Saturday, May 12, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
Workers waiting for a bargain
Angkor Beer promoters strike last year in Phnom Penh. Photograph: Meng Kimlong/Phnom Penh Post
Dave Welsh, country director of the American Center for International Labor Solidarity, said the law’s latest draft allowed the associations many of these informal workers are already in to be pushed to their “full logical conclusion”: a working union.
Anti-loggers held back by FA officials
Activists arrive last night at the Wat Thmei pagoda in Koh Kong town, where they planned to stay the night before proceeding today to the area where activist Chut Wutty was shot last month. Photograph: May Titthara/Phnom Penh Post
But hundreds of others from six provinces in a convoy of 27 vans made it to the provincial capital where they were to spend the night at Wat Thmey then travel to Mondul Seima district’s Bak Khlang commune today for a ceremony for Chut Wutty at Veal Bei point.
Chhim Savuth, a co-ordinator for public forums at the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said villagers travelling from Koh Kong, Kampong Speu and Stung Treng provinces were all blocked.
IRI survey finds Cambodian majority optimistic over future
Motorists watch as construction workers build a bridge over the Tonle Sap river in Phnom Penh last month. Poll respondents pointed to such projects as evidence Cambodia is headed in the right direction. Photograph: Hong Menea/Phnom Penh Post
Key reasons respondents gave for their upbeat assessment included the building of more roads, bridges, health clinics and schools.
For the 19 per cent who think the country is headed in the wrong direction, the prime culprits were corruption, nepotism and high commodity prices.
UN's Subedi 'worried' by violence against activists
Surya Subedi, the UN special rapporteur on human rights, speaks to the Post yesterday. Photograph: Joseph Pocs/Phnom Penh Post
Citing several incidents, the United Nations Special Rapporteur in Cambodia today called a recent pattern of violence against human rights activists in the Kingdom a “worrying trend.”
“These individuals assume great risk in undertaking their work and are entitled to protection by the state,” Surya Subedi said at a press conference that bookended his seventh human rights fact-finding trip to the country.
Under his mandate, Subedi conducts research missions and presents an annual report to the United Nations Human Rights Council in September.
Agencies Suspend Philippines Travel
2012-05-11
Tour companies in China halt their services as tensions heat up over a disputed island.
Activists hold a protest in front of the Chinese Consular Office in Manila, April 16, 2012.
Travel agencies in a number of key Chinese cities have suspended services to the Philippines where anti-China protests were staged Friday amidst an increasingly tense standoff between the two nations over a disputed island in the South China Sea.
Tourist firms, including China’s biggest travel agency, China International Tour Service (CITS), have now stopped operations to the Philippines in Dalian, in northeastern Liaoning province, Guangzhou, in southeastern Guangdong province, and Shanghai, as well as a number of other cities.
Agence France Presse quoted an employee at the CITS Beijing branch as confirming the halt to travel.
"We stopped organizing for tourists to go to the Philippines because of the current situation," the employee said.
Tourist firms, including China’s biggest travel agency, China International Tour Service (CITS), have now stopped operations to the Philippines in Dalian, in northeastern Liaoning province, Guangzhou, in southeastern Guangdong province, and Shanghai, as well as a number of other cities.
Agence France Presse quoted an employee at the CITS Beijing branch as confirming the halt to travel.
"We stopped organizing for tourists to go to the Philippines because of the current situation," the employee said.
Forest Ceremony for Slain Activist
Supporters carrying incense, branches, and photos of Chut Wutty take part in a memorial forest patrol in Koh Kong province, May 11, 2012.
2012-05-11
Honoring environmentalist Chut Wutty, supporters patrol the forest where he was killed.
More than 400 activists marched Friday to the forest site where prominent Cambodian anti-logging campaigner Chut Wutty was killed and held a memorial ceremony there, as a visiting U.N. rights official called for justice in the case that has sparked a national outcry.
The group, hailing from ten provinces across the country, marched through the forest in Mondul Seima district of southern Cambodia’s Koh Kong province where Chut Wutty was investigating illicit logging operations when he was fatally shot on April 26.
Carrying tree branches and, in lieu of flowers, sticks of incense, they stopped at the site where the environmentalist, former president of Cambodia’s Natural Resources Conservation Group, was allegedly gunned down by a military police officer who was also found dead at the scene.
Chut Wutty’s son, Chhoeuy Odomraksmey, 19, teared up while reading a tribute to his father at the crime scene, while supporters, some carrying posters and photographs saying, “I am Chut Wutty,” prayed for the activist.
Cambodian Center for Human Rights Director Ou Virak, who organized the ceremony and march, said the gathering is meant to show that activists in the country will not be intimidated despite the threat of violence.
The group, hailing from ten provinces across the country, marched through the forest in Mondul Seima district of southern Cambodia’s Koh Kong province where Chut Wutty was investigating illicit logging operations when he was fatally shot on April 26.
Carrying tree branches and, in lieu of flowers, sticks of incense, they stopped at the site where the environmentalist, former president of Cambodia’s Natural Resources Conservation Group, was allegedly gunned down by a military police officer who was also found dead at the scene.
Chut Wutty’s son, Chhoeuy Odomraksmey, 19, teared up while reading a tribute to his father at the crime scene, while supporters, some carrying posters and photographs saying, “I am Chut Wutty,” prayed for the activist.
Cambodian Center for Human Rights Director Ou Virak, who organized the ceremony and march, said the gathering is meant to show that activists in the country will not be intimidated despite the threat of violence.
