South China Morning Post - Southeast Asia

Singapore ‘staying open and being connected’ as it seeks more trade deals amid pandemic: ...

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 05:31:50 GMT

Singapore is speaking with countries on developing further trade deals in the wake of last year’s pact with the European Union.“We’ve seen many partners want to do business with Singapore, and maybe even locate some of their regional headquarters here because of that network effect of our free-trade agreements,” S. Iswaran, Minister for Communications and Information, said in an interview on Thursday with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin.What is the Regional Comprehensive Economic…

Malaysian beauty salon says sorry for model’s deadly liposuction treatment

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 04:27:46 GMT

Relatives of the owners of a beauty salon in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, whose botched liposuction killed a 23-year-old model, attended her wake and apologised to the deceased’s family, reported China Press.A man and two women who were related to the owners paid a visit to the Xiao En Centre in Cheras on Tuesday to pay their last respects and apologise for the incident.Coco Siew Zhi Shing died on October 17 when undergoing liposuction that allegedly went awry at the salon, which reportedly was not…

Thailand protests: PM Prayuth given three days to resign, or face ‘higher demands’

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 03:16:54 GMT

Thai protesters gave Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha three days to resign and meet other key demands that include reforming the monarchy, appearing to reject an olive branch he offered in a televised address.Thousands of demonstrators on Wednesday night broke through police barricades and barbed wire to march toward Prayuth’s official office. They gathered near the building, known as Government House, soon after the prime minister said his government was prepared to withdraw emergency rules…

Boom time for rural Vietnam as Apple, Samsung supply chains shift amid pandemic, US-China trade ...

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 02:09:28 GMT

Not long ago Vietnam’s Bac Giang province was one of the nation’s poorest regions, known for producing rice, lychees and poultry dubbed “running chicken”. That was before the global tech supply chain shifted its way.Now officials in the rural area north of Hanoi host representatives from Apple and Hon Hai Precision Industry Company. The growth in foreign investment is almost doubling every year – even during the coronavirus pandemic – and the province forecasts the value of exports this year…

Thailand protests: parliament to hold special session, with business community wary of further ...

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 00:45:13 GMT

In Thailand, lawmakers will meet on Monday to discuss ways to end an escalating protest movement calling for the ouster of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s government and the reform of the monarchy, with the local business community wary of further economic fallout on top of the damage wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.The special session of parliament will be held on October 26-27, and has been endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn. It comes after a six-day stretch of rallies attended by tens…

South Korea’s Asean strategy needs sturdy pillars of understanding to succeed

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 00:00:12 GMT

South Korea’s New Southern Policy (NSP) has been a welcome addition in Southeast Asia and has significantly expanded Seoul’s economic, cultural and developmental role in the region. But it needs a “boost” to capture more traction with Asean. As President Moon Jae-in’s government prepares to unveil NSP 2.0 later this year, efforts are needed to explain Seoul’s southern pivot more clearly and identify what challenges and opportunities lie ahead.The NSP, which Moon unveiled in 2017, was a…

Have US-China rivalry and coronavirus tipped the balance of power in Asia?

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 23:00:11 GMT

The deepening US-China rivalry, Asia’s superior handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, economic interventionism, and growing insecurity are among the most powerful trends shaping politics and business across the region this year, a new report says.South Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan set the global standard in pandemic measures such as testing and contract tracing, minimising the economic fallout in Asia and setting the region up to “lead the restart of the global economic engine”, according to the…

Malaysian PM Muhyiddin Yassin counting on Umno’s support as part of ‘political ceasefire’

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 14:05:47 GMT

The biggest party in Malaysia’s ruling alliance on Wednesday pledged its support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, a boost for the premier as he faces a leadership challenge.The United Malays National Organisation (Umno) also called for a “political ceasefire” amid a surge in coronavirus cases, just a week after saying it was considering withdrawing support for Muhyiddin’s government.The move provides a temporary reprieve for Muhyiddin following opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s claim that…

As Uygurs exit Indonesian jail, China-Turkey repatriation tussle brews

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 12:30:13 GMT

Three Uygurs in Indonesia who were jailed five years ago for attempting to join a terrorist group have been freed and are now subject of a repatriation tussle between China and Turkey, says a senior Indonesian security source, sparking fears by rights groups over the men’s safety.According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the trio may face dire consequences if returned to China, where “mass arbitrary detention, torture, and mistreatment” of Muslims in Xinjiang province by the Chinese government…

Thailand protests: PM Prayuth Chan-ocha will lift state of severe emergency to ...

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 12:23:02 GMT

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Wednesday vowed to lift the state of “severe emergency” in Bangkok in an attempt to defuse the unrest that has led to intensifying anti-government protests.“I will make the first move to de-escalate this situation,” Prayuth said during a taped televised address. “I am currently preparing to lift the state of severe emergency in Bangkok and will do so promptly if there are no violent incidents.Democracy protesters have massed daily in the capital…

Coronavirus Malaysia: more heat on Muhyiddin after minister escapes punishment for breaking ...

