Leaders see threat to Buddhism

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

A fellow monk shaves the head of a boy joining the monkhood in Battambang earlier this year.

TWO MONKS CHARGED IN MURDER; THIRD STILL AT LARGE

Two monks from Phnom Penh’s Stung Meanchey pagoda have been charged with murder  following the death last week of a fourth-year medical student who chastised them for drinking alcohol. Another suspect, who is not a monk, has also been charged, police confirmed, and a third monk accused in the murder remains on the run. Monks Van Socheat, 19, and Nhem Vuthy, 20, were charged this week, said Phnom Penh Municipal Court deputy prosecutor Hing Bunchea. The pair’s alleged accomplice, Chem Pros, was also charged. “We charged them yesterday on the murder case, and now we will investigate more,” Hing Bunchea said. The victim, 24-year-old Veth Vireak, was beaten to death. It is alleged the monks were furious after he scolded them for getting drunk on 10 litres of palm wine. Kong Samorn, deputy police chief in Meanchey district, said the group will be held in Prey Sar prison while an investigation is carried out. The monks had been ordained for five years before last Friday’s attack. If they are convicted of the murder, the monks could be defrocked and jailed, officials have previously said.

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Friday, 30 October 2009 15:01 Sam Rith

LEADING Buddhist intellectuals and civil society groups have called on the government to address a recent outbreak of offences ranging from drunkenness to rape and a deadly beating all allegedly committed by monks.

They warned that if the behaviour of monks continues to deteriorate, it could seriously diminish the position of Buddhism within Cambodian society.

Miech Ponn, an adviser to the Mores and Customs Commission at the Buddhism Institute, said that in the past, cases of monks’ engaging in sexual relationships were exceptionally rare, and that he had never heard of monks drinking wine, let alone killing people.

“Even though these have been isolated cases, they have the potential to impact Buddhism in Cambodia as a whole,” he said. “I think either the Ministry of Cults and Religions or supreme patriarchs should take action in order not to have such acts – drinking wine and killing people – occur among the monks again.”

Miech Ponn also suggested that the cause of such incidents might be the modern technology to which monks are increasingly exposed. Earlier this month, an 18-year-old monk in Kampong Thom province was charged with beating and injuring a fellow monk who failed to answer a call from the perpetrator on his mobile phone.

Thun Saray, president of the rights group ADHOC, echoed Miech Ponn’s concerns, urged the country’s religious authorities to find ways to strengthen discipline among members of the Buddhist community because of their role in society.

“If monks act the same as other people, they will cease to be respected, and no one will believe in them anymore,” he said. “It is a big loss of honour to Buddhism that there were cases of monks killing people because Buddhism tells people not to kill anything that is alive.”

Min Khin, minister of cults and religions, said Thursday that he was too busy to speak.

Tep Vong, supreme patriarch of Cambodia, said he was aware a monk had been charged with killing a nun earlier this week in Banteay Meanchey province and welcomed the legal action.

“I do not have any particular advice on the issue because Buddhism already takes a clear position against killing animals and human beings,” he said, adding that anyone who committed a crime should be brought before the courts.

He also insisted that his adviser, Kiet Chan Thouch, chief monk of Wat Leu in Preah Sihanouk province, was not guilty of getting drunk and attacking fellow monks in his pagoda, as was recently alleged.

“I already investigated [Kiet Chan Thouch’s] case, and the accusations against him are untrue,” he said. The supreme patriarch is now pursuing legal action against Kiet Chan Thouch’s accusers, who he said had deliberately set out to damage the man’s reputation.

According to the government, Cambodia has more than 4,300 active pagodas and 60,000 monks. Ninety-five percent of the Kingdom’s population is Buddhist.

Swine flu kills fourth person in Cambodia

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Friday, 30 October 2009 15:01 Cheang Sokha

A FOURTH person has died from swine flu in Cambodia, bringing the number of confirmed infections in the country to 239, officials said Thursday.

The capital and seven provinces have so far been affected by the spread of (A)H1N1: Kandal, Takeo, Kampong Speu, Siem Reap, Battambang, Kampong Chhnang and Svay Rieng.

Last week, a 51-year-old woman died after contracting the virus, bringing the Kingdom’s total number of swine flu-related deaths to four. “She had breathing difficulties before she contracted the virus,” said Ly Sovann, deputy director of the Communicable Disease Control Department at the Ministry of Health.

Cambodia’s first confirmed fatality was a 41-year-old woman who died on September 27. In early October, a 41-year-old man and a 25-year-old pregnant woman also died after contracting the virus.

Health Minister Mam Bunheng said the ministry has prepared about 500,000 information brochures, which will be delivered to the public during the Water Festival. Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday appealed to rural villagers visiting the capital for the boat races to wear masks to prevent virus transmission.

Health officials advise people to wash their hands frequently, refrain from spitting in public, use tissues to cover coughs and avoid crowds.

Individuals experiencing any symptoms such as high fevers (above 38 C), coughing, headache, muscle ache, sore throat and nose congestion should call the swine flu hotline at 115, 012 488 981 or 089 669 567.

Star-Cell records static revenue growth in Q3

Photo by: SOVAN PHILONG

A sales assistant checks her phone Thursday at a Star Cell sales office in Phnom Penh.

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Friday, 30 October 2009 15:00 Steve Finch

Subscriber numbers bounce back from dismal second quarter, according to announcement, with 150,000 users by this month

TELIASONERA AB, the Stockholm-based mobile firm that manages Cambodia’s Star-Cell, announced late Wednesday that revenues from the Kingdom remained static in the third quarter as profits before tax for its overall operations rose 5.7 percent year on year to 5.04 billion kronor (US$720 million).

In its financial report for the June-to-September quarter, Teliasonera announced revenues of 8 million Swedish kronor ($1.13 million) for its Cambodia operation, taking revenues for the first nine months of the year to 24 million kronor ($3.406 million).

