These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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AGC flags potential contempt over false allegations in Malaysian drug trafficker's case
Various individuals and groups, in and outside Singapore, had repeated false allegations that sought to cast aspersions on the involvement of Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon in the case involving Malaysian drug trafficker Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, said the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC).
In a statement released on Wednesday (April 27) after Nagaenthran was hanged, the AGC said it "takes a serious view of any act that may constitute contempt, and will not hesitate to take appropriate action to protect the administration of justice".
These false allegations were asserted in an affidavit filed on Monday (April 25) by Nagaenthran's mother, Madam Panchalai Supermaniam, in an eleventh-hour attempt to halt his execution that was dismissed by the court on Tuesday. Nagaenthran, 33, was convicted of trafficking 42.72g of heroin in 2010 and given the mandatory death penalty.
He had exhausted his rights of appeal and was first scheduled to be hanged on Nov 10 last year, but filed a last-ditch application seeking to challenge his death sentence.
On March 29, a five-judge Court of Appeal, led by Chief Justice Menon, rejected his bid, calling it a blatant and egregious abuse of the court's processes. – Straits Times
France's Thales charged over 2002 submarines deal with Malaysia
A French judge has charged the defence group Thales with complicity in bribery over a 2002 sale of submarines to Malaysia, sources close to the inquiry told AFP on Tuesday.
The long-running case into alleged kickbacks was opened in 2010 and eventually caught up the former Malaysian prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Najib was defence minister when the deal was signed to buy two Scorpene-class submarines and one Agosta submarine from French naval dockyards unit DCN, now part of Thales, in a deal worth $1.2 billion.
Najib's associate Abdul Razak Baginda acted as an adviser on the deal, and he is accused of disguising the kickback of more than 114 million euros ($121 million at the present-day exchange rate) as "consulting work" by a firm in which he was the largest shareholder. The money was then allegedly given to Najib, who has faced a series of graft cases since he was voted out as Malaysia's prime minister in 2018.
Razak Baginda was charged in France in 2017, while Najib has been questioned by Malaysian anti-graft investigators. In total nine defendants, including Thales, have been charged in France and the investigations were closed in January 2022, the sources said.
They also include Philippe Japiot, former chairman of the French naval dockyards unit DCN International, and Jean-Paul Perrier, a former Thales chief executive, along with two other former executives.
All four deny any wrongdoing and the Malaysian government has said the contract was free of corruption.
Contacted by AFP, Thales said "it strongly contests these allegations." – New Straits Times
Govt 'will not legalise' e-cigarettes
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul insists the Public Health Ministry will not support legalising electronic cigarettes in the country.
He made his remark on Monday during a meeting with board members of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) to discuss tobacco control. Mr Anutin, in his capacity as chairman of the ThaiHealth board, said he has noticed e-cigarettes trending among teenagers and some of them are aiming to have sales legalised.
"The ministry will not support the legalisation of e-cigarettes," he said. To help boost e-cigarette control, Mr Anutin said he has assigned a tobacco control panel under the Department of Disease Control (DDC) to review current regulations to determine whether they should be revised or new rules should be issued.
However, current laws can still suppress the e-cigarette grade, he said.
"The DDC has also been instructed to coordinate with police to come up with a solution in preventing e-cigarettes from becoming more popular in the future," he said. Dr Surachet Satitniramai, second deputy chairman of ThaiHealth, said that currently, many business operators are attempting to legalise the import of e-cigarettes to the country, which is a topic of concern among members of the committee. – Bangkok Post
COVAX pledge to replace expired vaccines elates Duterte
President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Tuesday night welcomed the commitment of the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility to replace around 3.6 million doses of vaccines in the country that have expired.
“That’s nice of them to do that. It’s a distinct humanitarian sentiment,” Duterte said in a pre-recorded public address with Cabinet officials aired Wednesday morning.
This, after Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III revealed the good news and assured that the Philippines will not be spending a single cent for the replacement of Covid-19 jabs.
“Ire-replace po ng COVAX facility. The COVAX facility will replace them. We had a meeting yesterday and they have sent me a letter,” Duque told Duterte.
He said the replacement of Covid-19 vaccines will be done for both doses that have been donated and procured by the government.
The 3.6 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines that have expired account for 1.46 percent of the country's current vaccine inventory, Duque said.
He said this figure is below the 10 percent indicative wastage rate used by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Duterte, in response, said he was “happy” to learn that the expired Covid-19 jabs would be replaced for free. – Philippine News Agency
Just 34.8 per cent of people in rural areas have access to clean water
Viet Nam is in danger of missing the target of providing 93-95 per cent of people in rural areas, and at least 95 per cent in urban areas, access to clean water by 2025.
