14/10/2025

TUESDAY | OCT 14, 2025 7 Thailand, Cambodia discuss border issue BANGKOK: Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow met his Cambodian counterpart in Malaysia on Sunday to discuss the border issue. The Thai Foreign Ministry said Sihasak took part in consultations involving Malaysia, the United States and Cambodia chaired by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail. The ministry said Sihasak was on a working visit to Malaysia at the invitation of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in his capacity as Asean chair. “The consultations included discussions on outstanding matters, the way forward to de escalate tensions and ensuring tangible progress in the implementation of the ceasefire agreement,” the ministry said. Sihasak stressed the importance of bilateral mechanisms, which have made notable progress in recent months and the need to advance issues agreed upon by both sides. “The foreign minister also highlighted key areas such as the withdrawal of heavy weaponry, joint demining efforts, combating transnational crime and cooperation in the management of border areas,” it said. Thailand and Cambodia are working towards lasting peace along their 817km border, which has long been a source of disputes. Tensions most recently escalated into a military confrontation in the Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear border areas on July 24. Both governments subsequently agreed to defuse the situation, which has been closely monitored by Malaysia, as Asean chair, the US and China. – Bernama CLOVE FARM REPORTS RADIATION CONTAMINATION JAKARTA: A clove farm in Sumatra’s Lampung province has contamination from Caesium 137, a radioactive isotope, although it is limited and has not spread to other commodities, a task force looking into contamination cases said. Cloves from the farm will not be sold until further laboratory testing, task force spokesperson Bara Hasibuan said, adding authorities are still looking for the contamination source. Indonesia has been investigating cases of radioactive contamination in some products in recent weeks and has set up the task force which has been in touch with the International Atomic Energy Agency and US authorities. The contamination was first detected in a batch of shrimp shipped to the United States in August. – Reuters FILIPINO CLIMBERS RESCUED IN JAPAN ALPS, ONE DEAD GIFU: Two Filipinos were rescued on Sunday on Mount Okuhotakadake, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures in the Northern Japan Alps, but one later died. Police said the two men, aged 53 and 48, were part of a seven-member group that climbed the 3,190m peak. They became stranded while descending. Police launched a search on Saturday after receiving an emergency call from a staff member of a mountain lodge, who said a woman had reported three members of her group missing. The three were found about 170m from the lodge around 5.20am on Sunday. The 53-year-old man was later confirmed dead. The third person, a woman, SEOUL: North Korea has likely received technical help from Russia for its submarine development, South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back told parliament. North Korea has vowed to develop submarines that can launch ballistic missiles and has test-fired missiles from submerged platforms, but it is not clear whether Pyongyang has succeeded in mastering a launch from submarines. It is also pursuing the development of nuclear-powered submarines. – Reuters descended on her own. – Bernama RUSSIAN TECH FOR NORTH KOREAN SUBMARINES

Recess allowance hike for Indonesian lawmakers

Southeast Asia’s biggest economy and a member of the G20, the World Bank says tens of millions of Indonesians still live in poverty. Dasco defended the increase, saying the last allowance was based on the 2019-2024 period and didn’t take into account the subsequent rises in staple food prices and transport costs. “So this is not a raise, it’s a policy decided by the house’s secretariat after reviewing various kinds of aspects,” Dasco said, adding the figure was not proposed by the house but the secretariat. Dasco, who is also a senior politician in President Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra party, said parliament was developing a digital reporting mechanism to ensure transparency, which will be open to the public. “It’s like Indonesians have been pranked,” said Lucius Karus from Formappi, a non profit parliamentary watchdog. “We were satisfied by the abolition of the housing allowance ... but, in fact, another fantastic allowance has appeared.” – Reuters

The increase in the “recess allowance” for lawmakers – which is given to parliamentarians to support their work in their constituencies while parliament is not in session – came into effect on Oct 3, at the start of the latest break, said Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad. Each lawmaker will now get 700 million rupiah (RM178,262) for each recess, Dasco said, up from 400 million rupiah previously. Indonesia’s 580 parliamentarians take about five breaks per year. The allowance, which Dasco said had been approved by the Finance Ministry in May, is earmarked for visits and activities in electoral districts. The August protests were sparked by anger at the perks available to politicians, with each lawmaker also entitled to an additional 100 million rupiah per month in housing and other allowances. Following the unrest, some of the benefits were removed, cutting the total to 65.5 million rupiah. While commodity-rich Indonesia is

o ‘Policy decided by parliament secretariat’

JAKARTA: Indonesia has nearly doubled a key allowance for its lawmakers, an official said yesterday, one month after cancelling some of the benefits given to parliamentarians in an effort to assuage public anger following a series of violent demonstrations. In August, thousands of students, rights groups, and other civilians joined protests against the government’s spending priorities, including pay rises for lawmakers. The demonstrations later spiralled into riots after a motorcycle taxi driver was killed during a police operation. The violence, which spread to 32 of Indonesia’s 38 provinces, resulted in 10 deaths and at least 5,000 arrests, making it the deadliest outbreak of unrest in the archipelago for over two decades.

BR I E F S

IN GRATITUDE ... Buddhist monks receive alms from civil servants during an event commemorating the death anniversary of Thailand’s late king Bhumibol Adulyadej at the city hall in the southern province of Narathiwat yesterday. – AFPPIC

Japan wraps up successful World Expo TOKYO: Japan brought the curtains down yesterday on the six-month World Expo, having surmounted initially tepid public enthusiasm, contaminated fountains and swarms of pesky flies to welcome more than 27 million visitors. Fujimoto, to be preserved on an artificial island in host city Osaka. But the nearly 7,000 petitioners say they want it saved in its entirety. “The moment I stepped onto the ring, something inside me changed,” the Osaka school student who began the campaign said, writing on the online petition site.

interest would make the Expo a flop. But organisers say the event – which involved around 160 countries and regions showcasing their technology, culture and food – will likely turn a profit of at least ¥23 billion (RM633.6 million), thanks in part to strong ticket sales. The highlights included a Mars meteorite, a beating artificial heart grown from stem cells and Hello Kitty figures in the form of algae. It was a heartening turnaround for the initially embattled exhibition, which is held in a new city every five years. – AFP

Expo 2025’s star attraction, the Grand Ring – the world’s largest wooden structure, surrounding all the country pavilions – has proven such a hit that a high school student has even launched a petition to save it. The plan is for a 200m section of the ring, the work of renowned Japanese architect Sou

“Standing beneath the 20m high wooden roof, I felt the warmth of the wood seep through my entire body, filling me with an indescribable emotion.” Japan had feared scant media and public