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.
People tricked into granting scammers Singpass access in QR code scam
People have been duped into scanning Singpass QR codes that grant scammers login access to various digital services in a recent bout of online survey scams.
Victims were often lured with the promise of monetary rewards for taking part in a survey purportedly conducted on behalf of reputable companies or organisations.
They were recruited through online forums and e-commerce sites, and contacted by the scammers via WhatsApp, the police said on Tuesday (Feb 22).
Upon completing bogus surveys that had been created by the scammers, victims would be asked to scan a Singpass QR code with their Singpass app as part of the "verification process".
They were told that this would retrieve their survey results so the reward could be paid out.
However, the Singpass QR code was a screenshot taken from a legitimate website, and by scanning the QR code and authorising the transactions without further checks, victims could give scammers access to online services.
Scammers exploited the access by registering businesses, subscribing for new mobile lines or opening new bank accounts in the victims' names. The police warned against scanning Singpass QR codes sent by someone else, adding that Singpass will never send QR codes through non-official messaging platforms such as WhatsApp or SMS.
Information received should also be verified with official sources, and people should also check with the relevant organisations if the transaction involves authentication using the Singpass app, said the police. – Straits Times
Anwar's lawsuit thrown out
PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has failed to reinstate his lawsuit against the government over his conviction in Sodomy 2 case seven years ago.
This after the Court of Appeal affirmed the High Court's decision to dismiss his originating summons to challenge his conviction for sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
Judge Datuk Abu Bakar Jais in his ruling said the lower court did not err in its decision.
"The High Court was right to decide that this case is an abuse of process. "The appellant said the then ad-hoc prosecutor Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah received RM9.5 million from the then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to prosecute the case.
"However, that allegation was a mere assertion and not supported by evidence," he said.
Anwar who is Port Dickson member of parliament, filed the originating summons on June 9, 2017 against the government claiming that he did not get a fair trial in the appeal against his sodomy II conviction.
Abu Bakar, however, said the decision made by the court over Anwar's conviction was done without any prejudice.
"The judges had given their decision independently without knowledge of any payment to any individuals.
"It is a matter for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate and the Attorney-General to prosecute if there is any," he said.
Anwar in his affidavit sought a declaration that his conviction by the Court of Appeal on March 7, 2014 was ultra vires to the Federal Constitution and thus null and void
He also wanted to nullify the Federal Court's decision which had upheld his conviction.
Anwar alleged that lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah received RM9.5 million from Najib to lead the prosecution team in the appeal over his sodomy conviction. – New Straits Times
Govt to reassess Test & Go measures
The government will on Wednesday weigh up whether it will scrap the second RT-PCR test for overseas arrivals under the Test & Go scheme, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said.
He said the Department of Disease Control (DDC) and the Emergency Operation Centre under the Public Health Ministry will present proposals for consideration to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA). One proposal involves scrapping the second RT-PCR test for overseas arrivals, he said.
The Test & Go programme for fully vaccinated travellers resumed on Feb 1 with travellers required to take two tests, one on the first day of arrival and another on the fifth.
There will be no need for the tests because infections are spreading mostly among locals, while imported infections are relatively low, he said.
Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will chair Wednesday's CCSA meeting to consider revising requirements for overseas entry into the country, as well as vaccination plans and measures to push for economic recovery.
Previously, Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said the second RT-PCR test required by the Test & Go scheme should be scrapped by March.
He said the ministry and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)would propose a relaxation of entry requirements by replacing the second test with an antigen test kit at Wednesday's CCSA meeting. If the proposal is approved, the new rule will be applied from next month, he said.
Various tourism business operators in the South and the East as well as the Thai Hotels Association have called on the government to cancel its policy to conduct repeated RT-PCR Covid-19 tests on foreign tourists during the first and fifth days of their stay, which add costs for travellers and burdens hoteliers. – Bangkok Post
PH Navy lauds US 7th Fleet's support for free, open Indo-Pacific
Philippine Navy (PN) chief Vice Adm. Adeluis Bordado thanked US 7th Fleet commander Vice Adm. Karl Thomas for his support for "a free and open Indo-Pacific region".
Bordado made this pronouncement during Thomas' courtesy call to PN headquarters in Roxas Boulevard, Manila Tuesday afternoon.
In a statement Wednesday, PN public affairs office chief Commander Benjo Negranza said the two naval leaders "reaffirmed both navies' enduring relationship and cooperation."
Thomas said good high-level discussions such as courtesy calls are "some of the things that we can do together to try to improve our interoperability and improve our strong alliance."
"We should always keep our lines of communications open so that whenever we need something and you need help also we can extend things the best way as an ally," Bordado added.
Thomas' visit is among the routine interactions between the PN and its US counterpart that greatly contribute to the sustainment and furtherance of bilateral relations between Manila and Washington DC.
The US 7th Fleet is the largest of the US Navy’s forward-deployed fleet, maintaining a continuous forward presence in the Indo-Pacific region. – Philippine News Agency
Viet Nam aims to have 95 per cent children from 5-11 vaccinated against COVID-19
Health officials and doctors agree that Viet Nam is ready to implement a safe vaccination campaign for children aged 5-11, aiming to have a vaccination rate in this age group of 90-95 per cent.
Experts say following a successful vaccination programme for children aged 12-17, it is now vital for younger children to be vaccinated to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. Very few adverse reactions were reported after younger children received the vaccine, meaning that parents should be confident in the safety and efficacy of the jabs.