Data revealed at a conference in Ha Noi on Tuesday morning showed that only 84.2 per cent of people in urban areas have access to clean water. That number is just 34.8 per cent in rural areas.
The target was set under Resolution No. 16/2021/QH15, as part of the five-year socio-economic development plan for 2021-25.
Nguyen Quang Dong, Director of the Institute for Policy Research and Media Development (IPS), already pointed out some reasons for the situation.
He said the privatisation of clean-water supplying services had not been accompanied by the establishment of a reasonable market structure for the services.
"For example, how is the state responsible for providing clean water services; at what stage does the private sector participate; and what is the mechanism to attract public-private partnership for private investment in domestic water supply," he said.
Therefore, while the State lacked investment resources to develop the services, it still failed to attract private investment, he said.
In part, this was because private enterprises faced high risks when they entered the market, he said. – Vietnam News
It’s up to you: Use of facemask no longer necessary outdoors, but a must in crowded indoor venues
The use of mask is no longer mandatory in open spaces throughout the Kingdom but people must continue to wear one when they are in crowded, confined spaces indoors for their own well-being, said Prime Minister Hun Sen. Doing away with the facemasks will help people to reduce their daily expenses, he said when announcing the lifting of the mandatory wearing of masks on his Facebook page yesterday.
“The obligation to wear masks in open spaces can stop as soon as my announcement is over,” he said in his voice message. Even though there is no longer a need to wear the mask in the outdoor environment, the premier said people must put it on when they enter the indoor environment, especially where there is no good ventilation with windows closed and air conditioners used. “While the requirement is abolished, the choice is up to the individual if they wish to continue wearing one. It is no longer crucial to wear one outdoors but they will have to continue to wear one when they are in crowded indoor places,” he said.
He said the country’s high vaccination rate was a prime factor for the government to do away with the mask SOP (standard operating procedure) and allowed Cambodia to open up after two years of border closure and controlled movements.
Mr Hun Sen, however, warned that the SOP would be reintroduced if infection spreads again in large numbers.
If new and highly contagious variants are found, other precautionary measures besides the mask SOP could be imposed to contain the virus,” he said. – Khmer Times
Junta soldiers depopulate 11 riverside villages in northern Myanmar, burning homes and displacing over 10,000 people
More than 10,000 people have fled 11 villages in Sagaing Region in recent days amid an onslaught by junta soldiers along the Muu River that has killed several civilians and resistance fighters, witnesses, guerrillas, and a volunteer aid worker have told Myanmar Now.
The column of some 100 soldiers began the attacks on Thursday, working their way between the towns of Sagaing and Myinmu to depopulate villages along the way that they apparently believed were harbouring or supporting resistance fighters.
About 3,000 homes have now been abandoned or destroyed in the villages of Thazilay, Phayar Hla, Thazin, Nyaung Bin Shae, Ta Laing Kyun, Mutha, Magyikone, San Thit, Taung Myo, Depayin Kwe and Taung Kyar.
Among those, all of Thazilay’s 250 homes were burned down after soldiers set fires, a volunteer from the Sagaing District Medical Force told Myanmar Now. They also burned down Phayar Hla’s 30 homes and all 300 homes in Nyaung Bin Shae, he added.
The internally displaced people – or IDPs – are in need of food, he said.
“All the inhabitants of most of those villages had to flee,” he said. “They had to leave all the cows behind and they still don’t dare to go back. Some of them crossed the Muu River and some fled to Mandalay and Sagaing. We have an IDP camp but no one dares to stay there.” – Myanmar NOW
Gov"t extends PPKM outside Java, Bali until May 9
The government has extended public activity restrictions (PPKM) in areas outside Java and Bali until May 9, 2022, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has informed.
"The government has decided to extend PPKM for another 14 days, starting from April 26 to May 9, 2022," Hartarto said in a written statement on Monday.
The enforcement of PPKM outside Java and Bali is based on the COVID-19 pandemic situation covering the number of positive cases, deaths, in patients, as well as the response capacity comprising testing, tracing, and treatment.
It is also based on the second dose vaccination rate of at least 45 percent and the first dose elderly vaccination rate of at least 60 percent.
PPKM in districts or cities that do not meet the threshold will be raised by one level, except districts or cities with a population of less than 200 thousand and confirmed cases of less than 2 out of every 100 thousand people.
Based on the evaluation of the COVID-19 situation, as of April 23, 2022, the number of active cases, deaths, and in-patients remained low at level 1 or the lowest level, with the positivity and mortality rates in 27 provinces outside Java and Bali staying at level 1. – AntaraNews.Com