Sweden’s largest mobile operator did not publish net profits for its Cambodia unit, although it announced increased profitability overall “despite price erosion caused by growing competition and increasing price sensitivity among customers”.

Stocks in the firm fell 1.79 percent in Stockholm by 10.30am Thursday to 47.32 kronor.

Since Applifone, the local subsidiary of Teliasonera, launched in Cambodia in October 2007, five new operators have also entered the market prompting companies including Millicom International SA, the majority shareholder in market leader Mobitel, to complain of diminishing profitability this year.

In Wednesday’s announcement, Teliasonera said that it had added 2 million subscriptions with the acquisitions of operations in Cambodia and Nepal in September last year when it bought a 51 percent stake in TeliaSonera Asia Holding BV from Visor Group, which owns Applifone outright.

Most of these subscriptions were added in Nepal.

The company announcement stated it had 141,000 total users in Cambodia at the end of the third quarter of which only 1,000 were post-paid.

According to company figures, this represented a decrease of 3,000 users since the end of the last quarter of 2008, the first full quarter of operations since Teliasonera’s acquisition was announced on September 21 last year.

User numbers volatile

At the end of the second quarter, Star Cell saw its users plummet to 64,000 from a peak of 150,000 at the end of the first quarter, according to company data, an anomaly that remains unaccounted for.

Jen Borja Bornas, Applifone’s media manager in Cambodia, declined to comment Thursday on revenues and user numbers.

In Cambodia, mobile sector executives have noted a trend among users of swapping among competing operators’ SIM cards – often given away free of charge – in a bid to take advantage of increasingly competitive tariffs.

The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications is currently working on a prakas, or edict, on pricing after competitors accused the newest operator, Beeline, of price-dumping and triggering a barrage of schemes offering free within-network calls.

Operators were due to submit a detailed breakdown on their costs by today with the aim of establishing a minimum tariff across the sector.

Two new air routes to Vietnam in planning

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Friday, 30 October 2009 15:00 May Kunmakara

Cambodia and Vietnam aviation officials are planning to launch two new aviation routes between the two countries, officials said Thursday.

The routes will connect Phu Quoc Island, off the southern coast of Vietnam near the mouth of the Mekong River, with Sihanoukville International Airport, and the southern province of Can Tho with Phnom Penh.

State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) Undersecretary of State Soy Sokhan said the SSCA and its Vietnamese counterpart were conducting a joint feasibility study on the routes.

“We see huge potential for these routes,” he said. “Sihanoukville International Airport will be a popular destination for the tourism industry, but the Phnom Penh International Airport also has great potential for cargo shipments.”

It was too early to estimate when that feasibility study would be completed, he said, but one flight was expected to be scheduled daily in each direction on both routes.

Flag carrier in running

SSCA Secretary of State Mao Havannal said the routes had not yet been allocated to any carriers but confirmed that Cambodia Angkor Air had been involved in discussions. The airline is 51 percent owned by the Cambodian government in a joint venture with Vietnam Airlines.

Ho Vandy, co-chairman of the Government-Private Sector Forum’s Tourism Working Group, said Phu Quoc Island and Can Tho province were both popular tourism hubs in Vietnam and could be valuable feeders for the Cambodian tourism sector if the routes became available.

Hair-styling goes catwalk

Photo by: STEFANIE IRMER

A view of the front elevation showing the salon's sharp exterior lines.

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Friday, 30 October 2009 15:00 Stefanie Irmer

THE spectacular front-elevation of the De Gran hair salon is designed in rectangles, framing the blue sky above Phnom Penh and inviting a look inside. This minimalist building’s modern Japanese architecture and interior design make an interesting addition to the Cambodian urban landscape.

Reduced to a strict geometry, the building speaks its own language while referencing contemporary Japanese architects such as Fumihiko Maki or Tadao Ando. Combining the symbolic significance of architectural forms with a careful choice of materials, its colour accentuation contrasts with the dominant white.

The striking fact is that the building was designed by De Gran chief executive Jun Kikuchi, a hairstylist by profession. With the support of his friend, Japanese interior designer Suzuki Kuniaki, he realised in Phnom Penh his vision of a self-designed salon. Kikuchi runs four hair salons in Tokyo, but it was only in Cambodia that he could fulfil his dream of designing and building a hair salon of such a scale, opening his salon in February 2009.

The white rendered masonry walls pronounce rectangles as the main geometric figure, except for the guard hut on the sidewalk, which is organically convoluted. The concept for the spacious ground floor of the two-storey building seems to be transparency, while the VIP area on the first floor is screened.

Photo by: STEFANIE IRMER

Treatment chairs straddle the catwalk-style interior space.

The building's U-shape plan embraces an outside entrance area and a walkway flanked by a brace of water basins. This reception area is reminiscent of the stage-like layout of Khmer temple architecture, but Kuniaki’s intention of using water was for its cooling effect and refreshing character, supporting the transition from outside to in. Two lines of cream leather chairs facing each other in both arms of the building behind full glazed walls emphasise the catwalk-like character of the entrance.

The interior has a remarkable composition: fine black ironworks at the entrance door, black ceramic floor tiles and a reception desk in black marble contrast with the plain white walls. Kikuchi and Kuniaki form accents not only by playing with materials but using a reduced colour scheme: red chairs in a contemporary design at the reception area and light blue curtains along the glazing.

Both floors – the airy working area on the ground floor and the private VIP rooms upstairs – contain simple furnishings. The working equipment is, for a hair salon, greatly reduced, with associations of high technology and aesthetic design: the chairs for shampoo and haircuts are height-adjustable; tools appear when needed from backstage; the mirrors, documenting the haircut, are almost self-supported. Such lighting features or decoration as the chronometer on the first floor and the staircase gives character to the place with clear and sober expression.

