These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Malaysia, Singapore to discuss possibility of reopening borders soon: Malaysian Foreign Minister
Malaysia and Singapore are discussing the possibility of reopening their borders soon, said Malaysia's Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah.
Datuk Saifuddin was assuring lawmakers in the Dewan Rakyat after several of them raised the plight of Malaysians who have not seen their families since borders closed due to the pandemic on March 18, 2020.
"I am aware that the issue is not just about Covid-19, but also about those who have been separated from loved ones even before the start of the pandemic," he said during his ministerial reply on the motion of thanks on the Royal Address on Thursday (Sept 23).
"I will try to see how we can overcome this together," he added.
Mr Saifuddin said the matter has been brought to the attention of Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein who heads the committee to manage the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
"I was also informed that the Health Minister was in a telephone conversation with his Singaporean counterpart on how borders can be reopened between the two countries," Mr Saifuddin said.
"I pray and hope that the matter can be resolved as soon as possible," he added.
Mr Saifuddin said that the reopening of borders between Malaysia and Singapore would pave the way for the country to open up air routes with other countries like Thailand. - Straits Times
Rosmah fails in bid to nullify bribery trial
The High Court has denied Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor's bid to nullify her bribery trial and to remove Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram as the lead prosecutor in her case.
Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan said Sri Ram's appointment by then Attorney-General (AG) Tan Sri Tommy Thomas is valid.
"I believe the authorisation given by Tommy Thomas to Sri Ram to conduct the case is without doubt validly done.
"The applications are therefore dismissed," the judge said in his brief judgement.
Rosmah filed the applications claiming that Sri Ram's appointment letter to be a senior deputy public prosecutor in her case was not valid.
She also argued that her trial should be nullified due to this and that she be acquitted based on a mistrial.
Rosmah is accused of soliciting RM187.5 million and two counts of receiving bribes of RM6.5 million from Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd's former managing director Saidi Abang Samsuddin, through her former special officer Datuk Rizal Mansor. - New Straits Times
Govt denies delaying vaccine dose delivery
The government has denied delaying the process of receiving another 1 million doses of Pfizer vaccines against Covid-19 to be donated by the US.
The move comes after Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, founder of the new Thai Sang Thai Party, visited Thai-born US senator Tammy Duckworth in Washington, DC on Wednesday.
They discussed Thai-US cooperation in fighting Covid-19. Ms Duckworth played a key role in helping to arrange the donation of 2.5 million doses for Thailand.
A total of 1,503,450 doses of Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech were delivered to Thailand on July 30.
The US embassy previously confirmed the United States will provide an additional one million doses on top of the 1.5 million doses, bringing its total donation to 2.5 million doses to help Thais fight the pandemic.
Khunying Sudarat, a former key figure in the Pheu Thai Party, said Ms Duckworth had expressed concern over the Covid-19 situation in Thailand and that she was willing to push for the US to donate the additional vaccine doses.
Khunying Sudarat quoted Ms Duckworth as saying the US informed Thailand in late July of its intention to donate 2.5 million vaccine doses.
The more than 1.5 million doses were already delivered, and there are an additional 1 million doses waiting to be sent to Thailand, she said.
During the conversation with Khunying Sudarat, Ms Duckworh was reported to have said: "All I can tell you is that I've been advocating for Thailand to get more vaccines ... and Thailand has a million doses waiting to go.
"But because Thailand has not finished the paperwork ... I know I told the ambassador a month ago that it needs to be completed. They said OK, they're going to work on it.''
The Thai government has not yet sent documents to inform the US of its intention to accept the vaccines, so the US still could not deliver them, Khunying Sudarat quoted her as saying.
In response, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the Foreign Affairs Ministry is responsible for processing protocol paperwork in relation to the matter. - Bangkok Post
Caraga gets more Covid-19 vax
The Caraga received more coronavirus vaccines Thursday, a huge boost to the free vaccination rollout as the region aims to administer a million doses soon.
