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.
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Police probe 259 alleged scammers, money mules over cases with losses worth more than $5.9m
The police are investigating 259 people alleged to be scammers and money mules following an island wide enforcement operation.
They are believed to be involved in more than 564 cases where victims are said to have lost more than $5.9 million, police said on Friday (Jan 28).
The cases include Internet love, e-commerce, impersonation, investment, job and loan scams.
The suspects comprise 170 men and 89 women, aged between 16 and 80.
Officers from the Commercial Affairs Department and seven police land divisions conducted the two-week operation from Jan 14 to 27.
The suspects are being probed for the alleged offences of cheating, money laundering or providing payment services without a licence.
The offence of cheating carries a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.
Those convicted of money laundering can be jailed up to 10 years, fined up to $500,000, or both.
The offence of running a business of providing any type of payment service in Singapore without a licence carries a fine not exceeding $125,000, jail term not exceeding three years, or both. – Straits Times
Malaysian banks urged to come clean on Genting HK exposure
Malaysian banks affected by the Genting Hong Kong Ltd (Genting HK) fiasco should be transparent over their actual exposure in the company, industry observers said.
This would help prevent panic or unnecessary attention that might lead to the risk of bank run, they added.
While the potential losses from the reported RM2.5 billion Genting HK loan exposure would cause a dent on their finances, the industry observers, however, dismissed any reckless decision by the banks in lending to the troubled Asian cruise operator.
It was reported that Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), CIMB Bank Bhd and RHB Bank Bhd were among some of the key unsecured creditors of Genting HK. According to reports, the banks had a combined exposure of US$600 million (RM2.5 billion), and huge provisions caused by the beleaguered cruise operator would have a huge impact on their profits and share prices.
Genting HK filed to wind up the company last week, after it warned of a potential cross-default amounting to US$2.78 billion (about RM11.66 billion) due to the insolvency of its indirect wholly-owned German-based subsidiary MV Werften Holdings Ltd as negotiations with the German government to rescue the unit had failed.
Genting HK is controlled by Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, who owns 75.5 per cent of the company.
An industry specialist said it was quite a delicate balance for the affected banks in respect to public disclosure on the issue.
“To a large degree, Bank Negara Malaysia has been extremely thorough in its audit and monitoring activities in respect to banking operations. It covers all aspects such as risk management, product development, governance and business strategy, among others.
“In that sense, we can safely say that banking system is very sound and it is able to absorb shocks. The other spectrum will be to manage public perception towards the stability of the banking system. The authority will need to be tactful (in tackling the issue),” the specialist said. – New Straits Times
Purge tests PM’s resolve
All eyes are on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s next move following the purge of 21 MPs from the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) including Thamanat Prompow, the party’s former secretary-general.
Political analysts believe the group’s departure will weaken the coalition government and leave Gen Prayut to grapple with how to ensure that the administration completes its four-year term or prolongs its tenure, at least to the end of this year.
Capt Thamanat’s group is thought to be joining the Setthakij Thai Party (Thai Economic Party) linked to PPRP leader Prawit Wongsuwon.
With 21 votes in their pocket, the group is believed to have bargaining power for one or two cabinet seats.
However, Gen Prayut has ruled out a cabinet shake-up after their exit from the PPRP.
“I insist that I have no intention to change the cabinet line-up or dissolve the House,” said Gen Prayut.
According to political analysts, Gen Prayut is deemed to have only two choices: either compromise by reshuffling the cabinet and awarding a cabinet seat to this group, or making do with what he has — a slim majority.
Gen Prawit reportedly informed the party when it met to debate the fate of Capt Thamanat’s faction on Jan 19 that the group would not join the opposition.
It is believed that Gen Prayut wanted Capt Thamanat out of the party while Gen Prawit preferred to see him break away to set up a new party that would serve as a PPRP ally to prepare for the next election.
Capt Thamanat was considered Gen Prawit’s right-hand man. However, he fell out of favour with the premier after attempting to topple him in a censure debate last year.
The expelled MPs are set to move to the Setthakij Thai Party, headed by Gen Wit Devahastin na Ayudhya, who will reportedly resign as chairman of the PPRP’s strategic committee. – Bangkok Post
PNP logs 14% drop in PH focus crimes in 2021
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has recorded a 14 percent drop in focus crime incidents in 2021 which it described as consistent with the downtrend in crime incidents over the past six years since 2016.
PNP chief, Gen. Dionardo Carlos, took note of the prevailing crime trend from the Crime Environment Report presented by the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) during a top-level command conference in Camp Crame, Quezon City on Thursday.
From 43,696 incidents in 2020, crime incidents dipped 13.89 percent to only 37,626 or 6,070 fewer incidents in 2021.
The same report indicated a single and double-digit decline in all focus crimes between 2020 and 2021.
Physical injury posted the biggest decline at 33.20 percent, followed by homicide with 19.53 percent; motorcycle theft, 15.29 percent.
While theft incidents posted the highest volume among the eight focus crimes, it slid 5.26 percent further to only 11,492 incidents in 2021 from 12,130 in 2020.
Carlos said the crime trend between 2020 to 2021 showed the latter part of the six-year continuing downtrend of focus crimes recorded in the Crime Information Reporting and Analysis System (CIRAS) of the PNP.