Cambodian-American Group Lobbies for Political Change
 |
| Prom Saunora and his delegation have so far met with representatives of the UN and of US institutions including think tanks and the State Department. (Photo: by VOA Khmer) |
Wednesday, 09 May 2012
Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC
“There is no point in going, because the Cambodian People’s Party will still win the election.”
A Cambodian-American group in the US has begun lobbying Washington institutions in an effort to affect political change in Cambodia ahead of national elections there next year.
Group leader Prom Saunora told VOA Khmer they are working to improve human rights and free speech, curb corruption and improve border and immigration issues.
Failure to pay attention to these issues could result unrest like the Arab Spring, he said. “This will lead to bloodshed.”
Prom Saunora also warned of Cambodians becoming disillusioned with the election process, with the potential of boycotting future polls if more is not done to reform it. Current elections are heavily skewed toward the ruling party, he said.
“There is no point in going, because the Cambodian People’s Party will still win the election,” he said. “This will lead to the collapse of our democracy.”
Prom Saunora and his delegation have so far met with representatives of the UN and of US institutions including think tanks and the State Department.
“We have demanded reform at the National Election Committee to make it independent,” he said. The group advised having more participation from international experts during the election process, working with local parties and NGOs to form an independent election monitoring body.
“Once this change is possible, it can put pressure on the government to change other issues that are not in compliance with the Paris Peace Agreement,” he said.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Bokator, Ancient Khmer martial art by a 70 years old lady
Bokator, Ancient Khmer martial art recalled by a 70 years old khmer lady (Sao Run), Kohsantepheap Newspaper 21 July 2011. TB  |
Biography of Ho Chi Minh
Uploaded by Maythywin on Apr 21, 2011
Ho Chi Minh, real name Nguyen Tat Thanh (1890-1969), Vietnamese Communist leader and the principal force behind the Vietnamese struggle against French colonial rule. Ho was born on May 19, 1890, in the village of Kimlien, Annam (central Vietnam), the son of an official who had resigned in protest against French domination of his country. Ho attended school in Hue and then briefly taught at a private school in Phan Thiet. In 1911 he was employed as a cook on a French steamship liner and thereafter worked in London and Paris. After World War I, using the pseudonym Nguyen Ai Quoc (Nguyen the Patriot), Ho engaged in radical activities and was in the founding group of the French Communist party. He was summoned to Moscow for training and, in late 1924, he was sent to Canton, China, where he organized a revolutionary movement among Vietnamese exiles. He was forced to leave China when local authorities cracked down on Communist activities, but he returned in 1930 to found the Indochinese Communist party (ICP). He stayed in Hong Kong as representative of the Communist International. In June 1931 Ho was arrested there by British police and remained in prison until his release in 1933. He then made his way back to the Soviet Union, where he reportedly spent several years recovering from tuberculosis. In 1938 he returned to China and served as an adviser with Chinese Communist armed forces. When Japan occupied Vietnam in 1941, he resumed contact with ICP leaders and helped to found a new Communist-dominated independence movement, popularly known as the Vietminh, that fought the Japanese. In August 1945, when Japan surrendered, the Vietminh seized power and proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) in Hanoi. Ho Chi Minh, now known by his final and best-known pseudonym (which means the "Enlightener"), became president. The French were unwilling to grant independence to their colonial subjects, and in late 1946 war broke out. For eight years Vietminh guerrillas fought French troops in the mountains and rice paddies of Vietnam, finally defeating them in the decisive Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Ho, however, was deprived of his victory. Subsequent negotiations at Geneva divided the country, with only the North assigned to the Vietminh. The DRV, with Ho still president, now devoted its efforts to constructing a Communist society in North Vietnam. In the early 1960s, however, conflict resumed in the South, where Communist-led guerrillas mounted an insurgency against the U.S.-supported regime in Saigon. Ho, now in poor health, was reduced to a largely ceremonial role, while policy was shaped by others. On September 3, 1969, he died in Hanoi of heart failure. In his honor, after the Communist conquest of the South in 1975, Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh was not only the founder of Vietnamese communism, he was the very soul of the revolution and of Vietnam's struggle for independence. His personal qualities of simplicity, integrity, and determination were widely admired, not only within Vietnam but elsewhere as well.
Campaign Targets Public Service Bribes
2012-05-09
Cambodia calls on political parties and NGOs to join in fighting commune-level corruption.
Hun Sen (R) delivers a document detailing his assets to the Anti-Corruption Unit office in Phnom Penh, April 1, 2011.
Cambodia’s graft-fighting body is launching a new initiative to eliminate bribes solicited by local commune councilors for performing public services.
The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) on Tuesday organized a nationwide workshop to promote the campaign, during which the body’s deputy director Chhay Savuth called on all stakeholders to join the fight.
“The ACU can’t work alone to combat illegal fees for public services. We must work together,” he said.
“In particular, I call on civil societies and political parties to work together.”
One of the first issues targeted by the ACU after its formation in 2010 was facilitation fees, or bribes paid to government officials for a public service such as road repairs or company registrations.
Chhay Savuth said that 22 ministries would be involved in the campaign to examine some 2,000 services provided at the commune level.
The Ministry of Finance will announce a scheduled fee for each type of public service, he said, adding that the ACU had already begun its examination into public services and that he expects to complete the work in three to four months.
Chhay Savuth also called on nongovernmental organizations, political parties, and associations which wish to fight bribery to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between May and October with the ACU to monitor bribery in a commune of their choice.
