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.
Stay informed with The ASEAN Post.
$940 million in wage credits to be given to over 98,000 employers by end-March
By end-March, $940 million in Wage Credit Scheme (WCS) pay-outs will be disbursed to more than 98,000 employers here, bringing the total amount in wage credits paid out during the pandemic to over $2 billion. In a Facebook post on Thursday (March 18), Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat wrote that uplifting workers remains "at the very centre of all that we do", as the Government makes every effort to cope with the pandemic and transform the economy and businesses. "The WCS is one of the ways to uplift our workers, by supporting businesses to provide wage increases to Singaporean workers," he said. The WCS co-funds wage increases. It was introduced in 2013 as a three-year scheme and then extended to 2020 to support businesses in their transformation efforts and encourage sharing of productivity gains with workers. In Budget 2021, it was extended by another year at a co-funding level of 15 per cent, to further support wage increments to help companies build up their local workforce and emerge stronger from Covid-19. This followed earlier enhancements to the scheme in 2020's first Unity Budget, when government co-funding of qualifying wage increases in 2019 and 2020 was raised by five percentage points to 20 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. The gross monthly wage ceiling for employees was also raised from $4,000 to $5,000 for both years, enabling more to qualify for the wage credit. Over $1 billion in wage credits was disbursed to more than 95,000 employers in 2020, for wage increases in 2019. An additional pay-out was made in June 2020, on top of the yearly pay-out made in March 2020. In a joint release on Thursday, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) said that through the upcoming pay-out in March, the Government will co-fund 15 per cent of qualifying wage increases given from 2017 to 2020, to more than 800,000 local employees earning a gross monthly wage of up to $5,000. – The Straits Times
More than 367,000 individuals received first dose of Covid-19 vaccine
A total of 367,213 individuals have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme as of yesterday. Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said Selangor recorded the highest number with 45,854 individuals, followed by Perak (42,227), Sabah (36,443), Kuala Lumpur (33,500) and Sarawak (32,665). According to an infographic posted on his Twitter account today, Johor recorded 27,131 individuals, followed by Pahang (26,574 individuals), Kedah (25,492), Penang (22,037), Kelantan (17,904) and Negeri Sembilan (15,958). Terengganu recorded 15,726 individuals, Melaka (9,954), Perlis (8,795), Putrajaya (4,61 1) and Labuan (2,342). The immunisation programme, launched last Feb 24, aims to provide free immunisation for the country's population, both locals and foreigners. – New Straits Times
Detained migrants infected
A police investigation is under way because 77 illegal migrants, most of them from Myanmar, appear to have contracted Covid-19 while being detained at an Immigration Bureau centre. National police chief Suwat Jangyodsuk said the detainees had been kept in detention rooms at Bangkok's Bang Khen and Lak Si immigration offices and the Disease Control Department was investigating. The 77 migrants are Myanmar, Lao and Cambodian nationals who have been detained for illegal entry and include a number of Rohingya migrants currently detained in Don Muang district, said IB chief Pol Lt Gen Sompong Chingduang. Since learning of the infections, the bureau has asked public health authorities to help set up a field hospital to screen more detainees and implement Covid-19 control protocols, he said. He insisted none of the immigration officers handling detained migrants had contracted the virus. According to a report by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), up to 68 of the 77 Covid-19 infected migrants were from Myanmar and had been detained together in a small cell. More than 2,000 illegal migrants are being detained at the bureau's detention facilities across the country. Half of them are at the Suan Phlu immigration office's facility, where none has yet tested positive for Covid-19, the report said. On Wednesday, Nit Auytekkheng, vice president of Ranong's chamber of commerce, said many locals were concerned about media reports that the province was being designated as a temporary shelter for political asylum seekers fleeing escalating violence in Myanmar. They were afraid the province would end up becoming a permanent refugee centre, he said. A source said Maung, La-un and Kra Buri districts in Ranong and Tha Sae district in neighbouring Chumphon province were being prepared as locations for temporary shelters for Myanmar asylum seekers. Army chief Gen Narongphan Jitkaewtae on Wednesday reportedly visited Ranong and inspected locations earmarked as temporary shelters. The cabinet previously approved a 438-million-baht budget for seven border provinces. They are Tak, Chiang Rai, Ranong, Songkhla, Chanthaburi, Sa Keo and Nong Khai, all of which handle migrants detained on illegal entry charges. – Bangkok Post
PH may get Johnson & Johnson vaccines via COVAX – Galvez
The Philippines can expect to receive deliveries of the single-dose COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson via the COVAX facility after the drug-maker secured an emergency use listing (EUL) from the World Health Organization, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said Thursday. “Ang maganda po, ang Johnson & Johnson meron na po siyang EUL sa WHO so puwede na po siyang makasama sa COVAX,” Galvez said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel. Asked if this meant the Philippines may also receive it via the WHO-led global vaccine sharing pool, Galvez said: “Yes, yun ang magandang balita.” (Yes, that’s the good news.) Previously, the Philippines was only expecting Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines from the COVAX facility. In March, 525,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines were already delivered. Meanwhile, Galvez said the country’s supply agreement with Johnson & Johnson is expected to be signed soon. “Yes, malapit na po, inaayos na po natin yung supply agreement. Most likely po, this coming week po na ito baka mapirmahan na po natin,” he said. (Yes, we are ironing out the supply agreement. Most likely, this coming week we might be able to sign it.) The Philippines already reserved 6 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Romualdez previously said. However, Romualdez said Johnson & Johnson could not give a definitive date of delivery as it was still addressing the high vaccine demand within the U.S. – INQUIRER.net
PM says reopening of flights, 'vaccine passports' should be studied
Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on Wednesday asked ministries to study reopening international flight routes as well as prepare for the use of 'vaccine passports' and controlled international trade. Speaking at an online Government meeting with national and local steering committees for COVID-19 prevention and control, PM Phúc said Việt Nam had correctly identified the danger level of the pandemic and activated the national disease prevention system in time, offering solutions suitable to the capacity of the country. The PM said that early on, Việt Nam implemented policies some countries have still not used, like centralised quarantine, rapid contact tracing and quick lockdowns, while the entire political system joined COVID-19 prevention efforts with strong and comprehensive measures. PM Phúc said the war against the virus was not over and there was still a lot to do. He said the country would not let its guard down with many new variants of the coronavirus spreading in many places, including ASEAN countries. Raising a number of lessons for not only in anti-pandemic efforts but also other tasks, the PM said the correct, decisive and timely direction and leadership of the Party and State was key, as were the efforts of the political system, including the dedication of health workers and armed forces. Secondly, protecting the people's health and lives being of primary importance has paved the way for all efforts and seeking social resources in the fight. The third is to build and nurture a spirit of self-reliance, self-control, efforts to overcome difficulties, unite in development at all levels and strongly promote the role of science, technology and innovation. Fourth, Việt Nam is a democratic country, with openness and transparency in pandemic prevention and control, with the media's role to provide information and create social consensus. Fifth is the role of international co-operation, proactive initiatives and responsible participation in the international community's efforts to address global challenges, which will enhance the prestige and position of Việt Nam. The PM asked ministries to continue directing socio-economic activities and told localities to develop anti-pandemic plans, ready to respond to all possible situations. For the Ministry of Health, he called for good implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination drive to ensure safety, while continuing to consider vaccine imports and researching Vietnamese vaccines. The ministry was also told to work with other ministries and agencies to consider appropriate anti-pandemic measures when applying "vaccine passports" and step by step reopening international borders. – Viet Nam News
Kandal’s COVID-19 cases spikes again to 204 with 21 new cases today
All at the same place, same village and same district. That is Kandal province’s tale of COVID-19 positive cases which increased by 21 to 204 in less than a week. Today’s 21 cases comprise 13 Cambodians and 8 Vietnamese nationals, all of them from Koh Thom district’s Prek Seung Village. This huge number now places Kandal in the infamous list of having the second highest number of COVID-19 patients in Cambodia, surpassing Sihanoukville where stringent roadblocks and travel restrictions have seen the number of cases decline drastically to almost zero on some days. Gives these rapidly increasing number of positive cases, and all in one locality, authorities in Kandal province are pushing for more space for its COVID-19 patients as well as people who need to be put into quarantine. Kandal provincial governor Kong Sophorn had on Tuesday called for an emergency meeting with representatives from six casinos in Koh Thom district, the biggest hotspots in Kandal, to turn them into treatment facilities and quarantine centres. While the discussion was still in progress, reports emerged from various sources that a commercial building in Koh Thom district’s Prek Seung Village, where 64 new cases were reported Tuesday, is in the process of being turned into a treatment facility for COVID-19 patients. – Khmer Times
Regime’s forces threaten to shoot into people’s homes unless residents remove roadblocks
Police and soldiers patrolled neighbourhoods in Yangon and Mandalay on Wednesday and threatened to shoot into people’s houses unless locals removed defensive roadblocks they had set up amid spiralling one-sided violence. A video of the coup regime’s forces making the threats through a loudspeaker circulated on social media and residents from several different neighbourhoods later told Myanmar Now they had received similar threats. “The next time we see barricades on roads, we will turn this entire residential quarter upside down and shoot,” a voice said in the video. The regime’s forces came to Khaymarthi Road and Nweni Road in Yangon’s North Okkalapa township in the afternoon to demand the removal of barricades, residents there told Myanmar Now. “We did not remove the barricades, so they are still on the roads,” one resident said. “We only set up the barricades in our quarter. If they didn’t not shoot, we wouldn’t need barricades. But now they’re shooting, so it is more appropriate for the people to block the roads.” A woman living in Hlaing Tharyar township, which this week witnessed the biggest massacre so far by regime forces since the February 1 coup, said locals removed the barricades from major roads after soldiers threatened to shoot into people’s homes. She then saw military trucks driving around the township, she added. On Wednesday morning the regime’s forces detained people and forced them to clear sandbags and other barricades on major roads elsewhere in Yangon, according to social media posts by people who said they were detained. The junta’s security forces made similar threats in South Okkalapa, Thingangyun and Tamwe townships in Yangon and Manawramman Quarter in Mandalay, residents said. – Myanmar NOW
Ministry upbeat 1.1 mln AstraZeneca vaccine doses administered in May
The Health Ministry expressed optimism that 1.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, procured under the Covax multilateral scheme and the World Health Organization (WHO), would be administered before its expiry date in May 2021. "We are optimistic, as currently, 250 thousand to 350 thousand doses of the vaccine are administered daily. It means we can administer 1.1 million doses of the vaccine within six days," the ministry's spokesperson on COVID-19 vaccination, Siti Nadia Tarmidzi, noted in a statement here on Thursday. As many as 1,113,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine weighing 4.1 tons had arrived in Indonesia on March 8, 2021. It was the first batch of free vaccine delivery out of a total of 11,704,800 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine allotted for Indonesia under the WHO's Covax multilateral scheme. Covax is co-led by the vaccine alliance Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO. It targets to accelerate the development and manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world. The government has decided to suspend distribution of the AstraZeneca vaccine following reports on its side-effect. "The suspension is part of the government's prudential approach, and it is also based on the guidance of the National Food and Drug Control (BPOM)," she remarked. During the delay, the BPOM will conduct the quality control process to ensure that all vaccines are in good condition before being administered to the public. – AntaraNews.Com