As Singapore’s “Circuit Breaker” rounded off its second week of implementation, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on 21 April 2020 that the overall period would be extended until 1 June 2020. Tighter restrictions would be put in place until 4 May 2020, the date...
On Monday, 20 April 2020, Associate Professor Simon Tay, Chairman of the SIIA, spoke with PBS Thailand, on a range of COVID-19 related topics. In the interview, Associate Professor Tay reinforced the need for ASEAN for work together to combat COVID-19 successfully. Watch it here...
Cases of COVID-19 surged across ASEAN countries over the past week. This is particularly true in Singapore, which is now the ASEAN member state with the most number of confirmed cases. Here is an update on the situation in ASEAN and its testing rates as...
Many are weighing how ASEAN needs to work together to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. From the SIIA, keeping supply chains open is critical. In the article, “’Unprecedented’ cooperation within ASEAN necessary to fight COVID-19, say analysts”, published on CNA Online, Ms Jessica Wau, SIIA's Assistant...
Resources Sustainability Malaysia lockdown could spell disaster for key palm oil industry (17 Mar) Malaysia's decision to restrict movement nationwide in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus is raising fears it could imperil the country's vital palm oil industry. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said...
Resources Sustainability The palm oil conundrum in EU-ASEAN relations (2 March) Palm oil tensions between the EU and Indonesia and Malaysia continue to be a point of contention in the group’s ties with Southeast Asian countries. With new regulatory changes now taking place on the basis of...
Resources Sustainability Palm oil-based green fuel program unlikely to empower palm oil farmers (17 Feb) Oil palm farmers have raised doubts that the palm oil-based “green fuel” scheme laid out in the government's recent five-year plan will benefit them, taking past biodiesel developments as cautionary tales. Palm...
Ahead of the ASEAN Special Summit on COVID-19 yesterday, Associate Professor Simon Tay, Chairman of the SIIA, spoke with CNBC on why ASEAN needs to act now to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch the interview here - https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/04/14/asean-regional-effort-to-fight-coronavirus-crisis-must-start-now.html ...
By Simon Tay and Jessica Wau For The Straits Times Some critics may say that Asean has so far done too little in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. But as cases mount, each country in the regional group is now trying to address the situation. In addition...
ASEAN governments have continued to tighten their policies to manage the COVID-19 outbreak, announcing stricter movement restrictions while extending the deadlines for existing measures. New stimulus packages have also been announced to counter the economic impact of the outbreak. Here’s a quick look at what happened...