From a high of 131,685 cases in 2016, it dipped to 37,626 incidents in 2021 or a 71.42 percent drop over the six-year period, Carlos noted. – Philippine News Agency
Viet Nam successful with vaccination drive, what’s next?
Viet Nam’s openness to international aid, its transparency in COVID-19 data along with vaccination capacity have contributed to its success in acquiring COVID-19 vaccine doses amid global shortages and inequitable vaccine distribution, according to experts in international affairs and health.
The shipment of nearly 75 million doses to Viet Nam from various sources accounts for about 40 per cent of all vaccines in the country. This has helped the country ramp up its largest ever vaccination drive that later enables economic recovery from the pandemic.
“Viet Nam has been quite open in terms of receiving aid from many countries,” Senior Associate Professor Stephen R. Nagy at the International Christian University in Japan told Viet Nam News.
“As a result, it’s been able to acquire more vaccines for its people.
“That is really important. It has demonstrated an openness, where I think other countries have demonstrated a misplaced national pride, as opposed to getting the top-grade vaccines, they have really focused on their domestic vaccines.”
The vaccine has been considered a weapon in the COVID-19 armoury of Viet Nam besides other measures including targeted lockdowns, travel bans, quarantine and widespread testing, and social distancing. The increasing vaccination rate is the main driver that enables a shift from “Zero COVID” policy to flexible adaption to the pandemic.
It is a consistent policy of Viet Nam that vaccinations are provided free of charge for the entire population, including foreigners living and working in the country.
The country has set up a government working group led by Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, which is tasked with acquiring as many vaccine doses as fast and quickly as possible. The body’s main goals include urging manufacturers to deliver vaccines on schedule, seeking vaccine donations from foreign countries and the COVAX programme, and promoting the transfer of vaccine production technology. – Vietnam News
Sub-variant threat: Cambodia braces for BA.2 which is more infectious than Omicron
Cambodia is bracing for a possible entry of BA.2, a more infectious sub-variant of Omicron, which is reported to have caused one death in neighbouring Thailand. The sub-variant is now present in 49 countries and has also been detected in Southeast Asia.
According to a Thai national news website (Thaiger) report on Wednesday, Thailand has now recorded 14 cases of BA.2 involving both Thai nationals and international travellers.
It also confirmed that the first death in Thailand from the Omicron variant, reported earlier this month, was in fact due to this new sub-variant.
Thaiger reported that the first death from Omicron was recorded in Songkhla province in the south of Thailand and was an 86-year-old woman from Hat Yai. She had Alzheimer’s and was bedridden, though she had been double vaccinated but had not received a booster shot. She got infected with Covid-19 after her grandson travelled to Phuket and back and spread the virus to her.
Apart from Thailand, BA.2 has also been reported in Singapore (203 cases), Indonesia (25), Philippines (20) and Malaysia (four). – Khmer Times
Outlook remains bleak for Myanmar’s ‘critically weak’ economy, says World Bank
Myanmar’s “critically weak economy” will rebound by just 1% this year after shrinking by almost a fifth because of the combined effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and last February’s military coup, the World Bank has said.
The expected growth in the year to September 2022 reflects “recent signs of stabilisation” in some areas almost a year after Min Aung Hlaing’s power grab plunged the country into conflict and economic turmoil, the lender said in its latest Myanmar Economic Monitor.
But it won’t be enough to undo the damage that led the bank to predict poverty rates would double and estimate that the economy is 30% smaller than it would have been without the pandemic and the coup.
The economy shrank by 18% in the year to September 2021 amid nationwide anti-junta strikes, mass military-led displacement, urban and rural guerrilla warfare, COVID lockdowns, and the exit from the country of numerous foreign investors.
“The situation and outlook for most people in Myanmar continues to be extremely worrying,” said Mariam Sherman, the Bank’s country director for Myanmar, Cambodia and Lao PDR.
She added: “Recent trends of escalating conflict are concerning–firstly from a humanitarian perspective but also from the implications for economic activity. Moreover, with a low vaccination rate and inadequate health services, Myanmar is highly vulnerable to the Omicron variant of COVID-19.” – Myanmar NOW
Hope B20 will help G20 achieve net-zero emission target: Hartarto
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, has expressed the hope that the Business 20 (B20) forum would help accelerate G20 members’ efforts to meet the net-zero emissions target.
“With help from B20, the G20 will be able to move quickly to implementation in the energy sector by putting in place a framework to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement,” Hartarto said while delivering the welcoming speech at the B20 Inception Meeting, which was accessed online here on Thursday.
The G20 countries need partners from the business sector to ensure a greener recovery, he added. Without real and continuous support, the G20 will not be able to achieve the net-zero emissions target by the middle of this century, he stressed.
The B20 plays a key role in supporting G20 to achieve inclusive, resilient, and sustainable development, he said. Therefore, business communities and governments must synergize, he added.
B20 members must also put aside their political differences and increase collaboration with other members, Hartarto said. The global pandemic should be optimized as an opportunity to rebuild a brighter future, he added.
“As the Chair of the G20, with clear directions from President Joko Widodo, Indonesia as a member of the G20 is involved in supporting changes in the three main global priorities, namely health, digitalization, and energy transition,” he remarked. – AntaraNews.Com
