Sardines, malaria, fake news

Hello friends! 

I think I might start doing the longs/features special every fortnight. There’s so much great stuff coming out that it’s overwhelming. 

Join us at the weekly Dari Mulut ke Mulut looking at the week’s most important developments and what to watch for in the week ahead. Just $6 a month or $60 a year and institutional memberships are also available:

See you in a couple weeks!Erin Cook

It’s all about Rich Brian in Indonesia this month. I don’t really listen to any new music since reaching the heights of perfect taste at 17, but I’m into it. I love the videos more though, brilliant snapshots of Jakarta. 

His Kids video was instantly iconic, but for foreigners, even those very familiar with the capital, the references are too dense. I loved this one from Coconuts combing through and identifying every what/where/who.

🇹🇭 The Thai Women Who Marry Western Men: Lessons From One Village In Northeast Thailand — SCMP

This book review on Patcharin Lapanun’s Love, Money and Obligation: Transnational Marriage in a Northeastern Thai Village has me sold. It sounds like it’s going to be densely academic but it’s a subject due for respectful interrogation. 

🇮🇩 Why Religious Tolerance Won In Indonesia But Lost In India — Foreign Affairs

I’m sure we all need a post-Indonesian presidential election breather, but this is great. There wasn’t much in the way of compare/contrast with the Indian election held about the same time, so I feel like I gained a lot of insight here. 

🇵🇭 China Has A New Casino: The Philippines — LA Times

China and casinos! My brain has melted when it comes to stories from the Philippines and gambling, thanks to this PCSO business lately but the figures in this piece remain staggering.

🇮🇩 ‘Victims And Perpetrators’: Rehabilitating Indonesia’s Child Bombers — AFP

What do we do with the children of convicted terrorists? This story gets a lot of features coverage in Indonesia and it should. The people working in this space are brilliant and I always learn so much. “We should view these children as both victims as well as potential perpetrators,”  says on expert.

🇵🇭 The Other 4th of July — Foreign Policy

July’s a big month for Americans, judging by the amount of coverage Taylor Swift gets every July 5 (my birthday for future reference) for her Instagram posts. But July 4 is also a big day in the Philippines! This month marked 70 years since the archipelago won independence from the US. Ooh, that continuity. Let’s have a read about how it all played out and get some learning on. 

🇲🇲 How Myanmar Became An Example To The World In The Battle Against Malaria — The Guardian

It’s usually all bad news in Myanmar reporting, so I’m very excited to highlight this one. The country was once of the world’s worst for malaria but now with some savvy public health initiatives and funding ideas it’s become a teacher. 

🇸🇬 Singapore Says It’s Fighting ‘Fake News.’ Journalists See a Ruse. — The Atlantic

We’ve talked a lot about the press freedoms in Singapore in recent months, but I thought I’d include this piece from the Atlantic. It’s a great catch-er-up-er if you need it, plus feature Kirsten Han and PJ Thum — two of the region’s best journalists on a topic they’re intimately familiar with. 

🇲🇲 How Myanmar Families Resist Armed Groups Recruiting Children — Al Jazeera

This one got me straight in the stomach. Al Jazeera looks at how Myanmar families go to great lengths, including holding fake funerals, to keep their children from being recruited into the various insurgencies. What else can be said, read it. 

🇵🇭 'He Thrives On This': The Adulation That Drives Manny Pacquiao — ESPN

It’s been another big month for one of Asean’s most fascinating men, which means another good month on Manny Pacquiao profiles. This ESPN profile is a bit more sport a bit less ‘what does he mean for the Philippines,’ which is my favoured genre, but still a compelling read. 

🇸🇬 Ghostbusting In Singapore: Meet The Father-Son Duo Banishing Demons For A Price — SCMP

A good way to learn about each country in Asean, in my view, is to check out the ghost situation. What’s up with the ghosts? Where do they live, when did they die? It might be tough getting people to talk on sensitive topics, but when it comes to ghosts Asean is an open book. In Singapore, it’s also big business. 

🇵🇭 A Fishing Trip in the Sulu Sea With The Sardines Millionaire — Esquire Philippines

Sulu Sea is famous for one thing at the moment and it sure isn’t sardines. Still, for William Tiu Lim, the sardine king of the Philippines, it’s all about the fish.

🇮🇩 Indonesia’s Strict New Biopiracy Rules Could Stifle International Research — Science

High key, Dyna Rochmyaningsih is one of my fave journalists working on Indonesia. She does science-y stuff, so as soon as I saw the new Indonesian legislation requiring tough restrictions for foreign researchers I headed straight to her. I hear a lot from the wonks of the world on this, but this is how the science world is particularly affected. 

🇰🇭🇱🇦 The US’s Toxic Agent Orange Legacy - The Atlantic

We’ve had a couple of pieces recently about efforts to clean up remains of Agent Orange in Vietnam, but this one from the Atlantic looks out to Cambodia and Laos. US paperwork says that there was no spraying across the borders, but it’s a different story in the villages.

🇲🇲Aung San Suu Kyi's Myanmar Dam Dilemma With China - BBC

Subscribers to the premium DMKM know that dams are quickly becoming an obsession for me. The infrastructure projects throughout the Mekong are transforming that part of Asean faster, I think, then any other factor. This looks at how ASSK and her government are trying to keep up the fight, but are increasingly struggling under the need for China.

🇸🇬🇲🇾Enemies Who Were Strangely Similar And Decidedly Dissimilar - Trident Media

Few giants loom as large as Lee Kwan Yew and Mahathir Mohamad. It’s weird for someone my age not raised in the region to think that the two once ruled at the same time, sparring off. This looks back at the relationship as it was. If you haven’t subscribed to Trident Media’s email lists, fix yourself. 

🇵🇭 She Was Filipino Food’s Greatest Champion. Now Her Work Is Finding New Fans. — New York Times

Doreen Gamboa Fernandez was more than a food writer. She was a revolutionary, both for Filipino cuisine and for the dissenters she would help during the dark Marcos days. This is her story told through the evolution of Filipino food in the US.