“The NGO and political party will need to employ their own human resources and budget to facilitate services for the people and monitor illegal fee paying within their commune,” he said.
The anti-corruption chief warned officials and other individuals involved in bribery that they face strict punishment and prison sentences under Cambodia’s Penal Code.
“The culture of bribery has been in place for over 20 years, and now we have to illuminate a bad culture and change it to a good culture, and we will take legal action against any government official who continues to take bribes,” he said.
Campaign welcomed
Kol Preap, executive director of Transparency International Cambodia, called the campaign “a vital step” in the government’s efforts to fight corruption, adding that his organization would consider the request to work in tandem with the ACU.
“This is a gesture welcoming civil societies and political parties to participate and monitor that this initiative be effectively implemented,” he said.
“I encourage civil societies to participate in this new measure because bribery or accepting unofficial fees will negatively affect the daily lives of the people.”
Kol Preap said that the people also need to be educated that public services should not require “unofficial” fees.
“People become part of the problem when they proactively pay bribes without being asked,” he said. “This is one of the main issues—people don’t realize that exchanging an envelope for a service is part of corruption.”
Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in East Asia and the Pacific coordinator San Chey lauded the initiative as an opportunity for the public to fight back against official graft.
“This is a good start for people to participate in combating corruption,” he said.
San Chey also called on the ACU to monitor corruption in the police system at the commune level.
“Police on the ground level have charged their constituents fees for family books and residency certificates. They impose the fees arbitrarily,” he said.
The Phnom Penh Post quoted opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua of the Sam Rainsy Party as saying that the government has lagged behind in identifying commune-level corruption as an important issue.
“Corruption at the local level has been a huge problem for the poor for a long time,” she said, adding it is one of the core issues her party intends to tackle.
She expressed concern that the campaign might be an attempt by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party to bolster its image ahead of upcoming commune council elections in June.
“I am a bit afraid that this is about the [election] campaign and not addressing something that is rotten at the core,” she said.
Fighting graft
In March 2010, Cambodia introduced an anti-graft law requiring government officials to declare their assets every two years.
If convicted of accepting bribes, government officials can now face up to 15 years in prison.
Governments and agencies around the world have frequently called on Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian leadership to tackle corruption more seriously.
Although the anti-graft law has been put into effect and an anti-corruption unit and council have been put in place, Cambodia is still one of the most corrupt countries in the world, according to anti-graft organization Transparency International.
Berlin-based Transparency International ranked Cambodia 164th worst out of 182 countries in its 2011 corruption perception index. International organizations question the value of the anti-graft law because of its lack of transparency.
Critics also argue that the new anti-corruption bodies will not be effective until they are no longer connected to the government.
Reported by Vichey Anan for RFA’s Khmer service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) on Tuesday organized a nationwide workshop to promote the campaign, during which the body’s deputy director Chhay Savuth called on all stakeholders to join the fight.
“The ACU can’t work alone to combat illegal fees for public services. We must work together,” he said.
“In particular, I call on civil societies and political parties to work together.”
One of the first issues targeted by the ACU after its formation in 2010 was facilitation fees, or bribes paid to government officials for a public service such as road repairs or company registrations.
Chhay Savuth said that 22 ministries would be involved in the campaign to examine some 2,000 services provided at the commune level.
The Ministry of Finance will announce a scheduled fee for each type of public service, he said, adding that the ACU had already begun its examination into public services and that he expects to complete the work in three to four months.
Chhay Savuth also called on nongovernmental organizations, political parties, and associations which wish to fight bribery to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between May and October with the ACU to monitor bribery in a commune of their choice.
“The NGO and political party will need to employ their own human resources and budget to facilitate services for the people and monitor illegal fee paying within their commune,” he said.
The anti-corruption chief warned officials and other individuals involved in bribery that they face strict punishment and prison sentences under Cambodia’s Penal Code.
“The culture of bribery has been in place for over 20 years, and now we have to illuminate a bad culture and change it to a good culture, and we will take legal action against any government official who continues to take bribes,” he said.
Campaign welcomed
Kol Preap, executive director of Transparency International Cambodia, called the campaign “a vital step” in the government’s efforts to fight corruption, adding that his organization would consider the request to work in tandem with the ACU.
“This is a gesture welcoming civil societies and political parties to participate and monitor that this initiative be effectively implemented,” he said.
“I encourage civil societies to participate in this new measure because bribery or accepting unofficial fees will negatively affect the daily lives of the people.”
Kol Preap said that the people also need to be educated that public services should not require “unofficial” fees.
“People become part of the problem when they proactively pay bribes without being asked,” he said. “This is one of the main issues—people don’t realize that exchanging an envelope for a service is part of corruption.”
Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in East Asia and the Pacific coordinator San Chey lauded the initiative as an opportunity for the public to fight back against official graft.
“This is a good start for people to participate in combating corruption,” he said.
San Chey also called on the ACU to monitor corruption in the police system at the commune level.
“Police on the ground level have charged their constituents fees for family books and residency certificates. They impose the fees arbitrarily,” he said.
The Phnom Penh Post quoted opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua of the Sam Rainsy Party as saying that the government has lagged behind in identifying commune-level corruption as an important issue.
“Corruption at the local level has been a huge problem for the poor for a long time,” she said, adding it is one of the core issues her party intends to tackle.
She expressed concern that the campaign might be an attempt by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party to bolster its image ahead of upcoming commune council elections in June.
“I am a bit afraid that this is about the [election] campaign and not addressing something that is rotten at the core,” she said.