Apart from its modern appearance and high-quality finishes, the project could integrate some elements of green architecture. Unfortunately, being unable to source some equipment in Cambodia, Kikuchi chose not to include sustainable architectural features in his design.

Temple bike ride just the ticket for a fun day out

Riders at last year's Angkor Wat Bike Race on the temple course.

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Friday, 30 October 2009 15:00 POST STAFF

Participants in this year’s fourth annual Angkor Wat Bike Race and Fun Ride on Saturday December 5 will have a choice of completing one or three laps of a course which winds around temples including Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom.

The 30-kilometre one-lap course caters for amateurs, while the three-lap course is for more competitive cyclists. The event attracts international interest because of the spectacular temple scenery.

So far 50 people have registered, with another 100 or so expected to sign up before the day. Last year 125 people competed, and ride coordinator Drew McDowell of the Village Focus International NGO said he was hoping to better that number.

The race, held the day before the Angkor Wat International Half Marathon, is a fundraiser for Village Focus International which works on projects in education and rural development.

There will be a dinner on the evening before the ride and brunch afterwards at extra cost.

The race will start in front of Angkor Wat at 6am. Participants will receive a T-shirt, a certificate of completion, and a basket of Kampot peppercorns.

The entry fee is US$50 for foreigners and $25 for Khmers with a special offer of $2 for Khmer women, some of whom will be given free bike rental.

Online registration is at www.villagefocus.org/bike.

Climate change still a hot topic

Photo by: JOHN MCDERMOTT

350 riders in front of Angkor Wat on International Day of Climate Action.

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MORE THAN 350 people rode bicycles from Siem Reap town to Angkor Wat last Saturday afternoon to raise awareness about climate change, ahead of the UN’s Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December.

Oppressive weather conditions and minor misunderstandings with the Apsara Authority over access to the temples didn’t stop the crowd enjoying what was one of more than 5,200 activities orgainised in 181 countries as part of International Day of Climate Action on October 24.

The Singing Tree Cafe’s Michael Batura, one of the organisers, said it was a successful outing.

“There were lots of children and it was a great day. It was quite hot and a bit like trying to herd cats, but we got there in the end,” he said.

“Photographer John McDermott climbed on top of a van to take some photos of us in front of Angkor Wat, and some people were carrying the prayer flags that we had painted in the morning. It was probably the biggest global climate change action ever organised, so it was a great feeling to be a part of it.”

One participant, expat Stuart Cochlin, said he was pleased at the number of Khmer people involved.

“What was very good was that it was about 80 percent Khmer, 20 percent expats, which was very refreshing, particularly for something to do with the environment. There was also local Khmer media and that was good.”

The Siem Reap gathering was part of a worldwide initiative, coordinated by global grassroots action group 350. The number refers to 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, regarded by some scientists as a safe upper limit, which has already been exceeded.

Man About Town

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Friday, 30 October 2009 15:00 Peter Olszewski

Development in the air

Two wealthy Belgian developers flying into Siem Reap airport in their private jet on Wednesday had to wait in the air until a Cambodia Angkor Air plane carrying the prime minister, which was running late, arrived and landed.

Once cleared, the Belgians landed and immediately hightailed it, building plans in hand, to the site of their development – a proposed upmarket eco-lodge to be built on a large tract of land on the road from National Road 6 to the Angkor Golf Resort.

They were met at the development site by two key personnel from the FCC Group, giving rise to speculation of some sort of partnership, possibly a management deal, with FCC to run the eco-lodge.

Meanwhile, early on Monday morning, the Minister of Tourism, Thong Khon, officially announced details of this November’s Johnnie Walker Cambodia Open golf tournament during a press conference at Angkor Wat.

The Open will be held at Sofitel’s Phokeethra Country Club in November, but as soon as the press conference wound up, the minister for tourism headed over to a rival course, Angkor Golf Resort, to play a few rounds and improve his handicap.

Talkfest underway

A talkfest titled Angkor Seminar is underway in Siem Reap, sponsored by the Friends of the Freer and Sackler Smithsonian Institution.

The lectures, held at the École Française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO) Siem Reap, are in English, a welcome relief for mono-lingual Anglos as talk nights at EFEO are usually held in French.

Im Sokrithy kicked off proceedings last night with a talk about the Angkorian Road Network.

Saturday presents a double-header, with Christophe Pottier lecturing on The Ancestors of Angkor, and Jean-Baptiste Chevance talking about Retracing the Sources of the Angkorian Empire, by the Phnom Kulen Archaeological Program.

The schedule for the following days is:

Sunday November 1:

Darryl Collins and Hok Sokol: From Khmer villages to cities: Preservation of wooden houses.

Monday November 2:

Olivier Cunin: From Ta Prohm to Bayon - Contribution to the architectural history of the Bayon Style Monuments.

Tuesday November 3:

Martin Polkinghorne: Ateliers in the Age of Angkor.

Wednesday November 4:

Dominique Soutif: The property of the gods in inscription K. 947: using epigraphy in archaeology.

Siem Reapers are licenced to shock

Claire Coxon, Charlie Kumar and Tania Palmer at last year's Angkor What? Bar's annual pub crawl.

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Friday, 30 October 2009 15:00 Peter Olszewski and Lily Partland

IT’S a scary concept. Organisers of Saturday night’s Pub Street Halloween parties are urging punters to dress to shock in an attempt to better – or perhaps worsen – the historical 2005 foul-and-fetid worst fancy dress record set by Abacus restaurant co-owner Renaud Fichet.

Fichet’s 2005 get-up was a downright shocker, setting an all-time low in the annual worst fancy dress contest run by Linga Bar.

Over-egging the details, the bar’s managing director Martin Dishman recalls the stench of the pig’s head, entrails and trotters Fichet wore a little too clearly.

Linga Bar stages its fourth annual Lingaween costume party on Saturday October 31, kicking off at 9pm.

Dishman says, “It’s a Western event, but from the beginning we’ve tried to make it fun and interesting for everyone,” he says.

