These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Mandatory use of TraceTogether token or app at malls, workplaces, schools to start on June 1
From June 1, digital check-ins for contact tracing at places with higher footfall or where people are likely to be in close proximity can only be done using the TraceTogether app or token. These places include shopping malls, workplaces, places of worship, schools, educational institutions, dine-in food and beverage outlets and gyms - where the national digital check-in tool SafeEntry has already been implemented. The mandatory use of TraceTogether comes as more than 90 per cent of the population have either downloaded the TraceTogether app or collected the TraceTogether token, said the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office and the Ministry of Health in a joint statement on Thursday (April 22). The existing requirement for SafeEntry check-ins at individual retail outlets such as supermarkets inside large malls will also be removed with the mandatory use of TraceTogether for registering check-ins. This set-up is known as TraceTogether-only SafeEntry (TT-only SE). "This is because all visitors would have already performed TT-only SE check-in at the mall entrances, and the interactions at these venues within the malls are generally more transient," the statement said. Small retail stores - including pharmacies and convenience stores – that were not required to implement SafeEntry for customers but have voluntarily done should also remove their check-ins to increase convenience for their patrons. Other modes of SafeEntry check-in such as scanning a venue's SafeEntry QR code with a phone camera or the Singpass app will also be discontinued from June 1. – The Straits Times
'Malaysia may face 50,000 active cases by Hari Raya'
Social events and gatherings must be barred to reduce Covid-19 community clusters. Public health experts said this was crucial to lower the Covid-19 actual time infectivity rate (Rt), or R-naught value, that peaked at 1.19, the highest rate recorded so far, on Sunday. Epidemiologist Dr Malina Osman said activities that require people to remove their face masks or eat together in public should be deferred, including buka puasa events and going to parks and gyms. She said if the current infection trend continued, the number of active Covid-19 cases could reach 50,000 and beyond by Hari Raya Aidilfitri in mid-May. "The way I see it is, if we want to at least go visiting (relatives and family members) within the state during Hari Raya, we need to start some self-regulated MCO (Movement Control Order)." She said allowing interstate travel before Hari Raya Aidiladha in July could be catastrophic to the healthcare system that had been struggling to cope with the daily new cases of more than 2,000 since April 15. Dr Malina, an associate professor from Universiti Putra Malaysia, said events that provided meals in open areas should replace them with packed food and employers were urged to monitor their workers so that pantries and cafeterias were not turned into gathering spots. "Employers cannot allow these areas to become crowded. People have to eat and leave without lingering. The same policy must be enforced in schools." She said buka puasa events or gatherings that encourage eating meals together should be deferred as the current infection spike was linked to Malaysia's culture of sharing meals as a form of social and communal interaction. She acknowledged that social gatherings in private settings were difficult to monitor and regulate. "Social gatherings at private premises or in rural areas (as reported in Besut, Terengganu, recently) are difficult to monitor unless the local community takes proactive steps to prevent transmission. "In the long run, it is society that should be empowered to decide what's best for their health. But we currently lack initiatives to get the ball rolling at the community level." She called on middle managers in public and private sectors to form committees to implement virus prevention standard operating procedures (SOP) at workplaces and residential areas to stop the rise in community transmissions. "These groups should work with health authorities, non-governmental organisations and local communities to practise preventive measures." – New Straits Times
Sinovac jab 'safe to use'
