Roadside vendors forced out by Phnom Penh police

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Police in Daun Penh district’s Phsar Kandal I commune warn vendors Wednesday to clear their stalls and merchandise from the pavement of Street 154.

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Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:02 Chhay Channyda

POLICE fanned out across Phsar Kandal I commune in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district on Wednesday to inform shopkeepers and street vendors that they could no longer block the area’s pavements and roadways with their displays, threatening to confiscate the goods of offending merchants.

“In order to improve public order, businesses on Sisowath Quay have been asked to restrict their activities to shop interiors. However, vendors located on small streets can use half the width of the pavement,” said Nuth Chantha, Phsar Kandal I’s chief of public order police.

“On Thursday, we will come back again to implement the new policy. Violators will have their goods confiscated.”

Nun Chantha added that 70 percent of the shop owners who were informed of the new regulation said they planned to comply.

Hem Him, Phsar Kandal I commune’s chief of police, said the heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic in the area – which includes the riverfront businesses and restaurants on Sisowath Quay popular with foreign tourists – left no room for unregulated commercial spillover.

“The commune’s new policy on sidewalk and road use is part of the Phnom Penh municipality’s plan to widen the city’s streets and avoid the congestion caused by vendors using the streets as their own land,” he said.

Sophal, a watch repairman who declined to give his family name, said he heard the announcement via loudspeaker from his stall in front of a residential building near Kandal Market.

“I will move my stall back from the street, closer in to the building, but many vendors will not comply,” he said. “They paid money to the police to keep their businesses open as usual tomorrow.”

Shoe Squabble: FM blasts flags on footwear

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Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:02 Post Staff

Shoe Squabble

The image of the Cambodian flag on footwear sold through an online shoe retailer has sparked condemnation from a senior government official. Footwear featuring the Cambodian flag, including the image of Angkor Wat, is listed for sale on the Web site of California-based Zazzle. “They cannot do that with the flag of Cambodia, as it is the Cambodian soul,” Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong said Wednesday. “Using the flag of Cambodia seriously affects us because Angkor Wat temple is the most respected symbol of the nation.” Hor Namhong pledged to “find this company” and “make a complaint”. A representative from Zazzle said in an e-mailed response, “While we understand and appreciate that our customers have a diverse set of views and convictions, Zazzle is set up to be an entirely free-market enterprise. We simply provide a digital forum [where] artists and contributors can post products of all sorts.”

Police collect information from K Krom

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Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:01 Tharum Bun and Cameron Wells

THE 24 Khmer Krom refugees deported from Thailand last month were visited Tuesday by district police in Phnom Penh, who gathered information that the group believes may be used to produce identification cards.

The deportees – who have been staying at an unspecified location – had originally planned to visit the chief of Boeung Tumpun commune in a bid to confirm that they were eligible to stay there, but the police officers visited them instead. They have been without identification since being deported from Thailand on December 5 after fleeing Vietnam to escape what they described as persecution and religious repression.

Khmer Krom spokesman Thach Song, 49, said the police requested information including names, birthplaces and ages, as well as details on where the deportees were living and where they came from.

“I think the police came to gather information for identification cards,” he said. “I asked whether the district police will issue the documents, and the police said it was up to the district chief.”

The deputy Boeung Tumpun commune chief confirmed that the police had visited the group in person. “This is a preliminary step,” he said of the visit, during which each member of the group thumbprinted the documents recording the information.

Naly Pilorge, president of the rights group Licadho, said it was somewhat curious that police would be used to collect information for identification cards.

“It’s unusual, and to me the alarm bell rings,” she said. “The normal way does not involve police.”

The deportees – exhausted and poor – have been awaiting official identification of their citizenship since arriving in Cambodia. Without it, they cannot rent a house, go to hospitals or enroll in schools. Five of them have fallen ill, and all are reportedly low on food. On Tuesday they sent a letter to the Red Cross requesting both food and medicine.

Workers at shoe factory pledge to extend protest against firings

Photo by: Sovan Philong

Workers at a shoe factory in Phnom Penh’s Choam Chao district protest the recent firings of three union leaders on Wednesday.

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Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:01 Tep Nimol and May Titthara

ANGRY garment workers on Wednesday vowed to extend their protest against the firings of three union leaders into a second week if factory owners refused to rehire the sacked workers and allow staff to form a new union.

Around 900 workers from the Tage Shoes factory in Phnom Penh’s Choam Chao district began the protest in front of the factory last Friday, and a spokeswoman for the protesters said Wednesday that they would relocate to outside Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house in Takhmao next week if factory owners don’t back down.

“We are waiting for a resolution from the factory owner. If we cannot find a peaceful resolution, we will protest in front of the prime minister’s house for a government intervention,” Sem Vuthy said.

“The factory owner violated 30 articles of Labour Law, and we cannot accept that,” she added.

“Our factories had a union company that served the factory owner rather than the workers, but when we tried to create a new union, the factory owner fired three of the leaders.”

One of the fired union leaders, Svay Phorn Sipha, said, “They fired us only because factory workers want to establish a new union.”

Company officials could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

La Luy, director of the labour disputes office at the Ministry of Labour, said he had tried to convene a meeting for workers’ representatives and the factory owners, but had been unable to get the factory owners to attend.

More VN border markers this year

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Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:01 Meas Sokchea

THE Council of Ministers announced Wednesday that 100 border-demarcation poles would be planted along Cambodia’s shared border with Vietnam this year, as the Kingdom’s top border negotiator engaged in talks with officials in Hanoi.