Fighting graft
In March 2010, Cambodia introduced an anti-graft law requiring government officials to declare their assets every two years.
If convicted of accepting bribes, government officials can now face up to 15 years in prison.
Governments and agencies around the world have frequently called on Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian leadership to tackle corruption more seriously.
Although the anti-graft law has been put into effect and an anti-corruption unit and council have been put in place, Cambodia is still one of the most corrupt countries in the world, according to anti-graft organization Transparency International.
Berlin-based Transparency International ranked Cambodia 164th worst out of 182 countries in its 2011 corruption perception index. International organizations question the value of the anti-graft law because of its lack of transparency.
Critics also argue that the new anti-corruption bodies will not be effective until they are no longer connected to the government.
Reported by Vichey Anan for RFA’s Khmer service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
លោក ស៊ូប៊ែឌី នឹងតស៊ូមតិក្នុងជម្លោះដីធ្លីជាមួយរដ្ឋាភិបាលកម្ពុជា
ដោយ ម៉ម មុនីរតន៍
2012-05-09
មន្ត្រីជាន់ខ្ពស់អង្គការសហប្រជាជាតិផ្នែកសិទ្ធិមនុស្ស អះអាងថា នឹងលើកពីបញ្ហាដ៏ចម្រូងចម្រាសរបស់ពលរដ្ឋសហគមន៍បុរីកីឡា ទៅពិភាក្សាជាមួយប្រមុខរដ្ឋាភិបាល ដើម្បីស្វែងរកដំណោះស្រាយ។
តំណាងពិសេសអង្គការសហប្រជាជាតិទទួលបន្ទុកផ្នែកសិទ្ធិមនុស្សប្រចាំកម្ពុជា លោក សុរិយា ស៊ូប៊ែឌី (Surya Subedi) [ស្ដាំ] ថ្លែងទៅកាន់សហគមន៍បុរីកីឡា នាតំបន់បុរីកីឡា រាជធានីភ្នំពេញ នៅថ្ងៃទី៩ ឧសភា ឆ្នាំ២០១២។
ការសន្យារបស់ប្រេសិតពិសេស លោក សុរិយា ស៊ូប៊ែឌី (Surya Subedi) នេះ ធ្វើឡើងនៅគ្រាលោកចុះពិនិត្យមើលដោយផ្ទាល់ពីស្ថានភាពរស់នៅរបស់អ្នកបុរីកីឡា ដែលនៅសេសសល់ចំនួន ១១៧គ្រួសារ នៅថ្ងៃទី៩ ខែឧភាស នេះ។
លោក សុរិយា ស៊ូប៊ែឌី គឺជាតំណាងពិសេសអង្គការសហប្រជាជាតិទទួលបន្ទុកសិទ្ធិមនុស្សប្រចាំកម្ពុជា។ លោកមានប្រសាសន៍នៅថ្ងៃទី៩ ខែឧសភា ថា លោកនឹងតស៊ូមតិលើផ្នែកនេះទៅថ្នាក់ជាតិដើម្បីរកច្រកចេញ។ លោក ស៊ូប៊ែឌី ចាត់ទុកថា នេះជាបញ្ហាមិនគួរកើតចំពោះពលរដ្ឋនៅក្នុងសតវត្សដែលពិភពលោកកំពុងបង្កើនការគោរពសិទ្ធិមនុស្សនោះទេ។
ការលើកឡើងរបស់លោក ស៊ូប៊ែឌី បែបនេះ គឺនៅគ្រាដែលលោកចុះពិនិត្យដោយផ្ទាល់ក្នុងទីតាំងដែលពលរដ្ឋបុរីកីឡារស់នៅក្រោមតង់ ក្រោមជណ្តើរ សំយ៉ាប និងអគារក្នុងបរិវេណប្លុកបុរីកីឡា ជាទីដែលពួកគេធ្លាប់រស់នៅ។ ចំណែកស្រី្តបឹងកក់ដែលបានចូលរួមជាមួយអ្នកបុរីកីឡា នៅថ្ងៃ៩ ឧសភា ដែរ ឲ្យដឹងថា ពួកគេប្រឈមនឹងការបែកការគ្រួសារ ព្រោះតែប្ដីរបស់ពួកគាត់ជាមន្ត្រីរាជការត្រូវទទួលរងនូវសម្ពាធពីរដ្ឋាភិបាល ដោយចាត់ទុកថា ការតវារបស់ស្រ្តីបឹងកក់ គឺជាការប្រឆាំងនឹងរដ្ឋាភិបាល។
ក្រុមពលរដ្ឋដែលក្រាញននៀលមិនចាកចេញពីបុរីកីឡា បានស្រែកតវ៉ាប្រឆាំងនឹងក្រុមហ៊ុនផានអ៊ីម៉ិច របស់អ្នកស្រី ស៊ុយ សុផាន ថា ត្រូវតែសង់អគារទី១០ សម្រាប់ពួកគេ។ ពួកគាត់អះអាងថា អគារដែលក្រុមហ៊ុនលក់ម៉ូតូទិញបន្តពីអ្នកស្រី ស៊ុយ សុផាន នៅក្បែរនោះ គឺជាចំណែករបស់ពួកគាត់ដែលត្រូវទទួលបានតាមកិច្ចសន្យាសង់គ្រប់ចំនួន ១០អគារ រវាងក្រុមហ៊ុន ផានអ៊ីម៉ិច និងរដ្ឋាភិបាល សម្រាប់ពលរដ្ឋនៅបុរីកីឡាចំនួន ៣៨៤គ្រួសារ។
លោកស្រី កែវ សាកល ចៅសង្កាត់វាល់វង់ ដែលចុះអន្តរាគមន៍បញ្ឈប់ការតវារបស់ពលរដ្ឋដោយផ្ទាល់ មានប្រសាសន៍ថា ភារកិច្ចស្វែងរកដំណោះស្រាយលើផ្នែកនេះ គឺជាការទទួលខុសត្រូវរបស់មន្រ្តីសាលារាជធានីភ្នំពេញ។