The Public Health Ministry insists the Sinovac vaccine is safe and it will continue to administer it, despite seven people suffering stroke-like symptoms after receiving it. The ministry's announcement came after Dr Thiravat Hemachudha, director of the Health Science Centre of Emerging Diseases at Chulalongkorn University's faculty of medicine, revealed on Facebook on Tuesday that seven people had suffered stroke-like symptoms after being given the Chinese company's jab. Officials say all seven – six in Rayong and one in Chon Buri – regained full health after doctors gave them medication to dissolve blood clots. Dr Taweesap Siraprapasiri, a specialist at the Department of Disease Control, said six of the people – five medical workers and a hospital employee, all in Rayong – had pre-existing conditions before receiving Sinovac's vaccine CoronaVac. One had cancer, one had high cholesterol and was medically obese, while four were taking contraceptive pills, he said. Dr Taweesap said they'd all been given a shot of CoronaVac from vaccine batch number J202103001 between April 5 and 9. He did not mention the seventh recipient in Chon Buri but a colleague told reporters that the Chon Buri case was no different from the six in Rayong. Prof Dr Kulkanya Chokephaibulkit of the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University said the six had different degrees of neural symptoms but all fully recovered in 1-3 days. "Some developed stroke-like symptoms but we can't still determine what caused them," she said. "An investigation, including MRI scans, found no abnormalities. Most of them are women who are not so old and not at any risk of a stroke. "We think that the symptoms were linked with the inoculation because they happened [just] 5-10 minutes after their injections." Dr Kulkanya said an investigation panel had found no irregularities in the vaccine batch. About 500,000 doses had been distributed from it and it had so far been given to more than 300,000 people. "Such symptoms have not occurred with recipients elsewhere but we will keep looking for such incidents in the future," Dr Kulkanya said. "The committee has therefore resolved that the vaccine in this batch can continue to be used because the benefits outweigh the side-effects, which were temporary." Dr Tasanee Tantirittisak of the Department of Medical Services, said the same temporary side-effects has been widely reported in international studies but it seemed to occur very rarely. Such a reaction has been also found in many other vaccines, including those produced by AstraZeneca and Pfizer. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul insisted that the government would not halt its Sinovac vaccination programme and instructed health authorities to closely monitor the symptoms of people after they receive the vaccine. He said post-vaccine symptoms could happen depending on the body's response, which is different in each person. That was exactly why the government had decided that people receiving Covid-19 jabs must be closely monitored for the first 30 minutes afterwards. Sathit Pitutecha, deputy public health minister, also insisted there was no reason to suspend the Sinovac vaccine following the recent incidents. "This vaccine is still very important in stopping the disease," he said. "However, it will be up to those people adversely affected to decide whether they want to have the second jab or not." Thailand received the latest batch of one million Sinovac vaccine doses on April 10. Another 500,000 doses should arrive by the end of the month. – Bangkok Post
Pandacan community pantry shut as organizers fear being red-tagged
The community pantry in Pandacan, Manila City, has closed as its organizers fear being red-tagged especially after police allegedly profiled them early this week. Marikit Arellano, the community pantry’s organizer, announced this Thursday via a Facebook post on a page named Community Pantry PH. “Napagdesisyonan na po namin itigil ang CP (community pantry) sa aming area Pandacan dahil nababahala po ang aking pamilya na baka ma-red tag po kami,” Arellano said. (We have decided to close the community pantry in the Pandacan area because my family is worried that we might be red-tagged.) Arellano explained they filled up a form from the police on Monday despite knowing they can refuse to avoid any commotion. “Nangyari po ito bago pa maglabas ng statement si Mayor Isko Moreno na pwede mag tayo ng CP, hindi ko po alam paano ito ipapaalam o maka abot sa kanya na may nangyaring gantong insidente sa area namin, nangangamba po kami sa aming seguridad sa nangyari,” Arellano said. (This happened before Mayor Isko Moreno said we can organize a community pantry. I don’t know how to let him know about this incident in our area. We fear for our security because of what happened.) Moreno previously assured that community pantries are welcome in Manila City and no permits would be required for such initiative. “They can resume anytime, they have the support of the city [government],” Moreno told reporters in a Viber message, in response to Arellano’s concerns. Moreno said the pantry organizer can also visit him at the city hall. He added that he had already ordered the Manila Police District “not to disturb anybody doing good deeds.” Philippines National Police chief Gen. Debold Sinas has denied issuing orders to profile community pantry organizers. The community pantry along Maginhawa Street, Teacher’s Village in Quezon City earlier paused its operations after the organizer expressed fears of red-tagging, citing social media posts from authorities accusing her initiative as being used for communists’ propaganda. – INQUIRER.net
Singaporean PM affirms high priority for bilateral relations in phone call with Vietnamese counterpart
