These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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S'pore's senior Muslim leaders welcome shift in position on allowing nurses to wear tudung at work
Senior Muslim leaders have welcomed the shift in the Government's position to consider allowing nurses to wear the tudung at work, following closed-door discussions that have taken place on the matter. The leaders, who were part of such discussions in August, said that they did not mention these talks publicly so as to respect the closed-door nature of these engagements. Ustaz Hasbi Hassan, president of the Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association (Pergas), said on Tuesday (March 23) that discussions on the tudung issue have been taking place among asatizah, or religious teachers, but they could not be made public yet. "It was still closed door, and we did not know the stand that the Government will be taking publicly. So, we did not want to share news that was not concrete yet," he said. "Today, when the Minister has made an announcement, we can talk about it openly with the community." He was speaking to reporters after a dialogue Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam held with senior Muslim leaders and members of the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) at the Khadijah Mosque in Geylang Road. At the session, Mr Shanmugam disclosed that the Government is considering allowing nurses to wear the tudung at work, a point he had made at a similar dialogue with the leaders in August last year. The minister's comments come two weeks after remarks in Parliament by two Malay/Muslim ministers on the subject sparked a critical reaction among segments of the community. Ustaz Hasbi, along with members of Pergas' council of elders, Ustaz Ali Mohamed and Ustaz Pasuni Maulan, said on Tuesday that Mr Shanmugam had said at their meeting in August that the Government was considering allowing nurses to wear the headscarf. This meeting had made the community leaders "hopeful", noted Ustaz Pasuni, but he said that there was a broad consensus that it was a delicate and sensitive issue which had to be discussed carefully. "Sensitive things can rile up emotions. We cannot take actions based on emotions, because it will cause all our good efforts so far to fail," he said. The Muslim leaders said that moving forward, more discussions will need to take place before a final decision can be made on the issue. "I think subsequent discussions will take place from here to get views that are more concrete, (more) views which are from the community itself," said Ustaz Hasbi. He underscored the important role that religious leaders, as well as organisations like Pergas, play in helping Muslims understand Singapore's approach to sensitive issues - given how the community highly regards religious teachers. – The Straits Times
Police not a tool for any political party, says IGP
The Royal Malaysia Police is not an institution that fights only for certain political ideas and can be used by any party at whim, said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador. Abdul Hamid, who has served as the IGP under two prime ministers after being appointed in May 2019, said that the police had never received any pressure in carrying out duties and implementing changes in the team. "I am free to take actions such as righting wrongs in the team with the revamp of PDRM so that the government will also get a good name. When the government gets a dynamic police force and does not (practice) corruption, this will benefit the government and the public," he told Bernama recently. Abdul Hamid said his actions in bringing about change in the team, including fighting for issues related to malpractice, drugs and misconduct within the force, were proof that they were transparent in fighting crime in the country. He said the move would indirectly restore the community's trust in the police force, which was previously alleged to be easily used by certain parties. "I don't want a team that doesn't change, insinuating that the law can be compromised. For example, drugs, mobile phones and cigarettes can be brought into the lockup as well as allowing rape incidents in the lockup; this could cause fear in the community. "I want to gain the trust and respect (of the community). That is why I want to prove the police's full commitment to carrying out the responsibilities and trust given to them," he said. Previously, there were allegations that several agencies in the government such as PDRM, the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) and the Malaysian Anti -Corruption Commission were used as 'political weapons' to conduct selective investigations with the objective of taking action against opposition political leaders. Meanwhile, on hacking threats, Abdul Hamid said that the police were always in a state of readiness to face any form of possible intrusion, especially through websites. "There are groups (hacking government websites) that we have identified and have also been prosecuted. Our investigation found that they did such things for fun, boasting that they were good," he said. He stressed that thus far the recent attacks on government websites have not shown their actions were for hacking government systems and revealing secrets for the benefit of other powers. – New Straits Times
PM denies knowledge of 'spare party'