“We hope that parents have trust in us. The upcoming vaccination programme for children aged 5-11 will be done safely,” Assoc. Prof. Duong Thi Hong, deputy director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and head of the division on the National Expanded Vaccination Programme, said.
“Instead of using mandates to make parents have their children vaccinated, we are more into persuading them and doing communication work to give them scientific evidence and results of the safe vaccination programmes we have done as well as the effectiveness of the vaccines to gain trust from parents,” she said.
"We should learn from our lesson with measle vaccines. Despite having abundant measle vaccines, there were still children unvaccinated. They contracted the disease with severe complications and died.
"We have implemented a successful vaccination programme for children aged 12-17 with 17 million doses administered for people in this age group, said Hong.
More than 97 per cent of children in this group have received at least one dose and 94.6 per cent have been fully vaccinated. About 0.5-10 per cent of vaccinated children in 12-18 reported having normal reactions. The rates vary in different localities. This is based on the data from vaccination sites. There are also reported cases with severe reactions but they have been handled and recovered.
Some reports of myocarditis after the vaccine have been reported but they have been treated and there is no risk.
Among 17 million doses administered for children, there are five in every million doses of vaccine reporting to have severe reactions. – Vietnam News
Senior health ministry official urges Cambodians to increase vigilance against Omicron or face daily four figure case totals
Dr Or Vandin, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Health and Chair of the Covid-19 Vaccination Commission has again urged Cambodians to ramp up steps against the surge of Omicron cases hitting the country – or face daily four figure case totals. In an interview with the press, Dr Or Vandin said that currently, Omicron is actively circulating in the community.
She added that there are still some people who self-test and do not report to the authorities or health facilities so that this number could be more.
She further stated that the Covid-19 infection is growing as fast as it is known – starting with one digit, then two digits, and in the last few weeks there have been up to three digits and deaths.
Therefore, if all people continue to underestimate, neglect and do not implement the 3 Protections and 3 Don’ts measure properly, sooner or later the infection will increase to 4 digits.
The Minister added: “I have already said that if we do not work together, it will increase even more, and if we say in general, it is already 4 digits, but in terms of daily, it is 3 digits, which are so many. So, this is a concern for all of us.’
She also reminded people suspected of being infected with Covid-19, whether they had more or less symptoms or were directly involved with Covid-19 patients, to immediately isolate themselves and get a rapid test for Covid-19.
If a negative result is obtained, they should be re-tested within 72 hours or when suspected symptoms appear.
Cambodia yesterday recorded the 18th consecutive day of the new triple digit ‘Omicron Surge’.
Cambodia has now recorded 7134 cases of Omicron in total
There are now 3421 active COVID cases (diagnosed by PCR test) in The Kingdom – and the number of active cases is rapidly growing. – Khmer Times
UN court’s decision to allow junta to represent Myanmar in Rohingya genocide case branded a ‘disgrace’
Just 12 days before State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi was detained by the military last February, she signed off on a 250-page document submitted to the UN’s top court arguing that a case accusing Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya should be thrown out.
The exhaustive list of preliminary objections confirmed that Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) administration was committed to defending the military’s campaign of mass murder, rape, torture and arson in Rakhine State in 2017.
Now, after the military junta has spent the past year committing similar atrocities throughout Myanmar in its bid to stamp out the uprising against its rule, NLD officials working for Myanmar’s underground administration have reversed their official position.
“We have withdrawn the preliminary objections that were submitted before the coup. They are no longer relevant,” Zin Mar Aung, the National Unity Government’s (NUG) foreign affairs minister and an ousted NLD MP, told a press conference at The Hague via video link on Monday.
It remains to be seen whether the NLD’s newfound sense of solidarity with the Rohingya will endure if the party returns to power.
The military’s nationwide campaign of terror appears to have inspired newfound sympathy for the group within the party, whose members and officials have suffered some of the junta’s most brutal treatment. But the primary reason for this change of heart is that the NUG is determined to deny the junta any form of international legitimacy.
Monday’s press briefing came just before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held its first hearings in the Rohingya genocide case since the coup. The NUG wanted its own official to represent the state of Myanmar in the case, something that would have bolstered its efforts to be taken seriously around the world as the country’s only legitimate government. – Myanmar NOW
Govt publishes guide to anticipate third COVID-19 wave
The Indonesian government has published a guide called Practical Actions for Anticipating the Third Wave of COVID-19/Omicron to increase public awareness about the Omicron variant, the COVID-19 Task Force has said.
“The guide has been released through the cooperation of the Health Ministry, the COVID-19 Response and National Economic Recovery Committee (KPC-PEN), the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as well as the Communication and Informatics Ministry,” spokesperson for the task force, Wiku Adisasmito, informed at a press conference on Tuesday.
It contains the latest information about COVID-19, especially on the Omicron variant; the stages of handling COVID-19; as well as tips to check and assess COVID-19 hoaxes spreading among the community, he added.
The publication of the guide is aimed at encouraging public participation in taking proper action to anticipate the third wave of COVID-19 in Indonesia, he explained.
"The government is aware of the importance of community participation in taking the right steps in anticipating the third wave of COVID-19, thus the book has been released," he said.
The book is expected to complement another COVID-19 guide book issued by the Division for Behavioral Change of the task force, he added.
The digital guide, along with other important information concerning the pandemic, can be accessed on the official site, www.covid19.go.id, all government-owned social media for handling COVID-19, as well as the microsite of s.id/infovaksin, he informed.
According to the COVID-19 Task Force’s website, on February 22, 2022, Indonesia added 57,491 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Meanwhile, the number of active cases reached 549,431. – AntaraNews.Com