“We have body and face painting for the Khmer kids, so the locals get a kick out of it too. It’s just a chance to have fun and let your hair down. For me it’s our most fun event of the year.”

He said he expects the costume competition to be intense over three categories: best, worst and most creative costumes.

“I wanted to recognise the efforts of people, and make it worth their while. So the top prize is a one night stay in a suite at Hotel Be. I think it’s going to be based on an audience vote.”

Another Halloween highlight tomorrow night will be Angkor What? Bar’s infamous fifth annual pub crawl. Beginning at X-Bar at 7pm, revellers will push on to Molly Malone’s, then Warehouse, Miss Wong Cocktail Bar and Red Piano with the grand finale planned for the Angkor What? Bar.

Full of goodwill, Angkor What manager Charlie Kumar says the Halloween bash is a signature annual event for the bar, which gets the community together to have a “good laugh”.

“We’re trying to make it a community event, so the way we see it it’s the official welcoming of the high season for us. It’s a small town and we have to support each other,” he declared.

As usual Angkor What will be decked out in all things terrifying, and Kumar says he hopes to top last year’s attendance of 52. Attendees should arrive in their most impressive costumes and, with people famously going to a lot of effort, there’ll be more than a little competition for attention.

“You’d be surprised at the effort people make,” he says.

Siem Reap’s most infamous nightclub, Sok San Palace, will host a small party in a room decorated in ghostly decor and pumpkins. General manager Tobias Castelijn says staff will be in costume, there will be a costume competition and the cocktail list will be scarier than usual.

Expect the Sok San bash to build up a head of steam late in the evening.

Over at Siem Reap’s newest and largest nightclub, Pyramid, on the outer limits of town on the road to Phnom Penh, a joint Halloween and first birthday celebration will be a big drawcard for Khmer ragers.

Pyramid promises entertainment from 8pm until midnight, including popular Khmer comedian Mr Kreum and a drag fashion show by the Sindy Group. Disco manager Somoeun Pov said there’ll also be surprise guest singers disguised in costume.

After midnight, the festivities will transmogrify into a sweat-drenched dance party in the inimitable Pyramid style.

Sidewalk strategy: Or how I fared in my first kro tournament

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Friday, 30 October 2009 15:00 Shannon Dunlap

“I think in English you would call it…five points,” Jumbo told me, clearly pulling the name out of thin air. He was referring to the game that I often see him and his fellow tuk-tuk drivers playing on the sidewalks of Siem Reap. The patterns of tiny square tiles that are found on the east side of the river or across from Khmer Kitchen make for a perfect game board, easily marked with bits of chalk or stone.

In Khmer, the game is called kro, and since the Khmer word for “poor” is nearly identical, kro enthusiasts joke that their verve for the game is a major distraction from more productive endeavours.

I’ll admit that I’m a bit of a board game nerd, especially here, where it can be difficult to find a partner for a rousing game of Scrabble. I can usually hold my own in battles of trivia or wordplay, so I was excited by the idea of a brainy Khmer pastime. Unfortunately, strategy games are my Achilles’ heel, and since the guys squatting over the chalk marks on the sidewalk bore the same looks of fierce concentration as the chess experts I used to see in the parks of New York City, I was a little concerned about my chances.

Early results were not promising. The rules, which my kro tutor Sitha was able to teach me using very little English, are tremendously easy. It’s basically an amped-up version of tic-tac-toe played on a constantly expanding grid, where opponents strive to get five marks in a row first. The simplicity, however, is deceiving. There seemed to be no fail-proof tricks as in tic-tac-toe (where you should never pick the middle square first, always the corner), or if there were, they were too complicated to immediately grasp. Sitha bested me five times in a row, with most matches lasting under two minutes. Slightly embarrassed, I decided to practice on my own, promising to return when I was a worthier opponent.

Practice opportunities were not hard to come by. Computer versions of the game (with silly names like Super-Tac!) are easily downloaded, but I found them dismal company, and losing against the computer took even less time than losing to Sitha. I coaxed my boyfriend into being my warm-blooded opponent, and since he was almost as new to the game as I, a few early wins boosted my confidence. I also found that, as in bowling or billiards, my skills improved considerably after one beer, though took a nose-dive after three.

With some practice under my belt, I headed back to kro corner. I earned some street cred by pulling off a victory against a friendly young man whose nom de guerre was Naga.

After that, I had my choice of opponents – as well as an exuberant audience eager to offer advice. They urged me to play one of the resident champions, Easy, and it was during our match that I realised the same posturing and trash talking that accompanies schoolyard basketball games is expected during a good kro match. The language barrier made it a little difficult for Easy and I to intimidate each other, but we gave it our best.

“I think maybe soon you will be able to have a long rest,” Easy said.

“I think maybe you are sleeping right now,” I retorted.

It was largely through luck and whispered suggestions that I managed to beat Easy in the first game, but my spirits were buoyed by the round of applause that followed, so much so that I almost didn’t mind when Easy thoroughly decimated me in the next match.

After most of the players had wandered off, I hung around to play a game against Sitha, my original teacher, who beat me soundly. Though this student is yet to become a master, I feel as though my dabbling in kro has gained me camaraderie. Now, instead of getting offered tuk-tuk rides when I walk down the street, I get invited to sit down to a friendly game of kro.

Canadia takes offices to next level

Photo by: Sovan Philong

Builders continue work this month on Canadia Tower’s new offices, which are due to be opened on the market before the end of the year.

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Low occupancy at the new buildings is probably a result of ineffective marketing.
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Friday, 30 October 2009 15:00 Nathan Green

After repeated delays, Cambodia’s tallest building will test a sluggish office space market

AS new office buildings in Phnom Penh sit vacant in the midst of a contracting economy, eyes in Phnom Penh are tilting upwards in anticipation of the opening of Cambodia’s first skyscraper.