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has denied any knowledge of a "spare party" having been registered for the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) in case of a snap election. He said he had no idea about a party named Ruam Thai Sang Chart having been set up as the PPRP's alternative. Concerns have mounted that if the referendum draft bill, now being deliberated in parliament, fails to be passed in the third and final reading, the government, which sponsored the bill, would then have to accept responsibility. In that case, the cabinet might have to resign and the House be dissolved, forcing a fresh election. It was speculated that under such a scenario, the PPRP might need another party allied to it to contest the election, which would help increase its prospects of winning many MP seats. The reason the bill, currently in second-reading scrutiny stage, may not see the light of day is because the changes made so far to the legislation are feared to be unconstitutional. The changes made to the referendum bill, which were put forth by the opposition, authorise parliament and general public to initiate a sign-up campaign calling for a referendum to be held. Some senators insisted the authority went beyond the limits of the constitutional framework. Chusak Sirinil, a scrutiny committee member in the main opposition Pheu Thai Party's quota, defended the authority as constitutional. He explained the cabinet would decide whether to approve the call for a referendum to be organised and so the authority will be kept in check by the cabinet. Meanwhile, Senator Wanchai Sornsiri said the government cannot be held responsible if the draft referendum bill is defeated in the third and final reading on the basis of it being unconstitutional. The bill debated by lawmakers is designed to provide the legal groundwork for organising referendums. The Constitutional Court has determined that a referendum must be held to let people decide if they want a whole new charter. If so, another referendum will be arranged to gauge whether people agree with the contents of the draft charter after the writing of it has been completed. Mr Wanchai explained that even though the government initiated the referendum bill, it no longer has any claim to it now that the draft has been admitted for debate and scrutiny by parliament. The moment parliament made changes to the draft, the government bears no legal responsibility for it, he said. – Bangkok Post
Duterte will talk to Beijing envoy about West Philippine Sea incursion – Palace
President Rodrigo Duterte plans to talk to the Chinese ambassador about China’s latest incursion in the West Philippine Sea, Malacañang said on Tuesday, after Manila filed a diplomatic protest over the presence of more than 200 Chinese vessels at Julian Felipe Reef in the disputed waters. “I will repeat what the President said yesterday. He will talk with the Chinese ambassador about this issue. And he said there is nothing that cannot be discussed among friends,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said. He did not say when the talks would be held. Duterte has been currying friendship with Beijing and had refused to assert the international arbitral tribunal’s ruling that invalidated China’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea, including the Philippines’ 375-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ). China has ignored the ruling and insisted on its “historical” claims to the strategic waterway. The military said there were still 183 vessels believed to belong to China’s maritime militia as of Monday at
the reef, which is located about 324 km west of Bataraza – the town at the southern tip of Palawan province. Also, on Tuesday, the US Embassy expressed support for the Philippines and noted that Beijing “uses maritime militia to intimidate, provoke and threaten other nations, which undermines peace and security in the region.” “We stand with the Philippines, our oldest treaty ally in Asia,” US Embassy spokesperson Heather Fabrikant said in a statement. The Chinese Embassy earlier denied that the vessels were operated by China’s maritime militia, saying they were fishing vessels seeking shelter near the reef. It said the reef, which it calls Niu’e Jiao, was part of China’s Nansha Qundao district. But the US Embassy said the vessels had been moored in the area “for many months in ever increasing numbers, regardless of the weather.” The Philippine government also said the weather was clear at the time the Chinese swarmed the reef. The Chinese also showed no actual fishing activities and had their boats’ full white lights turned on during night time, it said. In a Twitter post, the Chinese Embassy snapped at the US Embassy statement, saying the United States was “not a party to the South China Sea issue.” “Fanning flames and provoking confrontation in the region will only serve the selfish interests of individual country (sic) and undermine the regional peace and stability,’’ the embassy said. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had urged the Chinese government to stop the incursion and immediately recall the vessels, saying it was “a clear provocative action of militarizing the area.” – INQUIRER.net
HCM City hopes to become Southeast Asia start-up hub
HCM City has approved plans to develop 1,000 start-ups as part of its efforts to become a leading start-up hub in Southeast Asia over the next five years. The plan envisages enabling 3,000 businesses to improve their innovation capacity and help 100 access venture capital by 2025. To achieve the targets, the city will develop infrastructure and an eco-system that would enable start-ups to improve productivity and competitiveness and develop higher-quality products in order to go regional and, later, global. In 2016 - 20 it assisted 650-700 businesses annually with improving their innovation capacity. Last year, Việt Nam jumped 13 positions to rank 59th out of 100 economies with the best start-up ecosystems in the world, according to a ranking by StartupBlink, a global start-up ecosystem map and research centre. According to Robert Trần, CEO of consulting firm RBNC for North America and Asia Pacific, Việt Nam has great potential to become a start-up hub in Southeast Asia due to a number of “good entrepreneurship ideas” that could be expanded regionally and even globally. Việt Nam also has a population large enough for start-ups to experiment locally first before reaching out to the world. But the success rate of start-ups remains low (at roughly 3 per cent) since many fail to clearly identify their long-term business goals. He said the Government should put in place a comprehensive legal framework to ensure protection for investors and assistance and support for start-ups. In 2016 the Government approved a plan to build a start-up eco-system for innovative and sustainable development of entrepreneurship by 2025. In February this year it decided to build a network of innovation centres in Hà Nội, Đà Nẵng and HCM City to support research and development by start-ups. It wants to make the national start-up eco-system the 15th best in the Asia-Pacific in the near future. According to Do Ventures, a HCM City-based venture capital firm, in the first half of last year the country accounted for 16 per cent of the total investment in tech start-ups in Southeast Asia to rank third behind only Singapore (37 per cent) and Indonesia (30 per cent). HCM City accounts for more than 50 per cent of the country’s start-ups. – Viet Nam News
