ASEAN News

SINGAPORE: In Singapore, four cases of COVID-19 have so far tested positive for the more virulent coronavirus strain B117. Three of these cases were identified earlier this month as community infections, and MOH confirmed they had tested positive for the new variant on Tuesday night (Jan 26). The other case known to have tested positive for the B117 strain is …

IBM has named Martin Chee as ASEAN‘s general manager, immediately expanding responsibilities beyond Singapore to the broader region. As part of the change, the long-time Big Blue veteran will also retain his current role as Singapore’s general manager, holding a dual position in the city-state from the vendor’s regional headquarters. Chee succeeds Patricia Yim, who was named to lead the …

In order to sustain its competitiveness, Singapore aims to expand its manufacturing sector by 50 percent over the next 10 years, with the pandemic highlighting its importance to the economy of the trade-reliant city-state. But the target is unrealistic because it will become more difficult to rely on foreign labor to complement the local workforce, Minister of Trade and Industry …

SINGAPORE: On Friday (January 22) cargo drivers from Malaysia transporting critical goods to Singapore said they faced delays at land entry checkpoints, on the first day mandatory COVID-19 tests were enforced by the Singapore government. On Thursday, the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore (MTI) announced that COVID-19 antigen rapid testing would be gradually rolled out for cargo drivers …

Singapore’s government aims to establish urgent legislation in order to formalize the use of contact-tracing virus data in serious crime investigations. Legislation to restrict the use of data to prosecute seven types of serious crimes will be implemented at the next parliamentary sitting in February, the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office said in a statement on Friday. Murder, terrorism, …

Kuala Lumpur – The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia of Malaysia announced on 14 December that its Minister, Saifuddin Abdullah, would chair the first ASEAN Digital Ministers’ Meeting (ADGMIN1) by teleconference from 21-22 January 2021.The meeting, entitled ‘ASEAN: A Digitally Linked Society,’ aims to deepen cooperation between ASEAN countries to create digital ecosystems as a pillar of the post-COVID-19 development …

SINGAPORE: Singapore has one of the most successful strategies in the world to fight the coronavirus pandemic, but there is growing concern among rights activists that this is coming at a price, with “unjustified surveillance” through the communication tracing mechanisms of the government. With slightly more than 59,100 confirmed virus infections, there have been only 29 coronavirus-related deaths in the …

This year, cloud technology, networking, connectivity, communications, and security are expected to be the top areas of IT activity in the ASEAN region as companies are reshuffling their technology priorities to counter the effects of COVID-19. The latest research by data analytics and consulting company GlobalData shows that IT adoption from within these top five areas of projected demand is …

SINGAPORE: Plans to provide 37,000 frontline staff in the aviation and maritime sectors with COVID-19 vaccines started on Monday (January 18), with vaccination centers coming into full swing for both industries. During a visit to one of the Changi Airport Terminal 4 vaccination centres, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said that the Sea-Air Vaccination Exercise is already scheduled to vaccinate …

Compared to a year earlier, sea piracy and armed robbery in Asian waters jumped 17 percent last year, with an especially high incidence in the Singapore Strait, an international center led by Japan to tackle the scourge said on Friday. A total of 97 such incidents were recorded last year, of which, according to the ReCAAP Information Sharing Center in …