ទាក់ទិនបញ្ហានេះ វិទ្យុអាស៊ីសេរីពុំអាចស្នើសុំបំភ្លឺពីលោក កើត ឆែ នាយខុទ្ទកាល័យសាលារាជធានីភ្នំពេញ បានទេ ដោយលោកអះអាងថា ជាប់រវល់។ ចំណែកអ្នកស្រី ស៊ុយ សុផាន ម្ចាស់ក្រុមហ៊ុនផានអ៊ីម៉ិច ក៏ពុំអាចស្នើសុំអត្ថាធិប្បាយបានដែរ ដោយទូរស័ព្ទរោទិ៍ជាច្រើនដងតែពុំមានអ្នកទទួល។
កញ្ញា ឡុង គីមហៀង មន្រ្តីព័ត៌មាននៃក្រុមការងារពិសេសសិទ្ធិលំនៅឋាន ដែលចុះឃ្លាំមើលដោយផ្ទាល់ ចាត់ទុកការពន្យារពេលម្ដងហើយម្ដងទៀតក្នុងការដោះស្រាយ និងតែងប្រើប្រាស់កំលាំងសមត្ថកិច្ចប្រឆាំងពលរដ្ឋនេះថា ព្រោះតែរដ្ឋាភិបាលជាប់ទាក់ទិនទៅនឹងទទួលសំណូកពីក្រុមហ៊ុន។
លោក ទិត សុធា អ្នកនាំពាក្យអង្គភាពព័ត៌មាន និងប្រតិកម្មរហ័សនៃទីស្តីការគណៈរដ្ឋមន្រ្តី បានហៅការថ្លែងបែបនេះរបស់អង្គការសង្គមស៊ីវិលថា ជាចេតនាធ្វើឲ្យរាំងស្ទះដល់ដំណើរការនៃការអភិវឌ្ឍន៍របស់រដ្ឋាភិបាល។
នេះពុំមែនជាលើកទីមួយនោះទេសម្រាប់តំណាងពិសេសអង្គការសហប្រជាជាតិក្នុងការស្វែងរកកិច្ចអន្តរាគមន៍លើផ្នែកនេះ។ កន្លងមកលោក ស៊ូប៊ែឌី ក៏ធ្លាប់បានពិភាក្សាជាមួយមន្ត្រីជាន់ខ្ពស់រដ្ឋាភិបាលកម្ពុជាដែរ។ ក៏ប៉ុន្តែត្រូវបានរដ្ឋាភិបាលរបស់នាយករដ្ឋមន្រ្តី លោក ហ៊ុន សែន ចាត់ទុកថា ពុំមានផលចំណេញសម្រាប់កម្ពុជានោះទេ៕
កំណត់ចំណាំចំពោះអ្នកបញ្ចូលមតិនៅក្នុងអត្ថបទនេះ៖ដើម្បីរក្សាសេចក្ដីថ្លៃថ្នូរ យើងខ្ញុំនឹងផ្សាយតែមតិណា ដែលមិនជេរប្រមាថដល់អ្នកដទៃប៉ុណ្ណោះ។
Students get a taste of monastic life
A young girl is ordained as a Buddhist nun at Puthi Khorsachara pagoda, where 300 young people lived for a week as monastics. Photograph: Sou Vuthy/Phnom Penh Post
It is traditional practice in Khmer society for young people to be temporarily ordained as monks or nuns at a Buddhist pagoda. The rite is often done as a show of gratitude from children to their parents, and as a way of earning merits during one’s lifetime by learning the Buddha’s teachings.
Each year, boys and girls ranging from primary school to university students are ordained at Puthi Khorsachara, where they stay for a week to live as monks and nuns.
This year, 300 young people made the journey to the temple 200 kilometres from Phnom Penh.
Soun Sok Chamrouen, a former engineer student at Preah Kossomak Polytechnical Institute in Phnom Penh, participated in the ordaining ceremony to further his spiritual practice.
“I decided to ordain in right now, because I want to understand about Buddha’s lessons and his advice, which led people to educate my spirit, my family and society peacefully,” said Soun Sok Chamrouen, adding that “this event also educates Khmer youth to be grateful to their parents.”
“We want to learn about the two basic beliefs of Buddhism, which are the principles of rebirth and karma,” said Vises Sothearath, a young woman ordained as a nun for the ceremony.
“For example, the eight steps to enlightenment through the Buddha’s way,” she said
Thammear Nunth, a high-ranking Buddhist monk and the General Secretary of Buddhism Practice Section at Pannasastra University, said that in the past both boys and girls relied on pagodas to access general education as well as Buddhist teachings.
Now that they are provided education in schools and universities, they seem to be drifting away from Buddhism, he said. This ordaining was an opportunity to connect university students to Buddhism again, explained the monk.
Kong Rotana, 45, from Lavea Em district, was glad to see his 14-year-old son ordained as a monk even though the pagoda is far from their home.