In a statement Friday, the Department of Health in Caraga (DOH-13) said a total of 1,200 ampoules of Sputnik V (Component II), 6,045 vials of Pfizer and 56,000 vials of Sinovac vaccines arrived at the Bancasi Airport here via a Cebu Pacific flight.
“To ensure the vaccines’ integrity and standard temperature, after unloading from the cargo, the Sinovac and Gamaleya (Sputnik V) Component II vaccines were immediately transported to the cold-room storage facility of the region located in Doogan, Butuan City,” it said.
The Pfizer vaccine, which requires ultralow storage temperature, was directly delivered to the local government units with capabilities to store temperature-sensitive vaccines. - Philippine News Agency
Banks slash US$386 million in interest rates in July-August
Commercial banks have slashed more than VND8.8 trillion (US$386 million) in interest rates from July 15 to August 31 in support of businesses that have been severely affected by the novel coronavirus, said the State Bank of Vietnam on Wednesday.
Since the beginning of 2020, the SBV has cut interest rates three times in an effort to help businesses gain access to more affordable financing and get back on their feet.
As a result, the average interest rate among the country's banks has declined by 1.55 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels.
According to the SBV, the banks have slashed VND26 trillion in interest rates from January 2020 until the end of August 2021. - Vietnam News
Tourism industry is ‘ready for reopening’ and awaits the date
Travel agents, tourism consultants, airport operators and airlines all say they are ready to cope with an influx of foreign visitors safely and efficiently. All they need is a reopening date from the Cambodian government.
Industry representatives welcomed last week’s comments by Prime Minister Hun Sen that Cambodia should consider a seven-day quarantine for fully-vaccinated tourists, or even a “sandbox” whereby they could leave their hotels and visit nearby attractions during the first week of their visit.
While rumours of a November opening have been circulating, there is confusion over the direction of government policy towards containing Covid-19 after authorities in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap extended restrictions on entertainment venues and banned alcohol sales for another two weeks. - Khmer Times
Mandalay youth leader killed in Kayah State battle
A member of the Karenni National Defence Force (KNDF) was killed in a clash with the Myanmar army in Kayah (Karenni) State’s Demoso Township this week, according to a statement released by the group on Wednesday.
The soldier was 20-year-old Sai Bhone Min Thant, one of his close friends told Myanmar Now.
“I heard that they were shelled. We can’t even get his body back yet, let alone bury him,” the friend said.
Before joining the KNDF, Sai Bhone Min Thant had led anti-coup protests in his native Mandalay, and before the February 1 military coup he had been a student at the Mandalay Government Technical Institute.
“He always protected us during the protests. He was a good leader. It’s such a great loss,” his friend said, adding that Sai Bhone Min Thant had travelled to Kayah State in early September to join the armed resistance against the junta.
During a Wednesday protest in Mandalay against the military council, demonstrators held photos of the late Sai Bhone Min Thant to honour his contribution to the movement.
The battle in which he died broke out on Monday in Daw Poe Si village, when a joint force made up of the KNDF, the Karenni Army and the Demoso People’s Defence Force attacked around 300 junta troops, but were later forced to withdraw by the military’s heavy artillery fire.
The military council has not released any information regarding casualties on their side during the clash. - Myanmar NOW
Schools must halt offline learning if COVID case detected: Adisasmito
Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Prof. Wiku Adisasmito, has asked schools to halt face-to-face learning if a new COVID-19 case is detected in the school environment.
"If there is a new positive (COVID-19) case, immediately close the school and do disinfection, tracking, and checking of close contacts," he said in a press conference, accessed online from here on Thursday.
According to data from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), as of September 23, 2021, only 2.77 percent out of 47,033 schools have reported COVID-19 clusters during face-to-face learning, he noted.
"I ask education units to carry out face-to-face learning carefully; always prioritize health and protect students from COVID-19 transmission," Adisasmito said.
Several COVID-19 cases that were detected among students in several regions should be taken as lessons by other regions so that similar cases do not happen again and face-to-face learning can be carried out safely, he added.
"Ensure that students and teaching staff are disciplined in following health protocols," he stressed. - AntaraNews.Com