These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Singapore could have a Covid-19 vaccine by early 2021
Singapore could have a Covid-19 vaccine by early next year. The first shipments of the vaccine co-developed by Singapore researchers are expected in the first quarter. Arcturus Therapeutics, the American pharmaceutical company working with Duke-NUS scientists on the vaccine, said this on Monday (Nov 9), as it announced positive preliminary results from the early stage clinical trials ongoing in Singapore. Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB) is pumping in some US$45 million (S$60.5 million) into the manufacture of the vaccine, said Arcturus. EDB will also have the right to purchase up to $175 million of the vaccine at pre-negotiated prices, with shipments expected to begin in the first quarter of 2021, said Arcturus. Duke-NUS Medical School's Professor Ooi Eng Eong, who had co-developed the vaccine with Arcturus, said the results so far show that the vaccine could be effective as a single dose. "This differentiates this investigational vaccine from many other Covid-19 vaccines in development," said Prof Ooi, who is also a member of Arcturus' Vaccine Platform Scientific Advisory Board. "The vaccine has the potential to provide important public health benefits by greatly facilitating broad administration across multiple populations worldwide." Arcturus' chief financial officer Andy Sassine said the funds from Singapore will provide the firm with additional resources to sustain rapid scale up of (the vaccine) to meet the requirements of our existing Israeli and Singapore agreements as well as other potential supply deals in 2021. The encouraging preliminary findings from the Singapore co-developed Covid-19 vaccine comes as the race to the vaccine heats up. – The Straits Times
Wage Subsidy Programme: 2.6mil workers, 322k employers to benefit
Over 2.6 million employees and 322,000 employers will benefit from the Wage Subsidy Programme (PSU) and PSU 2.0 following a government allocation of RM11.9 billion announced last month. Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the programme aims to assist employers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic to sustain businesses and reduce retrenchment. "As of Oct 23, RM11.9 billion in wage subsidies had been approved to benefit more than 322,000 employers and 2.6 million employees. "In total, almost RM18 billion has been allocated for programmes under PSU and PSU 2.0," he said in the Dewan Rakyat today in response to Datuk Ahmad Nazlan Idris's (BN-Jerantut) question on the ministry's post-recovery movement control order plans. Tengku Zafrul also pointed out that the government had come up with four economic stimulus and economic recovery packages. "The total value of the economic stimulus packages is RM305 billion. "Last Friday, I also tabled Budget 2021, with a RM322.5 billion expenditure, which is the largest in the country's history," he said. Tengku Zafrul added that the government had allocated RM11.9 billion in the form of one-off assistance, set to benefit more than 16.3 million recipients. "Under the stimulus packages, among the initiatives implemented to provide temporary relief of their daily burden are one-off cash assistance under the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional; and an additional RM100 one-off payment under Bantuan Sara Hidup." – New Straits Times
No chance of coup, says army
Army chief Narongphan Jittkaewtae has ruled out any chance of a military coup to end the ongoing crisis, saying political problems must be solved by political means. Asked on Monday about the chances of the coup requested by a group of royalists on Sunday, the army chief replied: "Below zero." Royalists had called for a coup after thousands of anti-government protesters again rallied in support of demands for reform of the monarchy. They later calmed down, instead opting to submit a petition giving the army their moral support in defending the royal institution. They later calmed down, instead opting to submit a petition giving the army their moral support in defending the royal institution. Sunday's demonstration saw a brief scuffle after a water cannon was deployed against the protesters, who had broken through a police cordon near the Grand Palace. Police later apologised but confirmed it was pure water, not laced with chemicals as protesters claimed last month. Gen Narongphan said authorities had not taken action against all protesters, only those who broke the law, but admitted that there were people who wanted to instigate violence. He also defended the way the police behaved during the rally, saying some protesters had lit firework-like objects that they were about to throw into the palace. Military personnel were injured while providing security in the area, he said, adding that the army chief then gave a stern warning to the protesters not to enter the palace grounds. Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, Pol Maj Gen Piya Tawichai, said police had warned the protesters to stop trying to break through the cordon to enter prohibited areas surrounding the Grand Palace. Police had to use the water cannon against them to prevent violence and damage to the government and royal property. Plain, non-chemical water was sprayed vertically, not horizontally, at the protesters, said Pol Maj Gen Piya. Regarding smoke bombs found at Sanam Luang, he said such devices had been used in many locations where the protesters gathered on Sunday. Police would examine these to determine whether they violated the Ammunition, Explosives, Fireworks and Imitation Firearms Act. – Bangkok Post
Positivity rate remains high amid drop in testing, recorded cases