“As far as the rental office market in Phnom Penh is concerned, Canadia [Tower] will be a barometer in terms of rental values, in terms of the levels of demand, and take-up rates,” said Daniel Parkes, country manager at property services company CB Richard Ellis Cambodia.

“Everybody is looking at Canadia and waiting to see what happens to that before they make any judgements on the market here.”

Judging by figures released recently by Bonna Realty Group, owners of existing office space are already struggling to find tenants, with occupancies at the newest buildings hovering around the 50 percent mark.

According to the group, the capital’s Icon Professional Centre on Norodom Boulevard has rented between 20 percent and 30 percent of its office space. The Delano Business Centre on the corner of streets 134 and 169 has managed to fill 40 percent, at a starting price of US$15 per square metre per month.

The Attwood Business Centre, located out of town near the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone and the airport, reported 55 percent occupancy. The B-Ray Tower reported 71 percent occupancy in September and the Bo Retra 87 percent.

Of the older properties, Cambodian Priority Property Investment still had 11 percent of its office space on the market, and the Intelligent Office Centre on Monivong Boulevard 9 percent, and both the Phnom Penh and Hong Kong Centres were practically at full occupancy.

Given its relatively low quality level, Parkes said the Phnom Penh Centre’s high occupancy was a combination of the long history of limited office supply in Phnom Penh and the poor job the owners of new buildings were doing in persuading tenants to upgrade.

“The low occupancy at the new buildings is probably a result of ineffective marketing in the Cambodian real estate market,” Parkes said.

How Canadia Tower does on the marketing front will soon be evident. The original opening date of September 9 was missed, but with Canadia Bank, the building’s owner, preparing to move its retail banking operations and headquarters into the building over the Water Festival, a opening of the tower is not far away.

Canadia Bank CEO Charles Vann said recently it was talking to prospective tenants about contract details, but refused to disclose the level of interest in the building, who the company was talking to and how many contracts had been signed. He said only that the company was staying firm on its well-publicised asking rate of between $30 and $35 per square metre, “plus or minus”.

Parkes said he expected the price to soften, particularly for prospective tenants looking for long-term leases on whole floors, though smaller tenants would be looking at top dollar.

“The floor plate is around 1,000 square metres, so anyone looking for around a 250-square-metre office, or a quarter of that, will be looking at paying a premium,” he said. “But with a big multinational taking a whole floor for 10 years on level 13, 14, or 15, say, you could expect the rent to come down quite a lot, and there will probably be incentives, such as a contribution to the fit-out.”

Another key property to come on the market is the $9 million Cambodia-Korea Phnom Penh Gyeongbuk Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Centre (PGCT Centre) on the corner of Sothearos and Sihanouk boulevards, next to the Phnom Penh Centre.

Built by Korean company DKC&C Co, the three-storey building was due to open in July but is now expected to open its doors next month. Project manager Park Hee-chan said the asking price for office space was $25 per square metre per month but declined to say whether any contracts had been signed.

Parkes said the building was likely to be the only Grade B offering in the city, with the rest around Grade C, but that the premium rentals it was seeking appeared to be priced beyond the current market, despite the attractiveness of the site.

“The location is cracking,” he said. “It’s probably the best location in Phnom Penh. You can see the river, its near the Palace. It’s also low-rise, so not many operators will be able to claim the address.”

Canadia aims high end

That is certainly not the case for Canadia Tower, but it will always have one major advantage over its competitors, at least for the foreseeable future.

Though the building has yet to be inspected, Parkes said he expected it to be a major advancement in terms of quality compared to anything else previously seen in Cambodia. “It obviously depends on the final fitout, but it is likely to be the first grade-A office space in Cambodia,” he said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SOEUN SAY

Boat numbers down for Water festival races

Photo by: Tracey Shelton

Boat race teams watch teams compete after finishing their trials for the water festival races Wednesday in front of the Royal palace.

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Friday, 30 October 2009 15:00 Ung Chamroeun

THIS year’s Water Festival will feature 391 boats, according to a report released October 22 by the National Committee for Organising National and International Festivals. More than 25,000 crewmembers will race down Phnom Penh’s riverside, including seven teams of women racers.

The total is a decrease of 33 boats from last year’s participation, with the majority coming from neighbouring Kandal province (107 boats), while Kampong Cham boats number 65, Prey Veng are sending 40, Kampong Chhnang and Kratie contribute 36 each, Kampong Thom boast 28, Phnom Penh have 25, Takeo 12, Battambang 5, and other provinces make up the remainder along with some teams from government institutions.

Chea Sokhom, vice president and secretary general of the festival committee, suggested repercussions of Typhoon Ketsana had caused the drop in numbers, as well as fears from participants about swine flu.

The secretary also noted that no boats from neighbouring countries were participating this year. “In the past, through contact with the Ministry of Tourism, our neighbour countries sent their rowers for our traditional ceremony, but not this year,” he stated. “We are happy because, in the past, we didn’t know about the standard of those rowers. We found it difficult to advise them, and they didn’t listen much to us.”

Chea Sokhom showed deep regret about the circumstances surrounding the death of five Singaporeans during the 2007 Water Festival races. “Honestly, we asked them to use lifejackets, but they wanted to do as our experienced rowers,” he said.

However, Min Khin, minister of Culture and Religious Affairs and also chairman of the festival committee, stated Tuesday that the decrease in participants was due to a selection process at provincial level to only allow the best teams to conmpete.

