All Things Asian

A True Friend Is Gone Nick Ong aka Fakawi Chief as he was called among the South-East Asian mountain biking community, has passed today in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Nick Ong 1 was a man of many talents: creator of the Fakawi Tribe, captain of the Malaysian Fakawi Banshee Downhill Team, Malaysian importer of Banshee Bikes, jungle explorer on weekends, unwavering supporter of traks.org, the advocacy group for Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur’s mountain biking gem, outdoor and MTB film maker 2, oh, and also a medical doctor, all served by a sharp mind with an unparalleled sense of humour....

In North Sumatra, a former Indonesian radical has opened a boarding school for the children of terrorists to prevent their futures from looking like his own past. Words by: Gabrielle Lipton Photography by: Albert Ivan Damanik Wat happens when children begin to realise that their parents are following a different path? What happens when that path ends behind bars? Or on the receiving end of a bullet? What happens in the minds of children whose parents are terrorists?...

The police have confirmed that some Malaysians, supported by the Islamic State (IS) militant group, are in the midst of engaging in ‘jihad’ in Myanmar to fight against the Myanmar Government for the oppressed Rohingya Muslim minority community in Rakhine State. – The MalayMail

Ms. Yang, center at front, with her soldiers, circa 1956. Credit Yang family Olive Yang was born to royalty in British colonial Burma, but rejected that life to become a cross-dressing warlord whose C.I.A.-supplied army established opium trade routes across the Golden Triangle. By the time of her death, last week at 90, she had led hundreds of men, endured prison and torture, generated gossip for her relationship with a film actress and, finally, helped forge a truce between ethnic rebels and the government....

By James Rickards - Daily Reckoning China’s problems are not entirely external and are not limited to the new Trump administration. China is now embroiled in an internal political struggle around the efforts of President Xi to make himself the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong. President Xi’s first five-year term expires in March 2018. He is certain to be elected to a second term, but he has so far deviated from the script by not designating any potential successors for a smooth transition in 2023....

From Reddit