The rate of COVID-19 testing in Indonesia has dropped after the long weekend in late October, an occasion of increased mobility that many fear will lead to a case spike, while positivity rates remain persistently high despite Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto's claims of expanded monitoring efforts. The daily number of tests performed has fluctuated during the pandemic. From Oct. 26 to Nov. 8, Indonesia tested about 25,000 people daily on a 7-day average, a drop from the 28,000 and 31,000 people tested daily in the first two weeks of October. As daily testing declined, daily confirmed cases also fell to around 3,000 from the 4,000 cases reported on most days prior to the long weekend, which lasted from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1. Authorities have attributed the decline in testing either to the long weekend or to a purported drop in cases. Labs usually reduce operations on weekends and holidays, resulting in fewer tests processed and therefore fewer new cases reported during the time. The ministry’s acting director general for disease control and prevention, Muhammad Budi Hidayat, told The Jakarta Post on Monday that the declining testing rate was a result of a decline in the number of samples sent to labs, which in turn was the result of a decline in suspected cases in some regions. Muhammad said he, too, was worried about a potential long-weekend COVID-19 surge, but now that a week had passed, the absence of a surge could indicate improvement in the nation’s pandemic protocols, although he said any such conclusion would have to wait for weeks. Experts, however, are worried about the persistently high positivity rate – the share of COVID-19 tests that turn out positive – regardless of the testing numbers. The ideal rate according to the World Health Organization is below 5 percent, but Indonesia's has rate never come close to that. “The positivity rate depends on the number of samples received by labs. If it's a small number, do we have to force more?” Budi said. “One of the reasons why the number is small is because in the 5th revision of [the Health Ministry's COVID-19] guidelines, only those with symptoms are to be tested. The number of symptomatic suspected cases has decreased. That's why samples have also decreased.” “We have optimism, and we have to be optimistic that people are now adopting health protocols,” he added. – The Jakarta Post
Truce fails: 3 dead, 64 injured as warring gangs clash again in Bilibid
A truce between warring gangs in New Bilibid Prison at Muntinlupa City failed on Monday, resulting in fresh violence that left at least three inmates dead and 64 others injured. The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said a free-for-all broke out at the national penitentiary’s maximum-security compound at 8:39 a.m. after a member of the Sigue Sigue Commando gang was stabbed by another inmate. “It started just with small groups, who retaliated [against each other when attacked]. Then the violence grew,” BuCor spokesperson Gabriel Chaclag said. Chaclag said Special Weapons and Tactics officers were deployed to quell the violence, but they were met with gunfire, forcing the bureau to call the police for backup. Officers from the Philippine National Police Special Action Force, National Capital Region Police Office and the Bureau of Fire Protection arrived to help the BuCor security force break up the riot. The BuCor said the riot was contained at about 10 a.m. but clearing operations only ended just before evening Chaclag did not identify the other gang involved, but Bilibid sources said it was the Sigue Sigue Sputnik, which clashed with the Sigue Sigue Commando at Bilibid’s Quadrant 4 on Oct. 9. Nine inmates were killed in that riot and seven were injured. The BuCor had yet to identify the dead in Monday’s riot, all Sputnik gang members. Chaclag said six wounded inmates were being treated at Ospital ng Muntinlupa. In a press statement, the BuCor said it would discipline the inmates responsible for the outbreak of violence. It said bureau personnel who were in their offices at the height of the riot were evacuated. The bureau, however, had no answer when asked how the inmates got hold of firearms. “It will be part of the investigation,” Chaclag said. – INQUIRER.net
GDP growth 6 per cent in 2021 feasible: economists
Việt Nam's GDP may achieve a growth rate of 6 per cent or greater in 2021, according to economists and industry experts. Dương Mạnh Hùng, a senior analyst from the General Statistic Office of Vietnam, said the economy has seen strong bounce-back (2.62 per cent growth) since the third quarter of 2020, after a record-low second quarter (0.39 per cent growth). "The country's success in containing the pandemic set the tempo for all economic sectors to restart activities in a new normal. For example, the country's industrial sector recorded growth of 2.3 per cent in August, 3.5 per cent in September and 3.6 per cent in October," he said. Businesses are reopening their doors with over 5,000 businesses resuming operations in October, a sharp rise of nearly 20 per cent compared to September. In addition, more than 12,200 new businesses were registered in October. Hùng said his office is confident the country's GDP growth will hit 2 per cent this year and 6 per cent or greater in 2021. "Of course, it will also depend on how major world economies fare, especially those with strong trade ties with Việt Nam including the US, the EU, Japan and South Korea. It's possible that we will only see rapid growth again in 2022 or 2023," he said. Economist Võ Trí Thành, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Group, was cautiously optimistic about Việt Nam's economic recovery. Thành said while a 6 per cent GDP growth is feasible a full recovery will take time. Also, aside from the pandemic, the rise of nationalism and protectionism elsewhere around the world may negatively affect Việt Nam's economic growth. Prof. Vũ Sỹ Cường, a finance expert from the Hà Nội-based Academy of Finance, however, believed 2021's GDP will likely surpass the forecasted 6 per cent. – Viet Nam News
Cambodia not to declare the state of emergency
Cambodia will not declare the state of emergency with the current situation of COVID-19 transmission in the country, stressed Prime Minister Hun Sen in a voice message Monday evening. “I was considering whether or not to declare the shutdown of Phnom Penh or some part of the country because we have already had the law on state of emergency. I can request to His Majesty the King to sign in order to put some part of the country or Phnom Penh or the whole country in the state of emergency. But I don’t want to do so as it affects the freedom of many people while there are only more than 900 people who came in contact, direct or indirect, [with the Nov. 3 event] due to our negligence,” the Premier said. Mr Hun Sen continued that this consideration was made after he had urged for strict quarantine of those involved, both direct and indirect, with the Nov 3 event. As of Monday evening, four of the over 900 people believed to come in contact with the Nov. 3 event (visit to Cambodia by infected Hungarian foreign minister) have been tested positive for COVID-19. The 12-article Law on the Management of the Nation in Emergency was promulgated on April 29. According to the law, a state of emergency is declared when the nation faces dangers such as war or foreign invasion, public health concerns caused by pandemics, serious chaos to national security and public order, and severe calamity threatening or causing nationwide dangers. – Khmer Times