Police Blotter: 30 Oct 2009

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Friday, 30 October 2009 15:01 Chhay Channyda

SEXLESS BABY BAFFLES DOCTORS

Doctors in Banteay Meanchey province are scratching their heads after the birth of a baby whose sex remains undetermined. The baby was born Wednesday to a poor family in Poipet town. Doctors said they couldn’t figure out the baby’s sex because the newborn’s genitalia were covered. The baby’s mother has made an appeal to the public for monetary help because the child was born with crooked legs and other body parts that were described as “not normal”.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

MAN ACCUSED OF RAPING WIDOW

A 19-year-old man was arrested Tuesday after allegedly raping a 42-year-old widow in Takeo province’s Treang district, and his suspected accomplice is still on the run. The attack happened Monday, police said, when the men burst into the woman’s home at night while she was sleeping alone. The pair allegedly threatened to kill her if she screamed for help. The woman reported the attack the following day. The arrested man told police he had slept with the woman once before, but this time she refused because he was extremely drunk.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

ALLEGED THIEF PICKS POOR PARKING PLACE

A Vietnamese national who had just been released from prison is facing time in the slammer again after allegedly stealing a Korean-style 100cc motorbike. Police said the bike was swiped when it was parked outside the owner’s home. At first, the bike’s owner didn’t notice the theft but called the cops when he eventually found that his prized possession was nowhere in sight. However, investigators did not have to look far for the stolen vehicle – it was found outside the suspect’s rented house.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

COPS SEIZE GANGSTER WEAPONS CACHE

Police in Banteay Meanchey province say they have seized 33 different kinds of weapons from “gangsters” over the course of a two-year crackdown. The weapons seized by police are said to include machetes, axes, hammers and samurai swords. Police have complained that the violent behaviour of gangsters perpetually creates “chaos in society”, and they cited the recent arrest of 12 gangsters last week after they were caught brawling during a Buddhist ceremony. Police said the dozen hoodlums were eventually released to their parents after undergoing “education”.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

The Phnom Penh Post News in Brief

(Posted it by CAAI News Media)

In Brief: U23s come up empty

Friday, 30 October 2009 15:00 Andy Brouwer

HO CHI MINH CITY – In the third practice match Wednesday of their monthlong training camp in neighbouring Vietnam, the Cambodian U23 football team played out a goalless draw with the Ho Chi Minh City U21 team at the Thanh Long training centre. National coach Scott O’Donell told the Post by email: “We dominated the first half creating a lot of chances but could not put them away. The second half was more even but we still had some good chances. I was happy with most aspects of our game but our finishing was poor. We have two more games lined up before we return to Phnom Penh on November 5, ready for the BIDC Cup a few days later.”

In Brief: Heineken sales strong

Friday, 30 October 2009 15:00 JEREMY MULLINS

HEINEKEN International singled out Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam as bright lights in a generally lacklustre third-quarter sales update Wednesday. In a conference call, Rene Hooft Graafland, chief financial officer of Heineken, highlighted the “very strong performance” of its Singapore-based joint venture subsidiary, Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), which produces Heineken and other beer brands for the Cambodian market. “Asia was the region with the highest percentage of growth for the Heineken brand, with over 6 percent growth across most countries,” said Graafland.

Decoration row makes no sense

(Click on picture to zoom in)

By Tulsathit Taptim

The Nation

Published on October 30, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

If you don't know what all this fuss about the royal decoration thing is about, you're in good company. What will the government accomplish from stripping Thaksin Shinawatra of his honours? Why now? And what's the point of Thaksin's hardcore sympathisers trying to oppose the move?

I absolutely have no idea.

Yes, the "Sweet Home Phnom Penh" episode may have embarrassed the Thai government, but if revoking Thaksin's royal decorations is supposed to be some kind of revenge, then it's a short-sighted one. Not only will the idea weaken Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's "reconciliation" agenda, it also just doesn't make any sense.

If he is making this move out of sheer legal conviction, then why did he wait for so long? If it was meant to assuage the embarrassment caused by Cambodia's asylum offer to Thaksin, then shouldn't Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, too, be targeted? After all, he was the messenger in this whole saga and should perhaps be shot first.

After hitting Thaksin with a coup, freezing his assets, dissolving his parties and getting the Criminal Court to declare him guilty, why is it necessary to "deepen" the national divide by removing his honours?

I put "deepen" in quotation marks because I don't get that side of things either. Of course, taking away the royal decorations is not the smartest thing, but why is it making Thaksin supporters so angry that one of them was heard saying that the possibility of a civil war is more real than ever before?

Again, after being ousted in a coup, hit by the freezing of his assets, the dissolution of his parties and a guilty verdict, how would the revocation of royal decorations hurt Thaksin or his followers? Though this question is not as mind-boggling as this one: why do his followers care so much about his royal decorations?

The pro-Thaksin movement - strongly represented by the Pheu Thai Party, which is making a lot of noise about the government's plan to strip Thaksin of his honours - has been campaigning against the elite, the ammart (high-ranking royal servants) and everything associated with political inequality those elements have allegedly generated.

Now aren't royal decorations a strong symbol of the elite or the ammart, the very things that the red-shirt hardliners have been fighting against?

Why would stripping Thaksin of such a symbol embarrass him? Shouldn't the red shirts instead be glad that their hero would now be "pure" and "equal"?

Some may argue that the proposed action signifies great contempt for his past services to the nation.

However, that argument, too, attaches too much importance to a symbol the red-shirt extremists have tried to belittle in the first place.

Puea Thai: Thaksin being persecuted

Published: 29/10/2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

It’s hard for the government to deny that stripping deposed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra of his police rank is political persecution, opposition Puea Thai Party deputy leader Kanawat Wasinsangvorn said on Thursday.

“Considering the ongoing political situation, most people believe Thaksin is being persecuted in order to reduce his credibility,” Mr Kanawat said.

The former premier was being discredited because Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was suffering continual setbacks.

“Lately, Mr Abhisit had lost face as five leaders of member countries did not show up at the opening ceremony of the Asean summit in Hua Hin last weekend,” he said.

In addition, the prime minister had destroyed previously good relations with Cambodia by using strong words in an interview in retaliation for the Cambodian prime minister's statements about Thaksin.

He claimed that Mr Abhisit was not acceptable to many leaders of Asean. The premier also lost face when a recent poll results showed that he was less popular than Thaksin.