Var Kimhong, senior minister in charge of border affairs, on Tuesday led a Cambodian delegation to Hanoi in advance of a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers that began Wednesday.

The discussions come as opposition leader Sam Rainsy faces charges of racial incitement and destruction of public property at Svay Rieng provincial court in connection with an October protest during which he joined villagers in uprooting border poles. He is expected to be tried in absentia on January 27.

Government officials have defended the demarcation process, but Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann criticised it on Wednesday, saying the talks were not transparent and could lead to farmers along the border losing land to encroachments. “The people will suffer because of these border posts,” he warned.

Night market upstarts spark vendor dispute in Siem Reap

Photo by: Byron Perry

Market vendors in Siem Reap are up in arms about a new night market that has been erected at about 5pm every evening for the past two weeks in the middle of the road east of Pub Street.

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Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:01 Rann Reuy and Byron Perry

Siem Reap Province

ANIGHT market war is brewing in Siem Reap town in response to upstart vendors who have begun erecting new stalls in the middle of a main thoroughfare next to Pub Street.

Collectively called the Siem Reap Night Market, the new stalls have sucked business away from the Angkor Night Market and the Noon Night Market, and blocked a major thoroughfare, critics say.

Seng Phalkun, owner of the Noon Night Market, said he has given provincial officials letters of protest and collected more than 500 thumbprints from vendors at the Noon Night Market and Angkor Night Market, business owners near the Siem Reap Night Market, tuk-tuk drivers, tour guides and taxi drivers.

“What they’re doing is totally wrong because officials have told people not to use the sidewalk to do business, but now they’re using the public street,” Seng Phalkun said.

The new market stalls have been open for the past two weeks and are set up around 5pm every evening in the middle of the road east of Pub Street. Siem Reap town Governor Tep Bunchhay said the stalls are temporary and have not yet been approved by the provincial governor.

“Provincial officials did not give us complete permission, but they told us to run it temporarily,” he said. “We will close it if there are no buyers.”

Bun Tharith, Siem Reap deputy governor, declined to comment.

Huy Leng, owner of the new Siem Reap Night Market, defended the decision to open stalls in the road, saying that it allows vendors to rent space at cheap prices.

“I rent stalls to vendors for US$50 because the people will sell the goods cheaply, clients will buy more, and foreigners will compliment Cambodia on its cheap goods,” he said.

Huy Leng said he has 100 stalls now, and that all of them are rented.

Not all business owners around the Siem Reap Night Market are angry, however.

“Business has been the same. It’s not affecting me that much, but I like that it’s busier around here in general,” said Hon Hsiu Yen, the owner of vintage clothing store Bubble T.

But Khoun Naren, manager and co-owner of Cherry Blossom Boutique, said: “It’s not good. It’s difficult for firemen to enter the street. They pay cheap rent while we pay $1,500. We’re working on fighting it.”

Border row defendants get lawyer

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Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:01 Meas Sokchea

TWO of the villagers facing charges at Svay Rieng provincial court in relation to the uprooting of border-demarcation posts have obtained legal counsel for their upcoming trial, a rights groups said on Wednesday.

Sam Sokong, a lawyer from the Cambodian Defenders Project, is set to defend Meas Srey, 39 and Prom Chea, 41, currently being detained at Svay Rieng provincial prison, according to a statement issued by the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC) on Wednesday.

Three other villagers – Prak Chea, 28, Prak Koeun, 38, and Neang Phally, 39 – are still on the run from the authorities.

The five villagers have been accused of purposely removing wooden border-demarcation posts along with opposition leader Sam Rainsy after a Buddhist ceremony in Chantrea district on October 25.

The two villagers will face trial on January 27, and Sam Rainsy – who is currently out of the country – is set to be tried in absentia.

Lawyer Sam Sokong confirmed on Wednesday that he will appear in court as scheduled to defend his clients, but said he was not yet clear on the particulars of the case.

“I will go to defend my clients. I can’t say whether my clients have been accused illegally or legally because I haven’t yet seen the case,” he said.

Hang Chhaya, president of CHRAC, confirmed that the Cambodian Defenders Project would not request any fees from the families of the villagers.

Trade with Hong Kong takes turn for the worst

Forklift trucks move containers at the Port of Hong Kong at the end of October. Bilateral trade between Hong Kong and Cambodia failed to recover in November.BLOOMBERG

FalliNG trade

Hong Kong trade was down sharply over the first 11 months. Here is how bilateral trade with the territory compared to other major trading partners with Cambodia:

South Korea down 12pc*

Hong Kong down 24pc

Vietnam down 26pc

Thailand down 28pc*

*Only figures for first 10 months available

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Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:00 May Kunmakara

After falling over 18 percent in October, trade with Hong Kong plunged 24 percent in November, down from ’08 by over $100m

BILATERAL trade between Cambodia and Hong Kong slid even further in November to an annualised 24.4 percent, according to figures from city’s Trade Development Council (HKTDC) released Wednesday.

The statistics mark a significant slump when compared to the year-on-year data for October – a month which saw trade fall from US$49 million in 2008 to $40 million in 2009, a dive of 18.3 percent.

In November last year, Hong Kong and Cambodia recorded bilateral trade worth $34 million, compared to $45 million in 2008.

The new data mark the latest fall in what was a bleak first 11 months in 2009 for economic activity. Between January and November, two-way trade between the pair plummeted to $437 million from $575 million in 2008.

But officials within the HKTDC and the government remained positive about the future of Cambodia’s bilateral trade with the Chinese territory, a major trading partner for the Kingdom.