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 11:51:17 GMT

The decision by Malaysian prosecutors on Wednesday to drop an investigation into a minister who broke Covid-19 quarantine rules has been met with befuddlement, with a legal analyst saying the move could worsen fast-eroding public trust in the government’s handling of the health crisis.The announcement by the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) was the latest turn in the months-long saga involving Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Khairuddin Aman Razali.Questions in Malaysia over…

Singapore jails man for forcing underage girl to perform sex act on him

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 10:00:24 GMT

A 26-year-old Indian national was sentenced to seven months’ jail on Tuesday for kissing a 15-year-old girl on the lips and forcing her to perform a sex act on him.Chellam Rajesh Kannan, who met the girl through social media platform Instagram, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a young person.Another two charges, including wrongful restraint, were taken into consideration for sentencing.His victim, now aged 16, cannot be named due to a gag order to protect her identity. The…

Japan’s PM Yoshihide Suga cites South China Sea concerns in push for closer Asean ties

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 09:10:31 GMT

Japan’s new prime minister pledged on Wednesday to help Southeast Asian nations increase their maritime security capabilities, as he used his first overseas trip as leader to push his country’s vision for greater international cooperation to counter China’s influence in the region.Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, speaking in the Indonesian capital, also took a thinly veiled dig at China’s activities in the disputed South China Sea, where it has built and militarised man-made islands and is…

Singapore woman jailed for six months for beating Indonesian domestic worker

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 07:00:34 GMT

A 54-year-old Singapore woman who repeatedly struck and slapped her domestic worker over at least five years, using items like a high-heeled shoe and a ladle, was sentenced to six months’ jail on Tuesday.Tan Bee Kim, a former Furama Hotel employee, initially contested her offences but decided to plead guilty to a single charge midway through her trial. Twelve other counts of causing hurt to Zeny Aquino Landingin, now 48 and a mother of six, were taken into consideration for sentencing. Tan will…

Coronavirus: Thailand welcomes 39 Chinese tourists; New Zealand sees two community cases

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 05:40:53 GMT

Thailand’s tourist industry has taken a modest step toward reviving its coronavirus-battered fortunes by welcoming 39 visitors who flew in from Shanghai, the first such arrivals since regular travellers were banned almost seven months ago.The visitors who arrived at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport are pioneers in a “Special Tourist Visa” programme devised by Thai authorities to restore step by step a sector of the economy that welcomed almost 40 million foreign visitors last year and by some…

Malaysian model’s death after bungled liposuction puts spotlight on risks of visiting shady salons

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 05:17:26 GMT

The case of a bride-to-be, who died after a liposuction went awry, has broken the hearts of her loved ones and highlighted once more the risks of going to dubious beauty salons.Coco Siew Zhi Shing, 23, had wanted to look good for her wedding at the end of this year, so she went for a liposuction procedure at a beauty salon in Kuala Lumpur on October 17.The cosmetic procedure costing RM2,500 (US$603) was supposed to be done on her arms. Apparently, she found the salon online.Her brother Xiao…

Singapore Airlines to resume direct flights to New York, as optimism for air travel grows

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 03:49:24 GMT

Singapore Airlines (SIA) will resume non-stop flights to New York next month, this time flying to John F Kennedy Airport rather than nearby Newark Liberty International Airport, the company said on Tuesday.The thrice-weekly non-stop flights from Changi Airport will start from November 9 using the Airbus A350-900. Flights back to Changi Airport will start two days later on November 11, SIA said. At a scheduled 18 hours, 40 minutes, this will be the world’s longest non-stop flight.The national…

Ex-Trump fundraiser Elliott Broidy pleads guilty to illegal lobbying over Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 22:51:11 GMT

Elliott Broidy, once a top Republican fundraiser, pleaded guilty to illegally lobbying President Donald Trump’s administration to help a Malaysian businessman end a federal investigation into the 1MDB scandal and to seek the extradition of a Chinese dissident from the US.Broidy’s plea on Tuesday in federal court in Washington came ahead of an expected criminal settlement with Goldman Sachs. The bank has agreed to pay more than US$2 billion for its role in helping the 1MDB Malaysian development…

Indonesia and Japan pledge to strengthen security, economic ties as Yoshihide Suga continues ...

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 16:13:03 GMT

Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday pledged low-interest loans of 50 billion yen (US$474 million) to Indonesia to help cushion the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Southeast Asian nation’s economy, while also agreeing with President Joko Widodo to strengthen security cooperation and begin discussions on resuming travel between their countries.“Japan will also boost cooperation with Indonesian health assessment agencies, including by providing them with medical equipment,”…

Thailand protests: court orders shutdown of news site linked to former PM Thaksin Shinawatra

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 12:54:36 GMT

A Thai news outlet connected to exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was ordered to shut down Tuesday over its coverage of anti-government protests in Bangkok as demonstrators prepared to take to the streets for a sixth consecutive day.Voice TV, a website partly owned by Thaksin’s family, was one of four media organisations under fire for their reporting of the youth-led pro-democracy protest movement and has been critical of the government.Thousands of protesters have massed in the capital…