Mr Kanawat said the continuing political retaliation will only escalate the problem of social divisions, and lead to violent confrontation.

He called on Mr Abhisit to be patient and use the limited time he had left in office to perform his duty, rather than playing political games.

He suggested the prime minister quickly settle the problems behind the train strike that inconvenienced so many passengers and the investment impasse in Rayong’s Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, which he said was destroying investor confidence.

Helping out in Cambodia

By MICHELLE LOTTER - North Shore Times

30/10/2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

A Takapuna resident is volunteering her skills in language for a three- month Cambodia trip.

Fiona Whyte, a foreign exchange specialist, is looking forward to working with young Cambodian students through the Global Volunteer Network from November.

"To live and work in Cambodia, to be able to offer my knowledge and skills, that’s the really exciting

aspect of this opportunity."

She is paying for her own food and accommodation as she works with nine teachers from throughout the world as a language teacher in Phnom Penh on a project that provides affordable classes.

The aim is to raise money for the local non- government organisation Cambodian Rural Development Trust who works to improve livelihoods in rural Cambodian communities,

Ms Whyte says.

"Students pay a small fee to attend the classes and funds raised are used to improve the community in areas such as water, sanitation, livestock and agriculture production, and environmental awareness.

"Essentially I’ll be helping students improve their English skills while also assisting in the development of the community."

She travelled to Cambodia last year on a World Vision Cycle Charity Challenge that raised $63,000 and assisted 17,000 people in accessing clean water through the charity’s Cambodian projects.

"It was a wonderful experience made particularly special when World Vision was able to arrange for me to meet the two girls I sponsor.

"Even though we didn’t share the same language, we were able to connect. These people are warm, friendly and amazingly resilient."

She says she is looking forward to seeing the education, health and housing rights projects supported by the trust.

She will help facilitate fair trade with World Vision’s microfinance schemes to distribute goods which are sold in New Zealand.

Vietnam, Cambodia discuss security, extradition pacts

Thursday, October 29, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Vietnam and Cambodia on Thursday discussed an agreement to strengthen public security ties as well as an extradition treaty to deal with crimes along their border areas.

Police said border crimes have become more complex and serious than previous years. Since the beginning of last year, more than 1,890 smuggling cases were detected involving goods worth US$6.2 million.

Other crimes, including drugs, arms and human trafficking, have also thrived along the Vietnam-Cambodia border, which stretches for nearly 1,200 kilometers.

Vietnam has 10 provinces bordering Cambodia with a total population of 12.65 million.

Reported by Bao Thien

Cambodia News In Picture

A Cambodian student holds a U.N,-backed genocide tribunal document book during a book distribution to high school students in Takhmau town of Kandal province, some 15 kilometers (9 miles) south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. The tribunal staff distributed more than 4,000 books about the tribunal for Khmer Rouge leaders accused of genocide to the high school students for their awareness about the court, court officials said.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith) (CAAI News Media)

Reach Sambath, Cambodian chief of Public Affairs Section of the U.N,-backed genocide tribunal, shows a picture of former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea, also known as 'Brother No. 2' after late Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, during a distribution of the U.N,-backed genocide tribunal document books to high school students in Takhmau town of Kandal province, some 15 kilometers (9 miles) south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. The tribunal staff distributed more than 4,000 books about the tribunal for Khmer Rouge leaders accused of genocide to the high school students for their awareness about the court, court officials said.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith) (CAAI News Media)

Cambodian students sit during a distribution of U.N,-backed genocide tribunal document books on Khmer Rouge trial in Takhmau town of Kandal province, some 15 kilometers (9 miles) south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. The tribunal staff officers distributed more than 4,000 books about the tribunal for Khmer Rouge leaders accused of genocide to the high school students for their awareness about the court, court officials said.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith) (CAAI News Media)

Regional Securities Experts Mull Problems

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Nearly two dozen finance experts from five Asian countries met last week in a regional workshop aimed at improving the regulation of securities markets.

On the first day of the four-day workshop, experts from Malaysia and India, both of which established their securities markets years ago, discussed challenges of daily operation of stock markets.

The following days were dedicated to helping officials from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam supervise capital markets.

Cambodia plans to open its stock market in December, with Laos hoping to follow next year. Vietnam has had a decade to build its own exchange but has faced problems.

John Zinkin, CEO of the Securities Industry Development Corporation, said the workshop was the best opportunity for the three countries to find solutions to their individual challenges in advance.

“If you are a developed economy, where you’ve had capital markets for a very long time, people say, OK, we lost some money now and will invest again,” he said. “But when you have a new capital market in emerging countries, if people have a bad experience, they don’t have confidence, and they won’t come back to the market.”

Suy Sokraksmey, an official in the research and training department of Cambodia’s nascent Securities and Exchange Commission, said his five-member team had found shortages in human resources, law enforcement, fair markets and people’s confidence.

Vathana Dalaloy, a securities regulator for Laos’s securities commission, said her main concern was preventing market manipulation on time.

Vietnam’s market had grown quickly since 2006, said Duong Thi Phoung, a member of the surveillance department of the State Security Commission of Vietnam. Both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi have markets, with 500 companies and 300 million trades daily.

However, she said, the Vietnamese stock market faces regulation violations, stock manipulation and orders of stocks without the informing of security firms, all a result of weak regulations and insufficient power in the securities commission, which can’t take direct action.

By comparison, Malaysia, which has had a successful securities market since the 1960s, has strong regulation, with its securities commission able to take direct action. This has included the removal of five companies from its listing.

Suy Sokraksmey, a member of Cambodia’s securities commission, said he was not sure that Cambodia, with its lack of human resources and inexperience in the markets, could follow the Malaysian model.

The finance experts will now have three months to ponder solutions to the issues raised last week and are expected to present their findings in Malaysia in February 2010.