HKTDC Director Tina Phan said Wednesday that although trade between Hong Kong and Cambodia had been affected by the global economic slowdown last year – which led to a reduction in garment orders from the European Union and the United States – domestic companies can still use Hong Kong as a platform to export products to other countries.

“Everyone is upbeat about the recovery signs for trade in 2010,” said Tina. “However, it will take some time for investment to return to Cambodia.”

Ok Boung, secretary of state for the Ministry of Commerce, agreed that there had been signs of a recovery in trade with Cambodia.

In the first 11 months of 2009, Cambodia’s exports to Hong Kong increased 32.5 percent to $12 million from $9 million the previous year. In the same period, Hong Kong’s total exports to Cambodia dipped 24.8 percent to $425 million from $565 million.

“We have seen some improvements recently,” Ok Boung said. “I think that in the following year, our trade with foreign countries will be better compared to last year. The new China-ASEAN Free Trade Area will open more access for trade exchange.”

Such trade could bolster Cambodian imports of Hong Kong goods, which were hit hard in the first 11 months of 2009 compared to 2008.

Imports of fabrics and woven material were down 48.8 percent to $3 million – yet another indication of a continuing downturn in the garment sector – telecommunications equipment and parts dropped 17.8 percent to $46 million, and electrical machinery and apparatus decreased 26.7 percent.

On Wednesday, Hong Kong’s financial secretary John Tsang warned that the territory’s economy could “still be rather bumpy going forward” unless a turnaround in the United States took hold. Like Cambodia, Hong Kong relies on consumption from the world’s largest economy.

Tsang said he believes the US may suffer a “double-dip” recession when the American government’s economic stimulus measures wind up.

Last month, the city’s Chief Executive Donald Tsang added that Hong Kong’s economy could be in for a further downturn by mid-2010.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP

Police Blotter: 14 Jan 2010

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Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:01 Tha Piseth

COPS HUNT FOR CLUES IN DROWING DEATH

Police are looking for clues into the death of an unidentified man whose body was found floating in a river near Battambang town Monday. Two local residents told police they had often seen the man getting drunk during the evening. Villagers have speculated that the man died after he became intoxicated and tumbled into the river. Police confirmed that the man died from drowning.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

WOMAN ARRESTED AFTER DRUG BUST

Anti-drug police in Banteay Meanchey province have seized 1,900 tablets of methamphetamine after arresting three women earlier this week. Police originally suspected that the trio caught with the tablets were mules who planned to transport the drugs. However, two of the women were later released because it was decided that they were not related to the case, police said. The two women then sped off in a car that was seized at the time of arrest. The remaining woman remains in custody.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

POOR DANCING LEADS TO WEDDING ASSAULT

A 28-year-old man was stabbed in the hand with a knife-sharpener Saturday, and his younger brother was struck three times in the forehead while dancing during a wedding party Saturday. Police said the violence was sparked after the younger brother accidentally stepped on another man’s foot during the boogie session in Kampong Thom. The man took offence at the younger brother’s poor dancing. But when the older brother tried to intervene, he was stabbed. Police are looking for four suspects believed to have been involved in the violent assaults.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

MAN ACCUSED OF RAPING GIRL, 9

An 18-year-old man from Takeo province has been arrested after he lured a 9-year-old girl to a nearby primary school and allegedly raped her. Police say the incident happened after the suspect was at the girl’s house helping her with housework. Police say he lured the girl to a nearby classroom. The man was arrested immediately after the girl’s father told authorities Sunday.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

Singpore firm to invest $4.5m in new lottery

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Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:00 Nguon Sovan

A SINGAPORE-BASED company has announced a US$4.5million plan to buy 25 percent of shares in Cambodia’s only licensed sports lottery.

The board of directors of PSC Corporation Ltd said Tuesday that the company had entered into a sale-and-purchase agreement with Sport Social Affairs Co (SSA) share-holders Lin Lun and Ly Hout.

The company has agreed to buy 250 shares, worth $1.25 million, representing a quarter of the share capital in the business.

SSA has imminent plans to launch a national lottery in the Kingdom. An extra $3.25 million is being included in the potential deal to take into account its earning potential.

Vath Chamroeun, secretary general of the National Sports Foundation, which currently holds 20 percent of SSA’s shares, said Wednesday that the proposed acquisition, although yet to be finalised, is a good start for the venture.

SSA, which set up in January last year, has a 30-year exclusive agreement with the National Sports Foundation of the National Olympic Council of Cambodia.

It is the organisation’s official partner and investor in development programmes. This means it has been issued with a licence from the Ministry of Finance to become the Kingdom’s only sports lottery business.

“SSA will be the only company in Cambodia that operates the national lottery to support national sports,” added Vath Chamroeun. “Now we are preparing to open the lottery operation. It is expected to launch within the next two months.”

Last year Prime Minister cracked down on gambling in the Kingdom, targeting in particular sports betting which forced the closure of CamboSix, a chain of bookmakers across the country.