“We are parents. We always hope to see our children ordained as monks or nuns to practise their ways accurately or similarly to the previous generations,” said Kong Ratana. “We are happy to see our children educated well in Buddhism.”
Though the yearly event only lasts one week for those preferring a temporary stay, some novice monks and nuns have chosen extend their ordinations in the past.
In 2010, for example, 700 young monks and nuns were ordained, and 70 of them continue to live as monastics. Meanwhile, 60 of the 500 youth ordained in 2011 continue to live in the pagoda as monks or nuns.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sou Vuthy at newsroom@phnompenhpost.com
MTV tour spreads message
Kung Boran performs at an MTV EXIT show in Kampong Cham, organised to educate youth about human trafficking. Photograph: supplied
The MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) campaign, drawing on the network’s immense musical resources, has teamed up with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the foreign aid departments of the US and Australian governments in an ongoing programme to increase awareness and prevent the exploitation and trafficking of young people from across Asia.
In Cambodia, a National Trafficking-in-Persons Prevention Roadshow is now taking the organisation through five provinces.
After performances in Prey Veng and Kampong Cham last month, the MTV EXIT team will travel through Koh Kong, Banteay Meanchey and Siem Reap in June and July. Each province has been chosen due to the high incidence of trafficking in the localities.
“The focus of the selection process was to choose five key provinces with a high prevalence of reported human trafficking cases,” says Shane Lee, MTV EXIT’s communications manager.
“These five provinces were chosen in strict consultation with local counter-trafficking organisations in Cambodia, and Winrock International, which is also working closely with the National Committee to Lead the Suppression of Human Trafficking, Smuggling, Labor and Sexual Exploitation of Women and Children.”
Each leg of the tour features a number of educational activities led by musicians, dancers and comedians. Organisers have announced that the popular rapper Poukhliang will be performing at all shows.
In one interactive workshop, children are invited to participate in the painting of an anti-trafficking mural led by two young professional artists.
Helping to spread the message in Cambodia are a selection of local youth leaders, drawn from the ranks of an MTV EXIT forum held in Phnom Penh last year and membership of the Khmer Youth Association.
Many of the young representatives have been drawn from the provinces that the road show will tour through over the course of the tour.
Matt Love, MTV EXIT’s campaign director, says that education about the dangers of labour and sexual trafficking in the region is the first step towards eliminating the practice.
“The power of conversation is important,” says Love. “Being informed is the first step to protecting ourselves. MTV EXIT’s peer-to-peer learning approach seeks to empower young people to be equipped with knowledge and toolkits, therefore provide them with the platform to spread key anti-trafficking messages on a grassroots level across Cambodia.”
Lee says that in isolated parts of the country, where access to broadcast media is limited, the onus falls upon local youth to spread the word.
“Over and above mass media efforts to spread the awareness, it is important to reach out to vulnerable communities who have limited access to education on human trafficking and exploitation,” Lee says.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sean Gleeson at ppp.lifestyle@gmail.com
Cambodia steps towards a dance world record
BY all estimates, Cambodia is set to make global dance history, after about 1,100 young people from around the Kingdom joined the “Loy 9 Challenge” on Saturday to break the Guinness World Record for Largest Madison Dance.
It was drizzling when the dance began on the lawn in front of Wat Botom in Phnom Penh, but despite the rain, the event, organised by Loy 9, a weekly, youth-oriented program aired on CNT-TV, surpassed the goal of bringing together 1,000 dancers to beat the previous record of 459 people, set last year in France.
Nov Pouleakhena, 21, a student at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, already knew how to do the Madison.
She had heard about the challenge on Facebook and came with friends.
“I wanted to join the dance because it’s to break the world record. We’ve never broken such a world record before.
“Second, the Madison doesn’t belong to Cambodia but it is well known in Cambodia. When we dance to this music, it makes us happy,” she said.
The popular line-dancing style requires good co-ordination among dancers.
But not everybody who joined on Saturday was as familiar with the dance as Nov Pouleakhena.
Song Savy, 20, a student at Mekong University, learned how to dance Madison for the first time from a trainer five minutes before the challenge officially began.
“I really like Loy 9. The show encourages us to be involved. When I heard about the dance, I really wanted to join,” Song Savy said.
Chan Phearun, 23, an arts teacher at the non-profit organisation Hagar, gave those new to the dance some quick training.
With only an hour to train beginners before the 4pm start, Chan Phearun split hundreds of novices into smaller groups to teach basic steps.
Madison has several styles, but she taught the classical one to avoid confusion.
“Fifty per cent of the participants already knew how to dance the Madison,” Chan Phearun said. “We trained those who didn’t know how to do the dance by counting steps. They learned very quickly,”
Loy 9 project director Colin Spurway was worried the rain would discourage participants, but by 4pm more people than expected had arrived.
“We look like we have more people than we need to set the new record,” he said as the event took off.
The “Loy 9 Challenge” must be reviewed and certified as a new world record by a Guinness committee in London before it is officially announced as such.
Independent observers were present during the event, as is required by Guinness World Record guidelines, and Spurway will submit the event for consideration this week.
He expects to learn next week whether young Cambodians have officially danced the French out of the record books.
To contact the reporter on this story: Roth Meas at meas.roth@phnompenhpost.com
It was drizzling when the dance began on the lawn in front of Wat Botom in Phnom Penh, but despite the rain, the event, organised by Loy 9, a weekly, youth-oriented program aired on CNT-TV, surpassed the goal of bringing together 1,000 dancers to beat the previous record of 459 people, set last year in France.