US Export Import Bank Open to Cambodia

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer

Original report from Washington

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

The Export Import Bank of the United States is now open to provide financing for purchases of US exports by private-sector buyers in Cambodia.

The opening follows Cambodia’s removal from a US trade blacklist in June by President Barack Obama, “which has allowed the bank to do a study in order to determine, along with other US agencies, that we should be open to financing import into Cambodia from the United States on repayment terms up to seven years,” Phil Cogan, spokesman for the Ex-Im Bank, told VOA Khmer.

“So what that means is buyers in Cambodia who wish to purchase US high-quality goods and services can do so with potential financing from the United States Export Import Bank that will make their purchases available for financing,” he said.

US export to Cambodia remains small, about $154 million in 2008, compared to $2.4 billion in import from Cambodia. The US products available in Cambodia are vehicles, heavy machinery, electronics equipment, and health and sanitation.

Many local businessmen said they were glad to hear the news.

Cogan said interest rates for Cambodia are at favorable levels, and that even small deals could be made.

The so-called Ex-Im Bank is the official export credit agency of the United States. The federal agency, now in its 75th year, helps to create and maintain US jobs by financing the sales of exports, primarily to emerging markets throughout the world.

Civil Parties Challenge Trial Chamber

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Two civil party groups in the Khmer Rouge tribunal have submitted motions to the Supreme Court Chamber, claiming they have the right to question prison chief Duch on his character and to weigh in on his punishment.

The Trial Chamber in August denied civil parties such access.

Duch, whose real name is Kaing Kek Iev, faces atrocity crimes charges for his role as administrator of Tuol Sleng prison under the Khmer Rouge. He has been on trial since March.

“The prevention is against the spirit of the law,” said Hong Kim Suon, a lawyer for civil party Group 2. “There is no reasonable explanation for this decision.”

Emmanuelle Marchand, coordinator of Avocat Sans Frontiere and legal assistant to civil party Group 3, said Group 2 was claiming the right to make conclusions on Duch’s condemnation, while her group wanted to right to question the accused.

“The civil parties are a part in the trial,” she said. “And as such they have the same rights as the defense and the prosecutor. That is to say the right also to ask questions to experts and witnesses who provide information on the character of the accused.”

Tribunal spokesman Dim Sovannarom confirmed the suits had been submitted to the Supreme Court Chamber but declined further comment.

Opposition Asks King To Enter National Affairs

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer

Original report from Washington

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy and other parliamentarians requested the intervention of King Norodom Sihamoni to improve the lives of the people and resolve longstanding border disputes with Thailand and Vietnam.

Eighteen opposition members met with the king on Tuesday, who “has concerns and pays attention to these issues,” Sam Rainsy told VOA Khmer.

Sam Rainsy pointed to job losses in the wake of the economic crisis, loss of property in land grabs, abuse of the courts and encroachment along the border as issues facing the country and requiring royal intervention.

Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker Cheam Yiep said Sam Rainsy had the right to raise the issues, but he should ensure the allegations are true. He rejected criticism of human rights abuses and said no border violations have occurred.

Telecoms Ordered to Allow Cross-Network Calls

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

The prime minister has ordered telecom companies to reopen cross-network communication, in a bid to ensure fair competition in the communications industry.

In an Oct. 21 letter, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered all telecom companies to stop the practice of barring connections from one company to another or risk losing their licenses.

The denial of cross-network service was leading to chaos in the telecom market, he said.

Last month, Russian-owned mobile firm Beeline accused the high-profile MobiTel of blocking calls from its network to MobiTel customers. MobiTel in turn accused Beeline of price dumping by charging below cost for calls made by its customers to other networks.

Minister of Post and Telecommunications So Khun could not be reached for comment, and other officials at the ministry declined to comment Wednesday.

MobiTel owner Kith Meng declined to comment, and Beeline officials could not be reached for comment.

Smart Mobile spokesman Um Rattana said his firm had already received an order by the government, adding that it has respected the order.

Cambodia has more than 4 million mobile phone users, who get their service from nine different companies.

Sex Trade Continues Despite Laws: Group

By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer

Original report from Washington

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

The sex trade continues to thrive in Cambodia, despite an anti-trafficking law and crackdowns on brothels, an advocate for a leading foundation says.

“The brothels have closed, but the brothel owners won’t be defeated, said Vann Sina, a monitor for the anti-trafficking Mam Somaly Foundation. “It means that they’ve changed into something else, but are still in the sex trade. They’ve changed from brothels to guesthouses, small grocery stores, small karaoke parlors, cafes, massage clubs, restaurants, and sex businesses along the parks. As I said, it’s almost everywhere.”

The foundation was started by Mam Somaly, who herself escaped the sex trade and has become an award-winning advocate protecting young women and girls. Vann Sina gave a talk in Washington last week, in talks sponsored by Free the Slaves, a US non-profit group.

While some brothels have gone underground, Vann Sina said, others remain, with girls as young as five years old serving clients.

Vann Sina, too, was a victim of sex trafficking, brought from Vietnam to Cambodia at age 13, her virginity sold to a Westerner. She suffered druggings and constant abuse when she refused to serve clients until she was rescued by Afesip, another organization run by Mam Somaly, where she became staff.

She urged Cambodia police and other authorities to strengthen their laws and work to end the trade.

“The laws may be ineffective or they may not be implemented well,” said Betsy Bramon, of Free the Slaves, which is based in Washington. “Maybe the system is very corrupt, and that is a very serious problem in Cambodia.”

Law enforcement officials in Cambodia say the Ministry of Interior and local authorities have greatly reduced human trafficking.

Cambodian police have never tolerated any trafficking of women and children, which contradicts the dignity of Cambodian culture, said police spokesman Kirt Chantharith.

“Anyone who knows about the activities related to the women and children trafficking or any other crimes, please report to our police,” he said. “We have two lines for phone calls. You can call free via 117 and 118.”

Sources are confidential, he said.