Asean News Headlines at 10pm on Saturday (Sept 6, 2025)

Chinese Indonesian Buddhists throw fake money to honour their ancestors during the Hungry Ghost Festival, held on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month and observed in Chinese communities with offerings of food, incense, and paper money to wandering spirits, at Gunung Timur Temple in Medan, North Sumatra, on Saturday, September 6, 2025. -- Photo by YT Hariono / AFP

Malaysia:

* PKR reviewing Sabah polls seat strategy after BN's decision not to work with GRS

* Bung says 'Langkah Kinabalu' was BN's response to poor state governance

* Federal Govt to allow padi land in Kedah to be used for industry and housing, says PM

* Crazy rich politicians in our midst?

* Bersatu will not tolerate poison pen tactics, says Hamzah

* No new charges in Zara Qairina case until inquest ends, says AG

* Barisan says cooperation with GRS still possible after Sabah polls

* Malaysia considering alternatives to F/A-18 jet delivery from Kuwait

* Chegubard detained over allegedly seditious TikTok video

* EAIC calls for action against department heads to ensure DEEP is effective

* Idle offices could become homes if Urban Renewal Act passes, says minister

* Perikatan’s Sabah Chief Minister candidate will be from the state, says Hamzah

* Malaysia and Netherlands sign deal to boost semiconductor industry ties

* Authorities bust syndicate behind fake SMS scams using illegal signal equipment

* Dzulkefly: Health Ministry to revise plans for Health Service Commission

* Zara Qairina inquest: Statements that interfere with court proceedings is sub judice, says Fahmi / Forensic pathologist in Zara’s inquest lodges police report over online threats

Devotees carry idols of the elephant-headed Hindu deity Ganesha for their immersion in the Arabian Sea in Mumbai on Saturday, September 6, 2025, on the last day of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. -- Photo by Punit PARANJPE / AFP

Singapore:

* Dementia in Singapore’s ageing population not just a medical issue, but a societal challenge: Home Affairs Minister

* Duo arrested after allegedly using fake gold ring, fabricated bank receipt to cheat victim of S$800 in Singapore

* Fire breaks out at Singapore's Chai Chee Avenue HDB block; four taken to hospital, 50 residents evacuated

* Singapore prison officer admits to accepting bribes; helped inmate smuggle items including lewd pictures

* ChatGPT affirmed man's fears about his mum before murder-suicide, YouTube videos show

* Singapore court rejects Pannir Selvam's stay of execution bid

* StarBiz -- Dining takes off at Changi Airport

Indonesia:

* Online crackdown haunts Indonesia protests

* Jakarta holds ‘picnic’ protest after crackdown on violence

* Indonesian police officers discharged, demoted over Affan’s death

* Sleeping at 104.6kph? A viral Tesla video raises new questions about self-driving technology

* OpenAI expects business to burn $115 billion through 2029, The Information reports

* Gojek co-founder detained -  former education minister Nadiem Makarim, named by investigators as a suspect in a corruption case 

Italian players celebrate after their win in the FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship 2025 semifinal against Brazil at the Huamark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday, Sept 6, 2025. -- AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit

Thailand:

* New Thai PM Anutin nominates veteran bureaucrat as new finance minister

* Anutin convenes party meeting as Cabinet secretary visits to finalise new Thai Cabinet details

* Who is Thailand’s new prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul?

* Thailand's next PM reaffirms fresh polls promise

* Thai central bank chief tipped for Finance Minister job: Reports

* Market sentiment brightens as Anutin elected Thailand’s 32nd PM

Philippines:

* Asia will get a prime view of this weekend's total lunar eclipse

* Philippines lets foreigners lease land for 99 years to boost investment

* Philippine property market regains spotlight

* Do superstitions "work"? Philippine Bar exam passers share what really mattered

* Only one in five workers say their AI use is checked at work. That needs to change

Tourists visit Hanoi Train Street, one of the famous tourist destinations in Hanoi, Vietnam. -- Photo: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Vietnam:

* Vietnam's VinFast debuts in India with EVs that undercut Tesla and BYD prices

* Nearly 30 million Vietnamese students begin historic 2025–2026 school year together nationwide

* Vietnam Aug exports keep strong, PM warns of mounting inflation pressure

* Trump administration says migrant Abrego could be deported to Eswatini

* Apple sued by authors over use of books in AI training / Musk's Texas-sized $1 trillion payday enabled by state's new law

Myanmar:

* Malaysia's proactive crisis management approach reshaping Asean centrality scope, says academicians 

* Karen State BGF pledges support for peaceful and fair elections in Myanmar

* Myanmar rice export exceeds 1mil tonnes in 5 months

* Nobel laureate Suu Kyi is very ill, says son

* Would you eat a plant-based egg made from mung beans?