Nov Pouleakhena, 21, a student at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, already knew how to do the Madison.
She had heard about the challenge on Facebook and came with friends.
“I wanted to join the dance because it’s to break the world record. We’ve never broken such a world record before.
“Second, the Madison doesn’t belong to Cambodia but it is well known in Cambodia. When we dance to this music, it makes us happy,” she said.
The popular line-dancing style requires good co-ordination among dancers.
But not everybody who joined on Saturday was as familiar with the dance as Nov Pouleakhena.
Song Savy, 20, a student at Mekong University, learned how to dance Madison for the first time from a trainer five minutes before the challenge officially began.
“I really like Loy 9. The show encourages us to be involved. When I heard about the dance, I really wanted to join,” Song Savy said.
Chan Phearun, 23, an arts teacher at the non-profit organisation Hagar, gave those new to the dance some quick training.
With only an hour to train beginners before the 4pm start, Chan Phearun split hundreds of novices into smaller groups to teach basic steps.
Madison has several styles, but she taught the classical one to avoid confusion.
“Fifty per cent of the participants already knew how to dance the Madison,” Chan Phearun said. “We trained those who didn’t know how to do the dance by counting steps. They learned very quickly,”
Loy 9 project director Colin Spurway was worried the rain would discourage participants, but by 4pm more people than expected had arrived.
“We look like we have more people than we need to set the new record,” he said as the event took off.
The “Loy 9 Challenge” must be reviewed and certified as a new world record by a Guinness committee in London before it is officially announced as such.
Independent observers were present during the event, as is required by Guinness World Record guidelines, and Spurway will submit the event for consideration this week.
He expects to learn next week whether young Cambodians have officially danced the French out of the record books.
To contact the reporter on this story: Roth Meas at meas.roth@phnompenhpost.com
Museum grounds ready for Ploughing Ceremony
The ‘Sdach Meak’, a man chosen to represent the King, officiates the ploughing ritual, set to take place tomorrow in Phnom Penh. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post
This year the festival will take place tomorrow morning, May 9, at Veal Preah Mein, the square in front of the National Museum.
The ploughing field and tents have already been set up for the occasion, which will be attanded by members of the royal family, government officials and lay people.
“The Ploughing Ceremony was brought from India by the Indian King Kordin who married the Cambodian queen Sorma in the first century BC,” said Miech Ponn, the adviser on mores and customs at the Phnom Penh-based Buddhist Institute. “We have hosted the Ploughing Ceremony at the beginning of each rainy season since then.”
The oxen ploughing ceremony is preceded over by a couple chosen to represent the King and Queen.
The husband, called the Sdach Meak, sits on a royal litter carried by six men and covered by an elegant umbrella, while his wife, who is called Preah Mehua, sits on a covered hammock carried by two men.
They are both escorted from the Royal Palace to the artificial “ploughing field” made for the occasion from beach sand, where three pairs of waiting oxen are already rigged with wooden ploughs.
Sdach Meak pushes the plough from the middle of the herd, while the rest of his entourage plough at the front and behind him. His wife follows by laying seeds behind him.
The Ploughing Ceremony only lasts three rounds.
“The oxen are raised to be used for this Ploughing Ceremony only, and they call them the royal oxen,” Miech Ponn said. “After they finish, they are offered various foods to eat, such as rice grains, corn, freshly cut grass, sesame seeds, green beans, water and even rice wine.”
Depending on how much food the royal oxen eat, predictions about the year’s harvest are made, he explained.
For example, if the oxen eat a lot of rice grain, corn or sesame seeds, they predict that the farmers will harvest bountiful rice, corn and sesame crops in the season.
But bad omens can also be a part of the predictions.
If the oxen drink too much water, for example, it may be a signal of flooding.
The Royal Ploughing Ceremony will begin at 7am tomorrow morning in front of the National Museum in Phnom Penh, and the predictions will be broadcast on national TV to farmers anxiously awaiting the results.
To contact the reporter on this story: Roth Meas at meas.roth@phnompenhpost.com
Follow-up IPOs still on track
A man walks past the trading room at the Cambodia Securities Exchange last month. Photograph: Will Baxter/Phnom Penh Post
PPWSA closes higher after a week down
For the first time in weeks, Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority yesterday closed up 4.35 per cent, a sign the stock was stablising after a rough opening, insiders said.
After an eight-day price decline, PPWSA – the sole listed company on the Cambodia Securities Exchange – hit 7,200 riel (US$1.79), up from $1.71 on Friday. The volume of trading, however, increased by more than 860 per cent on Friday, with 251,705 shares traded.
PPWSA maintained momentum in volume yesterday, trading 189,537 shares, after a seven-day spell that saw an average of 29,345 shares traded. On April 26, there were 3,453 shares traded. Close to 1 million shares went unsold a day earlier. About 260,000 shares went unexecuted yesterday.
The increase in price and volume showed the beginning of stablisation for PPWSA, Bui Tuan Duong, brokerage manager at Cambodia-Vietnam Securities Plc, said yesterday.
A price between $1.74 and $1.99 would attract many investors who made unsuccessful bids during the bookbuilding process, which was 17 times oversubscribed, he said.
“I think the reason for the turnaround is the price was nearly at the [initial public offering] price yesterday. The buyers were ready. The buyer side feels safe at this price.”
Buyers yesterday were largely individuals, or retail buyers, and foreign investors sold more than they bought, he said, signifying long-term investors were not yet a strong force in the market.
