Asian Geographic Issue 03/2018 (131) | Page 10

{ EDITOR’S NOTE } ASIAN Geographic can be found on board and at the following locations: Airlines & Lounges Clubs & societies CAFÉS & Restaurants PHOTO © POWER SPORT IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES “Politics is comparable to boxing. The only thing is that in politics, there are basically no rules.” tOURISM BOARDS Wladimir Klitschko, Ukrainian boxer attractions s ports and politics are among some of the most divisive areas of life. Either you’re into them, or you’re not; either you root for this side, or you don’t. But at the core of both these subjects lies the story of our existential struggle – a wonderfully conflicted, primitively emotional struggle – that marks every sporting endeavour and policy decision, lending these fields histories full of rich significance to the human race. This year, the quadrennial Asian Games – a massive sports event that often gets mixed up with some of its regional variants (pg 68) – will be hosted here in Southeast Asia. We appraise several local sports that set the Asiad’s lineup apart from its Olympic counterpart (pg 56), and drop in on three unique sportspeople gearing up for August (pg 70). But the 18th Games’ most interesting aspect could just be its return to Indonesia, a place where, over a half-century ago, Jakarta’s controversial hosting decisions shocked the 1960s’ worlds of sports and politics (pg 46). Every sport has a story. Indonesian politics also kicks off another fascinating tale: how five Southeast Asian men managed to create the first Asian miracle of the 20th century – the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Helped by a few rounds of golf and drinks, these powerful diplomats succeeded in getting their respective countries – many with histories of border invasions and bitter grudges – to team up into a bloc that today still merits international admiration (pg 76). Family and friends share memories of these master negotiators (pg 81). So maybe you don’t quite like exercise. Or parliament. Still, there’s always the fact that if we go back far enough, the beginnings of every political and sporting body – however large and impersonal they seem today – are likely the same: a couple of people huddled together, creating, debating and desperately coaxing something new into existence. And that means there’s always going to be that fascinating bit of story somewhere, waiting to be discovere d. R ACHEL GENE VIE VE CHIA commercial centres hotels & resorts Newsstand Distribution ASIAN Geographic can be found in the following countries. If you have difficulty finding us on newsstands, please contact our distributors: ChinA and HONG KONG Times Publishing (HK) Ltd; INDONESIA Java Books; Philippines Alpha Stream Marketing; Malaysia Pansing Marketing Sdn Bhd; Singapore Singapore Press Holdings Ltd; THAILAND Asia Books Co Ltd media correspondents India, Sri Lanka RMA Media, Faredoon KUKA • [email protected] Nepal, Bangladesh Media South Asia (P) Ltd • [email protected] Thailand Radius • [email protected] China Hainan Periscope Social Media Company • [email protected] Japan Keiichi ARANTANI • [email protected] Other Asian Geographic Magazines Pte Ltd publications & events: a