Vietnam Air profits plunge

A security guard watches over two Vietnam Airlines aircraft at Hanoi airport. Vietnam’s national carrier - a stakeholder in Cambodia Angkor Air - says it is looking to become the hub for travel to the Kingdom. AFP

Vietnam looks to become Cambodia hub

THE director of Vietnam Airlines’ representative office in Japan, Nguyen Quoc Tuan, has said that Vietnam hopes to establish itself as a hub for onward travel to Cambodia. Speaking at the inauguration Tuesday of the airline’s new route between Hanoi and Osaka in Japan’s second-largest city, Nguyen added that Vietnam also hoped to serve a similar role for Laos, according to a Vietnam News Agency report Wednesday. Thailand has traditionally served as the main gateway to the Kingdom, but political protests closed Bangkok’s main airport, Suvarnabhumi, at the end of 2008, an event that prevented some passengers from travelling on to Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. Vietnam overtook South Korea to become the main source of arrivals to Cambodia last year, but many of these were via overland routes rather than flights, according to official government statistics. Overall air arrivals fell 2.84 percent for the first 11 months of 2009. On Wednesday, Van Ha, section manager for Vietnam Airlines in Cambodia, declined to offer a breakdown of how the decline in air travel had hit the carrier’s operations in the Kingdom during 2009, adding that the airline would release results next week. Cambodia Angkor Air – the Kingdom’s new national carrier, which is part-owned by Vietnam Airlines – said last month it had already turned profitable following its launch at the end of July. STEVE FINCH

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Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:00 AFP

HANOI – Vietnam Airlines profits tumbled 42 percent year-on-year as the state-owned flag carrier was hit by the effects of the global recession and swine flu outbreak.

The airline’s pre-tax profit fell to US$8.1 million last year, down from $14 million a year earlier, it said late Tuesday.

The carrier also cited “epidemic outbreaks” for its profit fall, an apparent reference to the global A (H1N1) swine flu pandemic.

But the airline noted it had still posted profits as other international airlines suffered losses in 2009, one of the worst years on record for airlines following the global economic crisis.

“Vietnam Airlines still earned profits” while increasing its fleet and opening new domestic routes, it said.

VNA’s revenue for the year reached $1.3 billion, against $1.56 billion reported a year earlier. The 2009 figure was four percent higher than the target, it said.

The airline said it transported 9.3 million passengers – up from 8.8 million the previous year. One third of the passengers were foreigners, it said.

Vietnam Airlines is targeting 11 million passengers this year.

The International Air Transport Association, an industry group, has said global passenger demand is expected to grow this year after a fall during a difficult 2009 for the industry.

Shares of Asia’s largest carrier, Japan Airlines (JAL), have plunged this week on fears the carrier is preparing for a court-backed bankruptcy filing.

Vietnam Airlines said it was due Wednesday to begin direct flights to Osaka five times a week to replace previous cooperative flights with JAL.

Vietnam Airlines expects to triple its fleet of 50 aircraft by 2020, and officials have said it is seeking to become one of the region’s leading carriers.

New towers suffering from office rental lull

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Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:00 Soeun Say

A NEW US$3 million tower in Phnom Penh may be put up for sale if the building’s rental potential is not reached, its managing director told the Post on Wednesday, following a lack of demand for the office space.

Construction began on the eight-storey K-Tower, located on the corner of Russian Boulevard and Street 257, in 2007. It is set to be completed next month.

But Managing Director Keo Wanna told the Post on Wednesday that he would consider selling the block for $3.5 million if he cannot make the most of the rental market.

Despite having announced last week that the space was up for rent, he has not accepted a single client. Instead, he is holding out for offers from big businesses that can rent whole floors at a time.

“As Cambodia’s real estate sector is in a downturn, the rental market is very quiet,” he said.

“Since we announced the space was available for rent last month, we did get a lot of potential clients – but they were only focusing on small spaces of around 100 square metres.

“We don’t want to take them to rent our place. We need big clients who want to rent a floor or more.”

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As Cambodia’s real estate sector is in a downturn, the rental market is very quiet."

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Space in the tower is available for rent for $13 per square metre, which includes a security and cleaning service. Keo Wanna said it could provide a good base for bank operations, showrooms or stock broker offices.

He added that the location – opposite the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce in the capital’s Toul Kork district – would be a good base for foreign companies because of a lack of traffic in the area and a negligible risk of flooding.

Space also lies empty in another Phnom Penh landmark – the Canadia Tower, Cambodia’s tallest building – due to a lull in the rental market.

Su Si, director of Mega Asset Management Co, which owns the Canadia Tower, said: “Nowadays, it is very quiet on the market. We’ve got only two big companies, iOne and Canon, to rent our ground floor.”

She explained that potential clients are demanding cheap prices of around $6 to $7 per square metre, despite the standard rate for a metre of space being around $25 – a $3 to $5 discount on the initial rental rate marketed.

“We cannot rent to them because our place is an international standard,” said Su Si, before adding that the company is now offering a 30 percent discount for customers who agree to rent space for one year.

According to Canadia Tower’s brochure, it has 12 floors of offices available for rent, which represent just over 10,724 square metres of prime work space. Were Canadia Bank able to secure full occupancy, this would represent about $3.22 million in rental revenues per year at $25 per square metre.

Were Canadia to accept tenants at the lowest rate it is being offered – $6 per square metre – it would therefore lose close to $2.5 million in office rental revenue per year, a staggering sum and a sign of persistent low demand in the property sector.

Last month CB Richard Ellis Country Manager Daniel Parkes predicted that demand for office space would grow within the next five years, however he also projected that available office space in the capital would almost double by 2013 based on the current projects underway.

Children of Sunrise Village celebrated in new exhibition

Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON

Kids perform the coconut dance in Kandal province. The dance will be performed at the opening of Dance to the Light at FCC.

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While travelling overseas I became disillusioned with the way many ngos wasted money."
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Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:00 Bennett Murray

Opening tonight at the FCC, Dance to the Light is photographer Tracey Shelton’s latest show and looks at the beauty of dance through children’s eyes

TRACEY Shelton’s Dance to the Light photo exhibition, which depicts the lives of orphans at the Sunrise Children’s Village, debuts tonight at the FCC.

