Commune Elections Kick Off, Ketamine Seizures Skyrocket, Hanuman Controversy Brews
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, June 3, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
WATER WOES: More than 30% of Cambodian children suffer from malnutrition, and more than 40% of rural families lack running water. Both problems are serious causes of stunted growth and dangerous weight loss.
DRUG BUSTS: Local authorities seized 2.7 tons of ketamine in 2021, roughly half of all the drug hauled in across Southeast Asia, and 24 times more than the year before. Authorities say Asian gangs are using the Kingdom as a manufacturing hub.
BUBBLING UP: Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god, is a beloved mythological figure in Cambodia and pictured on the walls of Angkor Wat. But Hanuman Premium Lager may have gone too far. Hindus worldwide say the branding isn’t palatable.
THE LEDE
Flicker of Hope
Cambodia heads to the polls Sunday for a commune vote few believe will be free or fair.
Despite the uneven playing field, the opposition Candlelight Party is surging with optimism. The group expects to win 300–400 seats — or about 80% of what the CNRP claimed in 2017 — and take control of some 20% on the Kingdom’s 1,652 communes.
Such a result would break the ruling CPP’s deadlock on local power — it controls 99% of communes today — and allow the opposition back into local governance. It might even ease complaints about the Kingdom’s de facto one-party rule.
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Land Reversal
The prime minister, with an eye on Sunday’s commune elections, reversed course on a policy to reclaim illegally cleared lands around the Tonle Sap.
Hun Sen announced that families who have been living and farming protected forests for more than a decade would be allowed to continue. The reprieve applied only to small-scale farmers. Commercial cultivation by “powerful people” was forbidden.
The reversal is unlikely to help the lake’s fisheries, which are collapsing under the weight of environmental pressures. Fish exports are down by more than half this year, with low water levels and deforestation among the leading causes.
Power Shift
Hun Sen continued to muddy the waters between democracy and dictatorship, claiming with a straight face that a vote for him was no different than a vote for Hun Manet, his eldest son.
The Strongman’s logic: Electing Hun Sen in 2023 means the nation accepts CPP rule. The CPP elites, meanwhile, voted for Hun Manet to succeed Hun Sen. Therefore, Hun Manet will be “elected” after his father resigns.
The move is designed to install Hun Manet without the hassles of winning an election — the exact opposite of a democratic transition. The real question is, will other nation’s play along?
What do you think? Let us know in the comments section or email editor@cambodiadaily.com.
TALKING POINTS
Big Guns
Cambodia boosted its military firepower with a shipload of brand-new Chinese-made artillery, including rocket launchers and truck-mounted howitzers. The weapons came with an unknown number of support and communications vehicles. Hun Sen said the equipment cost some $40 million, which skeptical experts agreed was a bargain-basement price.
Tense Trial
The courtroom turned tense at Kem Sokha’s 42nd trial appearance, with the defense demanding prosecutors name the country the former CNRP president allegedly conspired with to overthrow the government. Kem Sokha’s team had long requested speedier proceedings to allow the former opposition boss to compete in Sunday’s elections. With those hopes now dashed, Kem Sokha’s return to politics appears more precarious than ever.
Unhappy Hindus
Hindus around the world are up in arms over Cambodia’s Hanuman beer. Critics say the use of the Hindu monkey god to peddle lager is an affront to the religion, and they have demanded the Indian embassy in Phnom Penh push the beverage maker to change its name and branding.
Artful Cause
AiR gallery is fundraising for Ukrainian causes with a multimedia art show. Titled “Life Will Win,” the exhibit includes more than 100 pieces — paintings, prints, photographs, illustrations and other formats — from 40 artists, including Cambodians and Ukrainians. The show opens on June 5 with a fashion show and party. AiR is located in the Factory Phnom Penh.
Naga Strikes
Five more NagaWorld holdouts accepted severance, dropping the number of former workers demanding their jobs back to 181. Six months without pay has made life too difficult for striking workers, union leaders said, and some had little choice but to accept the casino’s payout.
Dirty water
Lack of clean water and sanitation are among the leading causes of stunted growth and “wasting”’ in children under 5. A government survey found more than 30% of Cambodian children suffered from malnutrition, and more than 40% of rural households lacked access to running water. The WHO defines stunting as low height-for-age, and wasting as low weight-for-height. Both are conditions of chronic malnutrition.
Special K
Cambodian ketamine seizures exploded in 2021, with police pinching a whopping 2.7 tons, or 24 times as much as 2020. The haul represents roughly half of all ketamine seized in Southeast Asia. Experts say international drug gangs are increasingly turning to Cambodia for manufacturing.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Sar Kheng: No Kampuchea Krom Violence
June 3, 2002
Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng on Monday warned Kampuchea Krom advocates away from any sort of armed struggle to free parts of the Mekong River delta from Vietnam following last month’s calls to arms by the Kampuchea Krom Liberation Front, a Cambodia organization located in the US.
Speculation Over Sam Bith Case Abounds
May 28, 2002
A figure from Cambodia’s horrific past, Sam Bith was less intimidating than his reputation last week when he appeared before the Phnom Penh Municipal Court looking like nothing more than a tired man suffering from the common ailments of high blood pressure and old age.
Factory Workers Stage Strike After Union Official is Fired
May 28, 2002
For at least the third time in a single week, Phnom Penh factory workers walked off the job Monday, idling a garment factory in Dangkao district and throwing stones at their employers.
WEEKEND READING
Large-scale logging in Cambodia’s Prey Lang linked to politically-connected mining operation
Illegal logging appears to be taking place openly inside a swath of protected forest that authorities in Cambodia have only authorized for a feasibility study for limestone mining. Locals and conservationists say the wood leaves the concession awarded to KP Cement in the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary and is laundered through sawmills owned by Think Biotech.
From Chinese detainee to Cambodian diplomat: the radical rebirth of Wang Yaohui
Businessman with checkered past has financial ties to Cambodian power couple with holdings in Singapore.
Photos: Hun Sen, via Hun Sen’s Facebook page. “Harkiv,” courtesy Bogdan Galata.