Gagan Malik shows love for Thailand by resigning as Cambodia’s Tourism Ambassador

TheHIVE.Asia — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 06:41:00 +0000

Indian star Gagan Malik has recently announced his resignation as Cambodia’s Tourism Goodwill Ambassador, and declared that Thailand is his “second home”.

Sharing the news on 27 September, Gagan apologised to his Thai fans for his recent visit to Cambodia, saying, “Earlier this year, I was appointed as Cambodia’s Tourism Goodwill Ambassador without any compensation. However, in light of the recent conflict and out of respect for Thailand, I have formally resigned from this role and stepped away from all related responsibilities. My decision is final and made with complete clarity.”

“This was also my very first time bringing a group to visit Cambodia for three days, followed by five days in Thailand. I never intended to cause any upset,” he said.

Gagan stated that for the past ten years, he has worked on many projects in Thailand to help propagate Buddhism and that he is also building a temple in India inspired by Thai art, as a tribute to his love and respect for Thailand.

“Thailand will always hold a very special place in my heart. I sincerely apologise once again for any hurt caused, and I promise to be much more mindful in the future. I truly hope the Thai people will understand me better, and I will continue to do my best to honour this beautiful country,” he added.

While his Thai fans expressed their happiness with the announcement, one Cambodian user commented, “Thank you so much for your previous value time you did for Cambodia. Hope this is your last time to come here.”

Gagan doing the most by signing his name and the words “I love Thailand” at an event in Pattaya

These Indonesian martial arts stars are joining “Jailbreak” sequel

TheHIVE.Asia — Fri, 26 Jun 2020 00:15:00 +0000

Will “Jailbreak 2” be a battle between two different styles of traditional Southeast Asian martial arts?

The question will be answered when the sequel hits the big screen! Though the exact release date is still unknown since it will only begin production in 2021.

The Hollywood Reporter brought word that director Jimmy Henderson will be back to helm the sequel, with Jean Paul Ly, Dara Our and Tharoth Sam returning to star.

Also joining them in the upcoming movie, which currently goes by the title “Jailbreak: Round 2”, are Indonesian martial arts stars Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman.

This won’t be the duo’s first gig together as they’ve both previously worked on Indonesia’s much praised “The Raid” franchise and Hollywood titles such as “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum”.

Their inclusion in the movie could signal the involvement of Indonesia’s Silat. It is known that they will be portraying villains, so they could use their Silat skills to go up against Cambodia’s Bokator.

Get ready to (possibly) see Silat vs. Bokator in “Jailbreak: Round 2”!

The story, written by Kai Miller, follows a ragtag, renegade team of Cambodian martial arts commandos working together to take down a fugitive crime lord “lodged atop 30 floors of hell,” as described by returning producer Loy Te.

Te’s Kongchak Pictures will be producing the sequel, with additional financing from Westec Media. Cambodia’s Song Te and Malaysia’s Michael Chai serve as executive producers.

“Jailbreak” was released in Cambodian cinemas in January 2017 and later headed to other markets including South Korea, Hong Kong and Malaysia. It was also screened at various international film festivals and in 2018 was made available on Netflix.

In the meantime, while fans wait to catch Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif in action in the “Jailbreak” sequel, they can re-watch them in their abovementioned Indonesian and Hollywood movies. Fans can also watch Yayan in the Malaysian action film “Wira”, also available on Netflix now, and look out for him next in another Malaysian film, the Syamsul Yusof-helmed “Mat Kilau”.

(Photo source: Antara | Muhammad Adimaja)

cambodia – theHive.Asia

Gagan Malik shows love for Thailand by resigning as Cambodia’s Tourism Ambassador

These Indonesian martial arts stars are joining “Jailbreak” sequel