Government preparing for garment workers’ vaccination
The Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MoLVT) has called for preparation for vaccination of garment workers, as the government prioritised them in the list of people to be vaccinated against the COVID-19. In a letter by Minister Ith Samheng, the MoLVT asked the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) to work with garment factories to make a list of medical staff (one doctor from each factory) to get trained for COVID-19 vaccination work. “To protect the health of garment workers and employees as well as for the benefit of factories from the COVID-19 infection, the Royal Government will conduct a COVID-19 vaccination campaign for free of charge to garment workers and employees in the near future,” read the letter. Additionally, the ministry asked the factory owners to inform to garment workers and employees over the campaign and the vaccination is made based on a voluntary basis. The list of medical staff should be submitted to the ministry before Mar. 26, stated the letter. According to GMAC, the training will take place this Friday. Cambodia has been conducting a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign after receiving 600,000 doses of China-made Sinopharm and 324,000 doses of India-made AstraZeneca via COVAX mechanism. More vaccines are going to arrive later this month and before the Khmer New Year in April. According to the ministry’s letter, the COVID-19 vaccination will be made at the factories as the ministry asked the owners to prepare a venue for the vaccination work. It also asked factories to allow a paid day-off for workers and employees after getting their doses. Currently, GMAC has about 600 factories as members. – Khmer Times
Dozens of civilians in Dawei rounded up for arrest after soldiers’ deaths, locals say
Soldiers and police reportedly detained around 50 civilians for questioning on Monday afternoon after two regime soldiers were beaten to death in Dawei, Tanintharyi Region, according to local residents. By Tuesday afternoon, most of those taken into junta custody in the incident had been released, one of the local sources said. At the time of reporting, Myanmar Now was unable to identify the identities and number of people still in detention. The issue began on Sunday night, when two men in plainclothes drove a motorcycle down No. 4 Road in the Wea Kyun area of Dawei at around midnight, locals said. Civilians were keeping watch over the area, a regular practice adopted by locals nationwide in response to the night time raids that have followed the February 1 military coup. After the night watchmen tried to stop the motorcycle, the men intentionally drove into them and hit them, according to eyewitnesses. Local residents then confronted the men on the bike, which escalated until they had beaten one of the men to death. A card on the body of the deceased man indicated that he was a soldier, and residents learned that both men on the motorcycle were members of the military. The civilians then called for help from an emergency rescue team to transport the surviving man to a military hospital. He reportedly died of his injuries the next day. “[The night watchmen] tried to stop the motorcycle because [the two men] were strangers, but they drove the motorcycle intentionally to hit the night watchmen. Then they drove off into the neighbourhood,” a local told Myanmar Now. “The residents in that neighbourhood surrounded them. Then the people beat them up, and one of them died. The other one was nearly dead.” On March 22, the following day, the military junta retaliated by showing up to the area with troops, police, and 10 military trucks. They proceeded to arrest around 50 people from the area, according to two local sources. “People on three streets were taken away for questioning. Both children and adults were taken away,” a resident said. “They were looking for the [male] heads of each household, but they also took away some women because those houses did not have a male head of household. They even took away a two-year-old child.” A source who witnessed the arrests on one street said she saw around 20 people arrested by the armed forces. Local news outlet Dawei Watch reported that around one dozen people were arrested on Monday at an area near the same neighbourhood. The report, however, did not specify a link between the arrests and the death of the two soldiers. – Myanmar NOW
Mosques to open during Ramadan under strict health protocols
Chief of the Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI), Jusuf Kalla, has said that mosques across the country will be opened for tarawih prayer during the fasting month of Ramadan under stringent health protocols. "We have allowed mosques in all regions to be opened, but still maintaining physical distancing (has been advised)," Kalla said after a meeting with West Nusa Tenggara Governor here on Tuesday. This year, Ramadan will again be observed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but the situation has changed from the previous year, when Moslems were asked to perform prayers at home, he added. “But it is still on the condition that people will wear masks. This is the difference from the previous (Ramadan). As malls are opened, why shouldn't we open mosques," he remarked. Kalla stressed on strict implementation of health protocols, including physical distancing, wearing masks, washing hands, and all worshippers bringing their own mats. Mosque supervisors can bar people from entering the mosque, if they do not adhere to the health protocols, he said. Kalla also called on supervisors to disinfect mosques. "Public places and malls are being opened by applying stringent health protocols, and so will the mosques," he said. – AntaraNews.Com