It’s already a huge loss to all of us, especially to the PPNI,” he said. Meanwhile, as of Sunday, the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) had recorded 115 doctor deaths due to COVID-19. Also speaking at the event, the state-owned enterprises minister and COVID-19 response and national economic recovery committee chairman, Erick Thohir, vowed to prioritize medical workers. “If a COVID-19 vaccine is found, medical workers will be prioritized. It is part of the state’s strategy to provide total protection for medical workers,” he said. – The Jakarta Post
More PhilHealth officials may be charged – DOJ
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Tuesday said the investigation of alleged massive corruption in Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) would continue and “more people may be charged.” Malacañang also said the recommendation of a task force led by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to bring criminal charges against top PhilHealth officials was “only the beginning,” holding out hope that Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, the PhilHealth chair, had not ridden out liability for the mess at the state-run health insurer. On Monday night, President Rodrigo Duterte approved the task force recommendation to file criminal charges against former PhilHealth president and CEO Ricardo Morales; senior vice president (SVP) for information technology Jovita Aragona; acting senior manager for information technology Calixto Gabuya Jr.; SVP for fund management Renato Limsiaco Jr.; SVP for health finance policy Israel Francis Pargas; executive vice president, chief operating officer and acting president Arnel de Jesus; and division chief Bobby Crisostomo. The charges were graft, malversation and illegal use of public funds, and gross misconduct and gross neglect, among other offenses that allegedly had cost PhilHealth P154 billion in losses to corruption since 2003. Several senators expressed disappointment on Tuesday at the task force’s decision not to recommend charges against Duque, whom an investigation by the Senate committee of the whole found liable for negligence that had led to the losses that brought PhilHealth to the brink of bankruptcy. – INQUIRER.net
Hà Nội allows reopening of bars, karaoke parlours and pedestrian streets
Hà Nội will allow bars, karaoke parlours and discos to reopen from tonight after the city has gone four weeks without new local COVID-19 cases. Ngô Văn Quý, Vice Chairman of Hà Nội People’s Committee, announced the decision during a meeting on Tuesday, adding that the entertainment venues – shut since August 1 as the city battled a new wave of cases related to Đà Nẵng outbreak – must still comply with COVID-19 prevention and control regulations. The staff of the venues must wear masks the entire time they work, while customers must fulfil basic hygiene and hand sanitation requirements, Quý said. He also agreed with the proposal from Hoàn Kiếm District authorities to allow the pedestrian street around Hoàn Kiếm Lake to reopen starting September 18. Quý said while previous outbreaks in the city had basically been eliminated, the risk of COVID-19 in the city remains significant given its economic and social-cultural hub status, in addition to the expected resumption of international flights to six destinations in Asia – China, China’s Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Cambodia and Laos. When these flights resume, Hà Nội would receive about 2,000 foreign entries a week so municipal authorities must prepare quarantine facilities to ensure COVID-19 prevention and control, Quý said. – Viet Nam News
United States Commits $153 million for Mekong Development
The U.S. State Department has pledged approximately $153.6 million for cooperation programs throughout the Mekong region, including crime prevention, data sharing, and emergency relief. The commitment was made at the first Mekong-U.S. Partnership ministerial meeting, held via video conference between U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun and foreign ministers from five Southeast Asian countries along the Mekong River. The State Department said it would spend USD 55 million to combat cross-border crimes across the Mekong region and USD 1.8 million to support the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in sharing water resource data for policy planning. The remainder of the funds is to be spent on disaster relief programs and promoting multilateral development policy dialogs throughout the Mekong region, according to a press release from the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Mekong-U.S. Partnership (MUSP) was announced at the ministers meeting and is based on the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) initiated by the U.S. in 2009. The objective of MUSP is to promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the region, as well as helping to realize the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the 2025 ASEAN Community Vision. – The Laotian Times