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien-Loong on Tuesday said his country gives high priority to relations with Viet Nam, during phone discussions with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh. Calling Chinh to congratulate him over his election as Prime Minister of Viet Nam, Lee also appreciated Viet Nam’s success in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and in socio-economic development as well as external relations. In reply, Chinh said he hoped to work closely with the Singaporean PM to further promote the strategic partnership between the two countries across all fields. The two government leaders rejoiced at the positive developments in bilateral cooperation despite difficulties brought by COVID-19. They noted that Singapore was the biggest investor in Viet Nam in 2020 and the first quarter of 2021. They agreed to bolster joint work in fields of the countries’ potential and strength, such as finance, information technology, agro-fisheries, education-training, and infrastructure, while seeking to expand cooperation in areas related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution such as clean energy, smart city, innovation, digital economy, as well as the sharing of experience in management, economic development, and human resources training. The two sides agreed to boost cooperation in responding to COVID-19 and facilitating the repatriation of each other’s citizens, and accelerate negotiations on travel preferential regulations between the two countries toward resuming safe commercial flights that suit the situation in each country and in the region to promote bilateral trade, investment and tourism ties. Chinh appreciated the close and effective cooperation between Viet Nam and Singapore at regional and international forums, and thanked Singapore for supporting Viet Nam as Chair of ASEAN in 2020. He asked Singapore to continue backing Viet Nam in its role as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the remainder of 2021. The two PMs affirmed their resolve to make active contributions to building a strong, united and resilient ASEAN Community with a central role and common voice in regional and international peace and security issues. Chinh invited the Singaporean PM to visit Viet Nam at a suitable time. Lee accepted the invitation and expressed his wish to welcome the Vietnamese PM to Singapore. – Viet Nam News
No sparing the rod: Some law enforcement officers caning curfew breakers
Law enforcement officers in some parts of the capital have resorted to corporal punishment and are caning curfew breakers to get them to comply with lockdown measures. Yesterday on Facebook, a user posted a photo of a policeman holding a rattan cane to beat a man who refused to stay in his house in a Red Zone. Phnom Penh Governor Khuong Sreng told Khmer Times yesterday that the implementation of beating people with the use of rattan canes in public areas who do not obey the curfew is a measure some district administrations have adopted to prevent people from gathering or moving from one place to another. “I did not order the authorities to use whipping measures against the people, but so far we have to use some tough disciplinary measures so that the people do not continue to disobey the government’s instructions. If they don’t comply, they will be beaten by authorities,” Khuong Sreng said. On Monday, the Phnom Penh Municipal Authority designated some areas in Meanchey, Por Senchey and Toul Kork districts, which have a severe epidemic of COVID-19, as Red Zone areas. The Red Zone areas include: Steung Meanchey I, II and II communes in Meanchey district and some villages in Por Senchey district’s Choam Chao I commune. San Sok Seiha, spokesman for the Phnom Penh Municipal Police, told the local media that the application of these tough measures against adamant violators was to serve as a warning to them rather than arresting, fining or sending them to court. He added that if the people still did not obey the rules and committed serious violations they would face penalties. “I would like to emphasise that the use of sticks or whips is mainly focused on the Red Zones or the areas which have a high risk of spreading COVID-19 only,” Seiha said. He added that since April 15, Phnom Penh authorities had arrested 121 people who violated lockdown measures. Seiha said eleven of them were sent to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court and six were sentenced to serve time in Prey Sar Prison, adding that two were being questioned at the Phnom Penh Municipal Police headquarters. In addition, seven people were educated and allowed to return home, and another 95 were fined for leaving home unnecessarily. – Khmer Times
Monitoring group hits back at junta claim that post-coup death toll is ‘bloated’