“The idea we had was to take the traditional dances the children perform and take them into the traditional areas where the dances evolved,” says Shetlon. “The title of the exhibition and the images themselves evoke a sense of hope, new directions, and new beginnings for the children.”

Proceeds from the exhibition will go toward Sunrise’s funding.

Shelton came to Cambodia as a volunteer at Sunrise in 1998, saying she was inspired by an interview she saw on TV in Australia with Sunrise president Geraldine Cox.

“Why did I volunteer? I was young and stupid and I thought I could change the world,” Shelton says with a laugh. “While travelling overseas I became disillusioned with the way many NGOs wasted money.”

Sunrise, however, was different. “I liked Geraldine’s principles and her ideas behind running the orphanage,” says Shelton. “I got in touch with Geraldine, and she says I was the only volunteer she hired not through an agency.”

Shelton moved between Cambodia and Australia until 2005, when she settled in Phnom Penh permanently, working as a photographer for the Phnom Penh Post for four years.

The orphanage, which has a branch in Siem Reap and an upcoming one in Sihanoukville, houses 120 children in Kandal province.

“We don’t turn anyone away for any reason,” said Cox, pointing out that many of the orphans are HIV-positive.

The orphanage’s dance school aims to help the children’s development while promoting Khmer heritage.

“The principle behind the dance school at the orphanage is that the classes are not compulsory. Kids can choose to be involved for as long as they want,” Shelton said.

The classes also help to boost the children’s confidence.

“There are a couple of acid attack victims at the school. One is so outgoing, but the other, Thy, was painfully shy, and would wear her hair down across her face,” says Shelton. The girl opened up, though, after performing with her dance group at the Sydney Opera House last October.

“Having so much support and having so many people coming to see them – now she has her hair tied back and she is doing fantastically well.”

The orphanage also provides state-approved training in computer skills, English, sewing, carpentry and agriculture.

Seyha Ban, a former orphan at Sunrise who now studies business in Sydney, says the orphanage was immensely helpful for his development.

“Sunrise gave us everything; education, food, and shelter,” says Seyha Ban. “I believe that the poor children and the orphans, once they come to Sunrise, they will definitely get a better future.”

The Phnom Penh Post News in Brief

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Battle of generations

Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:00 Robert Starkweather

Two generations of Kampong Cham fighters will clash Saturday when veteran Nuon Soriya takes on rising star Cheam Adam at the CTN boxing arena. One of the most recognisable names in Kun Khmer, Nuon Soriya, 29, began his career as a kickboxer 18 years ago on the village circuit in Banteay Meanchey. 21-year-old Cheam Adam first gained recognition as a fighter in 2008 as the inaugural winner of CTN’s reality series Kun Khmer Champion. Both fighters are coming off rare knockout losses, Nuon Soriya to Frenchman Yvonick Hubert, and Cheam Adam to Morn Kimlong. Also on the card, ISKA world middleweight champion Vorn Viva will face Long Sophal. Fights begin Saturday at 2:30pm.

Agencies bring in maids

Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:00 Post Staff

EMPLOYMENT agencies in Malaysia are bringing over about three times as many maids from Cambodia since Indonesia blocked their workers last year following abuse allegations, according to press reports. The Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies President Alvy Bavutty said that up to 3,000 Cambodians were making the trip to work as maids every month, according to a report Wednesday in the Malay Mail. Last year three times as many Cambodians went to work legally in Malaysia compared to 2008, according to Ministry of Labour figures released Monday, of whom over 85 percent were women.

Mangroves make money

Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:00 Chun Sophal

A REPRESENTATIVE of Peam Krasaob Natural Resources Protection Community reported the project earned 167 million riels (US$40,000) from ticket revenues last year for a protected mangrove area off Koh Kong province. Chut Tith, chief of the community, said the figure probably represented an increase on 2008 – although he was unable to provide data – citing increased flows of tourists to the area, most of whom were Cambodian. The project is targeting $70,000 for 2010, he added, a sum that would be reinvested in the community. Statistics showed 51,400 Cambodian tourists visited last year, and just 2,560 foreigners.

Exchange design holdup

Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:00 Steve Finch

WORLD City Co Ltd, the South Korean firm responsible for the design and construction of Cambodia’s first stock exchange, has still not received the go-ahead from the government on floor plans for the building, according to the firm’s Vice President Duk-kon Kim. Construction cannot go ahead at Camko City on the outskirts of Phnom Penh until the Ministry of Finance clears the architectural plans, he said Wednesday. The government has already passed plans for the main structure. Kim said it will take four months to complete the shell of the structure, which must be completed before the onset of the rainy season. The remaining interior work would take about the same amount of time to build, he added.

Within the Last 15 Years, Chinese Investors Control Projects Worth Up to US$6,511 Million – Wednesday, 13.1.2010

http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/

Posted on 14 January 2010

The Mirror, Vol. 14, No. 647

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“Phnom Penh: Statistics over a course of 15 years show that Chinese investors invested the largest amount among all foreign investors in Cambodia.

“According to figures received from the Council for the Development of Cambodia late last week, China invested from 1994 to September 2009 as much as US$6,511 million in Cambodia.

“The same source added that after the Chinese investment, South Korea stands at the second position with total investments of about US$2,856 million; the third is Malaysia with US$2,199 million; the fourth [?] the European Union more than US$1,135 million; fifth [?] is the USA with US$1,179 million; sixth, Thailand with about US$748 million; seventh, Taiwan with about US$654 million; eighth, Singapore with about US$519 million; ninth, Hong Kong with about US$278 million; and tenth, Japan with about US$148 million.