Investors with long-term interests in the stock were waiting for stablisation, Han Kyung-tae, country head at PPWSA underwriter Tong Yang Securities, told the Post last week. At the time, he noted the possibility for the company to hit IPO prices this week.
Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, one of two state-owned companies slated to list on theCambodia Securities Exchange this year, yesterday called the price decline in the country’s first publicly traded company worrisome.For the first time in weeks, Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority yesterday closed up 4.35 per cent, a sign the stock was stablising after a rough opening, insiders said.
After an eight-day price decline, PPWSA – the sole listed company on the Cambodia Securities Exchange – hit 7,200 riel (US$1.79), up from $1.71 on Friday. The volume of trading, however, increased by more than 860 per cent on Friday, with 251,705 shares traded.
PPWSA maintained momentum in volume yesterday, trading 189,537 shares, after a seven-day spell that saw an average of 29,345 shares traded. On April 26, there were 3,453 shares traded. Close to 1 million shares went unsold a day earlier. About 260,000 shares went unexecuted yesterday.
The increase in price and volume showed the beginning of stablisation for PPWSA, Bui Tuan Duong, brokerage manager at Cambodia-Vietnam Securities Plc, said yesterday.
A price between $1.74 and $1.99 would attract many investors who made unsuccessful bids during the bookbuilding process, which was 17 times oversubscribed, he said.
“I think the reason for the turnaround is the price was nearly at the [initial public offering] price yesterday. The buyers were ready. The buyer side feels safe at this price.”
Buyers yesterday were largely individuals, or retail buyers, and foreign investors sold more than they bought, he said, signifying long-term investors were not yet a strong force in the market.
Investors with long-term interests in the stock were waiting for stablisation, Han Kyung-tae, country head at PPWSA underwriter Tong Yang Securities, told the Post last week. At the time, he noted the possibility for the company to hit IPO prices this week.
The eight-day slide in price that neared Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority’s initial public offering value before climbing more than 4 per cent yesterday, however, would not affect the port’s plans to list, Director General Lou Kim Chhun said.
“We were a bit concerned [by the decline]. But I do believe the government will carefully manage the issue,” Lou Kim Chhun said. “I didn’t think of delaying the IPO even with the decline in PPWSA’s share price. What I am thinking now is to speed it up as fast as we can to follow the government’s request.”
He added that the company still planned to float shares worth 15 per cent of total assets sometime in July.
With 879,426 shares traded on its opening day, PPWSA climbed from an IPO price of 6,300 (US$1.57) to $2.53 two days later, before falling for eight days. Analysts yesterday said the price was stablising.
Telecom Cambodia (TC) director general Lao Saroeun yesterday said PPWSA’s initial decline had caused no concern at the company, which also plans to list this year.
“This is a normal increase and decrease which depends on the market. We follow the government’s decision on everything,” he said. The state-owned company has not set a timeframe for listing, but TC shares could be on the market this year, he said.
Lao Saroeun,Telecom Cambodia director general, raised no concern over the decline.
"That’s business which is normally increase and decrease depending on the market,” he said.
However, he said that the company has not set the timeframe to be listed yet. “Everything, we follow the government [Ministry of Economy and Finance’s] decision.”
But, he said that it will be possibly sometime this year.
Foreign Trade Bank, which expressed interest in listing late last month, declined to comment on PPWSA’s performance, and whether it had affected the bank’s decision to list.
Ming Bankosal, director general of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia, told the Post yesterday that PPWSA’s decline would not affect the listing of the two remaining state-own-companies.
“The [decline] was mainly based on supply and demand in the market. It is normal. I don’t think it will affect the two other state-owned companies,” he said. “What they should do is take the money from IPO and invest it back into the company to improve businesses.”
To contact the reporter on this story: May Kunmakara atkunmakara.may@phnompenhpost.com
Government silent on ELCs
Logs are stockpiled in March by the CRCK rubber company, which was granted an economic land concession, in Kampong Thom province’s Sandan district in Prey Lang forest. Photograph: May Titthara/Phnom Penh Post
Both the Minister of Agriculture Chan Sarun and Minister of Environment Mok Mareth could not be reached for comment yesterday and other ministry officials contacted, including Chay Sakun, director in charge of land concessions at the Ministry of Agriculture, declined to comment.
Provincial authorities involved in granting the now-suspended land concessions yesterday said they were ready to implement orders, but had received none.
Ratanakkiri provincial governor Pao Hamphan said he would enforce the regulation “immediately”.
“But now, we are still waiting for the decision of the relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Environment to [tell us how] to enforce this regulation firmly,” Pan Hamphan said, adding that 18 companies held about 80,000 hectares of ELC land in Ratanakkiri.
Kampong Thom’s provincial governor Chhun Chhorn said he was willing and able to cooperate with any instructions he received from the relevant ministries to enforce the premier’s regulation.
“When that regulation is set, we will enforce at that time,” Chhun Chorn said, adding there were 26 companies developing 50,000 hectares of land in Kampong Thom.
However, civil society organisations and opposition parties are concerned the regulation is nothing more than an election ploy.
Rights group Adhoc yesterday highlighted the regulation’s “convenient” timing, which could prove a “waiting period”, noting it would not overrule a law or sub-decree and is easily reversible.
To contac the reporters on this story: Meas Sokchea at sokchea.meas@phnompenhpost.com
Bridget Di Certo at bridget.dicerto@phnompenhpost.com