This handout photo taken on Saturday, September 6, 2025, by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan shows Japan's Prince Hisahito (centre) attending his coming-of-age ceremony, Kakan-no-Gi, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. - Photo from AFP

Cambodia:

* Cambodia calls on UN to secure release of soldiers arbitrarily detained by Thailand

* Cambodia records 143 rare vultures in 2024, highest-ever in last five years: census

* Displaced Cambodians returning home as humanitarian focus shifts to recovery

* FOMO can influence a young person into bullying 

* Prey Lang forest home to world’s largest population of gibbons in Cambodia

Laos:

* Laos exploring BRICS membership, says Prime Minister Siphandone

* Lao PM meets President Putin to strengthen ties

* China-Laos railway boosts South-East Asian durian sales in China

* Exploring rocket town Hainan, China's gateway to space

Brunei:

* Brunei minister outlines initiatives towards a resilient environment at UN forum

* Brunei reaffirms green commitment

* Billionaire entrepreneur has some words for people who don’t want to learn AI

Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen (centre) celebrates his pole position with second-placed McLaren's British driver Lando Norris (left) and third-placed McLaren's Australian driver Oscar Piastri after the qualifying session ahead of the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit, in Monza, northern Italy, on Saturday, September 6, 2025. -- Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP

AseanPlus:

* Record-breaking visitor numbers fuel ambitious plans for Visit Malaysia 2026

* Heed voices of the young on climate change, Asean urged

* In Chinese mythology, how demons, spirits, ghosts and monsters are separated

* Taiping to debut Legasi weekend of music, heritage and nature

* ‘Human barrier’: Chinese men rescue boy trapped between huge rocks in rapid river

* Masyadi Mansoor’s designs blend avant-garde fashion with cultural storytelling

* Frenchie in China goes viral for collecting plastic bottles; shops save containers for it

* India eyes nuclear-powered carrier, home-built navy jets in 15-year defence plan

* Former China securities regulatory chief Yi under investigation, sources say

* Japan prince comes of age as succession crisis looms

* The five key takeaways from China’s Victory Day military parade

* Only Hamro Patro, X respond as Nepal bars 26 social sites

* Final goodbyes: Pet funerals become part of Korean life

* Pakistan seeks joint action against Afghanistan-based terror groups

* ‘Fully reciprocate’: PM Modi reacts to Trump’s assessment of India-US ties

* ‘Get along very well with Modi’: Trump takes sharp U-turn after ‘lost India to China’ post

* China's Ministry of Education demands top ethical marks from teachers

* Typhoon Peipah leaves 24 wounded in central Japan prefecture

* Canadian and Australian warships transit Taiwan Strait, China media reports

* South Korea vows support to Koreans arrested at US Hyundai plant

* 'Large shark' kills man off Sydney beach / Man dies after shark bite at Sydney beach

* Japan’s ruling LDP look increasingly set to call election, polls show

* Hong Kong Observatory to assess need to issue strong wind signal No. 3 on Sunday (Sept 7) morning

* Iran executes man involved in 2022 uprising over women's rights

* Australian state posts A$1mil reward for fugitive gunman

* Dirty laundry: Chinese team joins race to develop washing machine for astronauts

* Fire breaks out at former BBC headquarters in west London, broadcaster reports

* US yet to approve any help following Afghanistan earthquake, sources say

* China's Ministry of Education demands top ethical marks from teachers

* ‘Get along very well with Modi’: Trump takes sharp U-turn after ‘lost India to China’ post

* Canadian and Australian warships transit Taiwan Strait, China media reports

* US will enforce foreign worker laws, White House says after Hyundai raid

* South Korea dispatches team to Georgia after hundreds of Koreans detained in US raid on Hyundai-LG battery plant

* Bangladesh cops sue 3,500 unidentified people over Rajbari shrine attack / Bangladesh police launch manhunt after riot over cleric's grave

* Fergus fires hattrick as Harimau Muda maul Mongolia to keep U-23 Asian Cup hopes alive

* Boxing: Jojo scores spectacular knockout against Zakaria at ONE Fight Night 35

* Badminton: Pearly-Thinaah set to compete at Hong Kong Open after world silver

* Martial Arts: Wushu clinches double gold at World Championships in Brazil

* Tennis-Sinner downs Auger-Aliassime for blockbuster US Open final with Alcaraz / Power struggle in US Open final as Sabalenka faces Anisimova