“Most of the investment projects of the 10 investors focus on tourism and on industry.

“The same source went on to say that tourism received up to 48% of the investments, followed by 23% for the industry, and also 23% for services. However, there is little investment in agriculture, which received only 6%.

“Based on the above figures, within 15 years, it is noticed that in 2008 alone, foreign investment in Cambodia grew up to US$10,891 million, followed by 2006 with US$4,415 million; 2007 had about US$2,673 million, and by September 2009 it was only US$1,610 million.”

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.18, #5098, 13.1.2010

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:

Wednesday, 13 January 2010

Military Plans Prolonged Border Defense

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

13 January 2010

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Cambodia has begun reinforcing its troops along the Thai border and plans to keep a strong military presence on the border until at least 2014, the Ministry of Defense says in a review.

In a report distributed to local media, Minister of Defense Tea Banh said the border would be bolstered “to ensure national protection.”

The Ministry of Defense is conducting a five-year review and making plans for the next five years.

The five-year plan includes recruitment of new forces and addition of equipment. Cambodian soldiers are engaged in a protracted standoff with Thai troops along the border at Preah Vihear temple.

Sporadic skirmishes since July 2008 have left at least seven soldiers dead.

“To ensure national protection, the Ministry of National Defense, the general command, have reinforced forces along the western and northern border and recruited new forces along with new equipment, for quality in combat,” Tea Banh said in the report, which was issued to defense officials Tuesday.

The document highlights reforms that include consolidating infantry, maritime and air forces.

Angkor Shoe Draws Ire of Foreign Minister

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

13 January 2010

via CAAI News Media

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong on Wednesday condemned the use of the Cambodian flag in the production of a new line of footwear advertised on the Internet and reported in local media this week.

The shoes were designed with the iconic symbol of Angkor Wat, on Keds canvas, infuriating many Cambodians and irking the foreign minister, who lambasted the design before flying to Hanoi Wednesday.

“The shoe is insulting and defames Cambodian honor and dignity,” Hor Namhong told reporters at Phnom Penh International Airport. “This we cannot tolerate.”

Similar shoes were designed around the flags of many other countries, but Hor Namhong said he was concerned only with the image of Cambodia.

“In fact, the shoe issue affects our nation because Angkor Wat is a respectable [symbol] to the Cambodian people and the nation,” he said. “So Cambodia must investigate the production of the shoe. And then we will protest.”

Angkor Wat is a powerful national icon for Cambodians. In 2008, flip-flop sandals bearing the temple’s image appeared in markets in Vietnam’s Tai Ninh province, provoking a government investigation.

In November 2008, a Thai man was arrested for carving the temple’s image in a slab of concrete in front of a public toilet in Poipet, on the Thai border.

In 2003, unconfirmed rumors that a Thai actress had claimed the temple for Thailand sparked a night or rioting and looting in Phnom Penh that destroyed the Thai Embassy and many Thai businesses.

“Angkor Wat is the symbol of the Cambodian nation,” Hor Namhong said. “Angkor Wat and the national flag of Cambodia always stay in all Cambodians’ souls, hearts and minds. We cannot accept the production of these shoes, and the company must be responsible for violating Cambodia.”

Justice Officials Graduate US Tech Course

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

13 January 2010

via CAAI News Media

Nearly 100 Cambodian justice officials on Wednesday received diplomas for a five-month technology course sponsored by the US, one that aims to improve the judiciary’s ability to track cases and detainees and analyze trends.

The 97 officials were trained on an information system being installed by the US government, “which will modernize the way the Ministry of Justice documents the work of the courts,” according to a US Embassy statement.

“Justice officials will take this knowledge to use to work with the general administration and insert the data on all cases that are provided from provincial courts,” said Pen Someathea, deputy general-director of research and judicial development at the ministry.

The US is providing $2 million in 2010 to strengthen Cambodia’s judicial system, which critics say is politically biased and susceptible to corruption.

The information system anticipates an improved judiciary, where “more and more Cambodians come to trust the country’s courts to resolve disputes,” the embassy said.

The system includes a database to track human trafficking cases “and allow for analysis of trends in the prosecution of human trafficking,” the embassy said.

It will also track detainees, allowing officials to identify excessive detentions, another criticism of today’s courts.

The ministry will also be able to chart annual trends in “caseloads and clearance rates” to identify backlogs and reduce case delays, the embassy said.

Little Change in Tonle Sap Fishing Villages

By Ros Sothea, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

13 January 2010

via CAAI News Media

A foul odor rises from the water of the Tonle Sap lake, where sunlight reflects off the surface and the heat of noon pervades three floating villages. The floating houses here are small, some without walls, others pierced with holes. Wind shakes the homes, as do the wakes of boats that pass by from time to time.

In these floating villages—Chnok Trou, Kampong Preah and Sess Slap—30 kilometers north of Kampong Chhnang town, some women prepare dry fish or prepare them to make paste; others care for pigs.

Little has changed here since the national elections in July 2008, when campaigning officials promised to improve villagers’ lives, to combat illegal fishing and corruption and to improve agriculture.

"They promised to help the poor, to let people become rich before the state,” said Khieu Sokha, a 37-year-old villager, as he sat on a small boat filled with wood. “But finally villagers are still poor.”

Sitting in a wooden chair in his floating home, his back curved under 71 years of living, Chhoun Sam Ban, who was born here, said the political parties have not built a close relationship with villagers.