The military regime is trying to avoid accountability for its crimes by claiming that a widely cited tally of deaths since the February 1 coup has been inflated, the monitoring group behind the figures has said. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said on Wednesday that the coup regime wanted to “destroy the evidence of the atrocities” it had committed since seizing power. The military regime said via state television and newspapers earlier this week that the AAPP’s count of over 700 deaths was “bloated.” The announcement said 258 people had been killed and that the victims were mostly “rioters.” Most died during “roadblock clearing” operations or during attacks against the regime’s forces, the announcement added. Another 11 died under different circumstances such as during fights or shootings between protesters, it said. The AAPP said the military’s claim was “unsubstantiated”. The group publishes a daily list of deaths that includes the names of most of the victims. It also often includes their ages, their fathers’ names, and details about how and where they were killed. The names of some of the fatalities - about 50 - are listed as “unknown”. The AAPP did not specify in its statement on Wednesday how it verified these deaths but said it had “identified bodies” when calculating the total number. “AAPP’s 20 April fatality figure of 738 is not inflated,” the group said. “They are identified dead bodies – shot to the head, tortured, burnt alive, beaten to death, tied up and dragged along on motorbikes – perpetrated by junta troops in police, soldier, or civilian clothes,” the group said. “Our lists are published freely online, every single day, for anyone and everyone to access,” it added. “The allegations made against AAPP are an attempt to destroy the evidence of the atrocities committed by this junta. We can say this illegal military is committing crimes against humanity,” it added. The regime said that 20-year-old Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, the first protester to be murdered after the coup, was killed by a “rioter”. It made the same claim about 19-year-old Kyal Sin, who was shot in the head during a crackdown on an anti-coup protest in early March. The junta blamed Covid-19 for the death of Yar Zar Aung, who was shot in the knee and severely beaten before being taken to a military hospital in Mandalay in February. In late March a military hospital claimed that 17-year-old Kyaw Min Latt died from falling off a motorbike, even though his murder was captured on CCTV and the footage widely shared on social media. Authorities in Yangon also tried to claim that 39-year-old Kyaw Lin Htwe, whose body showed signs of torture, died in a motorbike accident. The military has a history of misleading the outside world about the number of civilians it has killed, the AAPP said, adding that the real number of deaths from the crackdown on the 1988 uprising is still not known. – Myanmar NOW
House deputy speaker OK with navy's decision to involve foreign navies
Azis Syamsuddin, Deputy Speaker of Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR), supports the Indonesian Navy's decision to involve foreign navies to search for KRI Nanggala-402 which has gone missing in waters north of Bali Island since early Wednesday. "I appreciate our navy's endeavours to locate the missing submarine by involving Australia and Singapore in the search mission," he said in a statement that ANTARA quoted here on Thursday. He, however, suggested that the Indonesian Navy also get the Indonesian Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) involved in the search efforts to find precise coordinate points of the missing diesel-electric attack submarine. Indonesia has sought help from Singapore and Australia in the search for its submarine KRI Nanggala-402. "We have had good cooperation with Singapore and Australia in the search and handling of training accidents," Military Commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said. Besides appealing to the two friendly countries for help, the Indonesian Navy has pulled in all ships equipped with underwater devices for the search and rescue mission, he informed. Contact with German-made KRI Nanggala-402, which was carrying 53 sailors on board, was lost while it was preparing for a torpedo drill in Bali waters. "The last contact was made at 4:30 a.m. local time. There was no more contact when the torpedo drill was to be conducted," Tjahjanto informed. Tjahjanto is currently in Bali on a working visit along with National Police chief, Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo. They were scheduled to observe the submarine's torpedo drill on Thursday, following which Tjahjanto was to offer a brevet to the national police chief. The missing 209/1300-type submarine was built in Germany's Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in 1977, and was officially inducted into the navy in 1981. Its propulsion system uses a Siemens low-speed diesel electric motor, connected directly to the propeller shaft, which generates about five thousand shaft horsepower (shp). The electrical power is stored in batteries, which make up 25 percent of the weight of the vessel, according to the navy. Four MTU diesel supercharged engines are responsible for generating electricity in the vessel. – AntaraNews.Com