10/06/2026

WEDNESDAY | JUNE 10, 2026

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Malaysian Paper

/thesundaily /

S’pore to advance Asean integration SINGAPORE: The city-state will push for deeper regional integration and enhance external partnerships to navigate global challenges when it assumes the Asean chairmanship next year. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said these two key areas will be Singapore’s agenda in spearheading the bloc. He said Asean will continue to work on strengthening partnerships because the region cannot operate alone, given its diversity. “Asean has always wanted a region that is open and inclusive, where we engage all major partners,” he said during a dialogue session organised by the Singapore Press Club on Monday. He said Asean hopes to strengthen cooperation with all key partners and bring them together in the region, maximising the prospects for continued stability and prosperity. Wong said Asean’s outlook on the Indo-Pacific is that it does not want to see a region dominated by a single power. He believed the region should engage all major players, find common ground and advance areas of shared concern or cooperation. “We do not want to see zero-sum competition here or to have exclusive commitments to any single party. “We also do not want to see a world that’s divided into competing spheres of influence, where there is one sphere dominated by a single power here in Asia, another sphere in the western hemisphere, and then another sphere in Europe.” Wong said the bloc is progressing well in terms of trade and investments, but is still looking into seamless interoperability across different economies. – Bernama

Race to rescue trapped victims

o Power outages hamper hospital care

formal economy. UN officials estimate from trends that between 10,000 and 20,000 refugees stand to get jobs over the next year, although the pace of expansion hinges on administrative processes and practical access to jobs. Refugees still face challenges such as restrictions on freedom of movement and finding ways to adapt to life after decades spent dependent on aid in camps, Mazou said. – Reuters Schools, which had reopened on Monday after a break, remained closed as authorities checked the condition of buildings, thousands of which sustained minor to severe damage, said Rafaelito Alejandro, head of the office of civil defence. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded 23 strong aftershocks. – Reuters early on Monday about 20km off the coast of Sarangani province, with tremors felt strongly across Mindanao and as far as the city of Manado, 420km in the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Officials said they hoped the death toll would not rise further as rescue operations continued, with more than 400 people injured and four still missing. Scenes of devastation were visible in parts of General Santos, which is home to more than 700,000 people and now under a state of calamity, with several buildings collapsed and debris strewn across streets beneath a tangle of toppled power lines and utility posts. Officials scoured damaged buildings to assess damage and worked to restore power and water for residents. The quake came eight months after the country suffered its deadliest tremor in 12 years, when a shallow 6.9 magnitude quake hit off the central island of Cebu, killing 79 people.

Scanners have so far detected no signs of life from the remaining two. “It’s difficult to accept, as a mother, that my son is still trapped,” said Dioslinda Deluvio, distraught as she waited outside the building for news of her son. “My only call is to have him retrieved today so we can be at peace,” said the 65-year-old mother. The 7.8-magnitude quake struck

by a powerful earthquake that has killed at least 41 people and injured hundreds, to reach two people still believed to be trapped inside. Regional fire officer Edgar Tanawan, who is leading the operation, said two people had been pulled out alive from the commercial building housing a grocery store and other businesses, but a third was found dead.

GENERAL SANTOS: Rescuers searched yesterday the rubble of a collapsed building in the southern city of General Santos, the worst hit

A rescue worker uses a dog to look for trapped people at a collapsed store in General Santos. – REUTERSPIC

Thai jobs for refugees model offers regional lessons BANGKOK: More than 5,500

Since the programme’s launch in October, Thai authorities have worked with employers to ensure refugee workers receive legal protections, healthcare coverage and at least the minimum wage, Mazou said. As part of the initiative, refugees are receiving special identity cards to open bank accounts, obtain mobile SIM cards and verify their legal status, steps Mazou said were critical to integrating them into Thailand’s

model for other countries in Southeast Asia grappling with the problem of protracted displacement. The approach could offer lessons for countries such as Bangladesh and Malaysia that host large refugee populations, showing how they can contribute to the economy while remaining under legal protections and government oversight. “If it works here, it will have an impact on the region,” Mazou said.

shortages worsened by armed clashes with Cambodia. As a result, Thailand allowed about 80,000 refugees from Myanmar to work legally, in a policy change significant for a population that has lived for decades dependent on humanitarian aid in nine shelters along the shared border. Raouf Mazou, UNHCR assistant high commissioner for operations, said Thailand’s efforts could become a

Myanmar refugees living in camps along Thailand’s border have found jobs since Bangkok eased employment curbs last year, an approach that offers a regional example, a UN refugee official said. The step came in response to a sharp decline in global humanitarian funding, in part as US President Donald Trump slashed foreign aid and Thailand battled growing labour