“They respected some [promises], and haven’t others,” he said with a dry face. “We are the poor, and we are not taken care of.”

Not all share his point of view. Thay Kim San, a leading businessman in Chnok Trou commune, said officials repsected promises, “especially in infrastructure.”

Here there are 195 families: about 9,000 villagers, and 1,500 voters, a mix of mostly ethnic Khmers, Vietnamese and Cham, who all sell their fish to Phnom Penh, Vietnam or Poipet, on the Thai border.

Villagers here say their fish yields have been declining in recent years.

“First of all, because of the destruction of flooded forests, and second because 90 percent of villagers depend on fishing,” said Phat Phalla, an environmental activist in the commune.

Oeur Rattanak, an activist for the Human Rights Party in the commune, shared the same view.

“Not many villagers have seen an improvement in their living conditions,” he said, adding there had been some political discrimination in the community.

Five parties competed here in 2008, where the ruling Cambodian People’s Party gained the most votes, followed by the Sam Rainsy, Norodom Ranariddh and Human Rights parties, successively.

The commune council is led by the CPP, which has four seats, versus three seats for the Sam Rainsy Party.

Cheang Kong, an SRP council member, said people’s lives were “improving,” even if there were some negative points.

“We’ve achieved our committment in developing the commune, in assuring security,” said Samreth Heng, CPP head of the commune council. “But we still have been incapable of having the means of securing villagers when they are in an emergency.”

In 2008 and 2009, the government released 64 million riel, about $15,400, to develop the commune, but the adminstration has not yet used it, “because it is a small amount,” Samreth Heng said. Local officials were waiting for the 2010 budget, around 60 million riel, about $14,400, he said.

Meanwhile, the rest of the community depends on the support of non-governmental agencies and the Asian Development Bank, which is focusing on women capacity development, small infrastructure, fisheries and pork.

Cham Writing Founders Under Malay, Arabic

By Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer

Original report from Phnom Penh

13 January 2010

via CAAI News Media

Bhann Tes carefully opened a thick holy book, whose pages have turned brown with age. He fetched a small notebook from a shelf and began writing, copying the work line by line.

“These are Cham scripts, which look like Khmer Pali scripts,” the 76-year-old Muslim said recently, sounding out the religious texts in his single-room him in Samaki Meanchey district, Kampong Chhnang province. “I try to copy the scripts so that they will stay on after I pass away.”

Despite the efforts of men like Bhann Tes, researchers say Cham scripts are likely to disappear in the next few decades if they continue to be ignored as they are now.

Emiko Stock, a French anthropologist who has studied the Cham, a minority Muslim group in Cambodia, for the past decade, said only a few elder Chams can still read documents written in the Cham language.

“Now there are just a few old Cham literates left,” she said, “so it is a great concern that in the next five to 20 years, there will probably be no one who can read or understand poems, history or other documents in Cham.”

Cham illiteracy could result in the loss of Cham tradition, history and culture as a whole, said Stock, who speaks Khmer fluently.

Cham scripts are still in use by Cham people in Vietnam, who are mostly Hindu. Cambodia’s half a million Cham, who fled the fallen kingdom of Champa in today’s Vietnam, tend to use Arabic rather than Cham.

Stock said the trend of globalization has put Cham scripts in danger, as young Chams rarely learn their own writing.

Matt Roshat, 26, said he never learned Cham writing, even though he speaks the language. Instead, he learned Arabic and Javy, a mix of Arabic and Malay.

“We don’t know why we should learn Cham scripts when we can use Javy to demonstrate Cham pronunciation and Arabic to read and understand the Quran,” said Matt Roshat, a university graduate who works for a local non-governmental organization in Phnom Penh.

Matt Roshat is a member of a larger and more orthodox Islamic community in Cambodia, which prefers Islamic practices with Arabic or Malaysian touches.

The smaller Muslim sect, called Imam San, is the guardian of Cham scripts and culture. Imam San leader Kai Tam said the reason more and more young Chams prefer Arabic to their own scripts is that they are attracted by materialism.

“At the moment, they prefer learning from the other side, because that side has money, and we don’t,” Kai Tam said, referring to the larger Muslim community. However, he still writes and compiles the Quran in Cham for distribution and does whatever he can to preserve the Cham scripts.

“I am teaching the scripts to youths and villagers in their homes, in mosques and in any place I can teach, so that our Cham traditions, customs and culture will live forever,” he said in a recent interview at his home in Kampong Tralach district.

Sos Kamry, a mufti for the larger Muslim community in Cambodia, said any tradition affecting or in contrast with Islam must be abandoned or forgotten.

Emiko Stock said that any tradition or culture that does not change at all ultimately will die, so they need modernizing. However, she said the preservation of scripts is also needed for a tradition’s survival.

“When the young do not want to learn their own scripts today,” she said, “tomorrow there will be no one to be able to read books or anything left behind by their elders.”

More verbal attacks from Hun Sen to Thailand

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has reportedly said the days are numbered for the government his Thai counterpart. [Radio Australia]

via CAAI News Media

Girish Sawlani

Last Updated: 7 hours 5 minutes ago

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has launched a scathing verbal attack on the Thai government, saying the current administration's days are numbered.

He has told an audience at a student graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh that Thailand's current government, led by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva would not survive much longer.

He's also labelled Thailand's Foreign Minister the "chief of terrorists" for orchestrating the collapse of the previous government, and says he's waiting for a new administration to take power before restoring diplomatic relations.

His comments follow a series diplomatic incidents over the past 15 months, that include deadly border clashes centering on an ancient Buddhist temple, and Cambodia's appointment of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as a government adviser.

Thaksin was thrown from office in a 2006 coup and is a wanted fugitive in his homeland.

Though both countries have acknowledged that ties are at an all-time low, Thailand is refusing to weigh in on the latest outburst from Phnom Penh.

Thai Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn told Radio Australia that Bangkok is firmly focused on improving relations with its neighbour.

"I assume he was talking to Cambodian students. So we're not going to comment on what he said to his students," he said.

He says Cambodia's recent pardon and release of a Thai man accused of stealing security information is a positive step in the countries' relations.

Domestic benefits

Professor Carl Thayer, a Southeast Asia analyst at the University of New South Wales, says present developments are playing well into the hands of Hun Sen on the domestic front.

"Thai relations with Cambodia have been a political football inside Cambodia, and Hun Sen has been playing the issue for several years now to maximum effect," he said.

"I think we're just seeing this that he used that in the elections in 2008 to make a major victory because of the Preah Vihear temple incident. And with relations at an all-time low, he just gained some popularity at home. At the same time, he has his own opposition on the run. So he's reigning supreme and enjoying the political game."

Part of that political game could be Thaksin's appointment, which has infuriated the Thai government and prompted a recall of ambassadors from both countries.

Cambodia has refused Thailand's requests to extradite Thaksin, saying the charges against the former prime minister are politically motivated.

"Yes, Cambodia always supports the appointment of Mr. Thaksin as an economic adviser to the government of Cambodia. And the appointment, it is the sovereign right of the Cambodian government to appoint his Excellency Mr. Thaksin," said Cambodian Government spokesman Koy Kuorn.

That statement doesn't bode well for future diplomatic relations.

Thai Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn says if that's the case, "then certain negotiations may not be able to move forward because any country in this position would do the same thing when there is a possibility of being put in a disadvantaged position."

China to invest over 550 mln USD in Cambodia's hydropower plant

http://www.chinaview.cn/

2010-01-13

via CAAI News Media

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Deputy Minister for Industry, Mines and Energy Ith Praing said on Wednesday that China Huadian Corp., one of China's biggest state-owned power companies, will build a 558 million U.S. dollars hydropower plant in Cambodia's southwest province.

Ith Praing said that the Cambodia's government has approved the project since last year for the company to run 30-year investment of Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project in Koh Kong province.

"The company has been seeking financial support for this project and once the money is there, the construction to begin soon," Ith Praing told Xinhua.

China Huadian Corp., inked last week a financing deal with the Export-Import Bank of China during a regional gathering in China's South-western city of Nanning, according to a news report.

The "government's goal is to lower the price of electricity to attract more investments," Ith Praing said, adding "we would have sufficient electricity by 2011 or 2012."

Currently, the country produced 300 megawatts which is much less than the total demand, and the unit price is 0.20 U.S. dollars per kilowatts hour which is double higher compare with the price in its neighbors of Thailand and Vietnam.

Cambodia has planned to build nine hydropower plants by 2019 to generate 1942 megawatts of power in which Cambodia saw the Chinese-funded plants will play vital part of the plan to feed the country's electricity-starved economy.

Editor: Han Jingjing

Explore Mekong Discovery Trail: The Northeastern River Life in Cambodia

via CAAI News Media

2010-01-13 - Do you want to enjoy the unique travel experience while contributing your financial support to accelerate economic growth of the poor in sustainable manner?

It would not be at the end of traveling in Cambodia if you miss to explore Mekong Discovery Trial and experience the northeastern life of Cambodia where diverse natural beauty and warm-hearting greetings of the people create a remembrance experience. Mekong discovery trial will bring to explore the river life adventure along an extensive Mekong in Kratie and Stung Treng

Province of Kingdom of Wonder.

Mekong discovery trail aims to mitigate and promote dolphin conservation through sustainable tourism and to diversify tourism product in response to an increasing demand for ecotourism. A wide range of touristic activities can be enjoyed along the trail such as Mekong River Dolphin Viewing, horse cart, mountain biking, house boating, local product, fishing, camping, and forest trekking which are the foremost interested activities for the ecotourism visitors, nature lovers and nature-based visitors.

Along the Mekong trial local people can provide you diversified experiences with their local product and their hospitality mood. Also, you have chance to see a critical endangered Mekong River Dolphin whist optimize impact on the environment they depend on. By using this trail and allow yourself to economically contribute to the local people will help the river communities with the positive change of local livelihood.

For Cambodia Tour

packages: www.tourismindochina.com/cambodia/tours/

U.S. help Cambodian judicial officials on IT data base

http://www.chinaview.cn/

2010-01-13

via CAAI News Media

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Ninety-seven members of Cambodia's Ministry of Justice received diplomas on Wednesday after they had successfully completing an intensive information technology (IT) training program funded by the United States.

The statement released by the United States Embassy in Phnom Penh said the five-month course -- the first of its kind offered at the ministry -- provided basic technology skills to the graduates and trained them on the use of an electronic information system that is being installed at the ministry by the United States.

As more and more Cambodians come to trust the country's courts to resolve their disputes, the volume and complexity of the ministry's work will increase, an issue the new system will help address, said Flynn Fuller, the mission director.

The system consists of an office intranet for file sharing, a webpage to publicize court information such as caseloads and clearance rates, and a series of databases.

Many court officials still use hand writing for their reports and keep their information on shelves instead of using computer database.

According the statement, the United States is providing nearly two million U.S. dollars this year to strengthen Cambodia's legal system by training judges and lawyers and by providing the public with greater access to information about the courts.

Editor: Han Jingjing