Cyber Scam Kingpin Escapes, Tourist Arrivals Skyrocket, Opposition Soldiers On
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, March 22, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
UP SCALE: Since 1990, the Kingdom’s average income increased 400% and life expectancy gained 14 years. Yet the UNDP still ranks Cambodia’s progress at 148 of 193 countries, and the slowest in Southeast Asia.
LINED UP: A $1.5 billion construction job went to an illegal logging czar sanctioned by the U.S. government. Critics were shocked by the sweetheart deal, but longtime observers called it business as usual.
COLD SHOT: The Kingdom's drunk driving crackdown has been effective. So effective, it's turning happy hours into staycations. Bars and restaurants lament lost business, some even forced to close.
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THE LEDE
Waiting Game
Can multiparty democracy make a comeback in Cambodia? If so, it better get started.
Sam Rainsy and Mu Sochua, two former opposition leaders now living in exile, admit it’s a long shot — yet neither is ready to give up.
One possibility, Rainsy says, is that the troubled Chinese economy eventually forces Beijing to dial back economic aid to the Kingdom — and the resulting shortfall pushes the CPP government to re-engage with the West. In another scenario, a desire for international legitimacy may drive Hun Manet to bow to Western pressure and permit the return of viable opposition parties.
Hun Sen won’t be around forever, says Rainsy, and once he’s gone, the political landscape could change quickly in unpredictable ways.
Clear Skies
Call it the Taylor Swift effect — and the Kingdom can’t shake it off.
Since tourism officials discovered clips of Angkor Wat in the megastar’s videos, the new Siem Reap airport set a new record for arrivals, AirAsia Cambodia announced daily flights, and regional carriers added connections to Kuala Lumpur, New Delhi and Vientiane.
Even the government appears to be on board: Travel officials are reportedly working to bring down aviation costs, and local authorities are discussing a raft of tourist-friendly developments. The Kingdom is sure to break the record of 6.6 million visitors this year, and expectations are high that a full recovery could happen by 2025.
Moving Up
The Kingdom’s poorest are being left behind. That’s the conclusion of the UNDP, which says that disturbing levels of inequality persist despite significant gains made over the last two decades.
Between 1990 and 2021, Cambodia’s per capita income surged fourfold and life expectancy improved by 14 years, raising the country’s Human Development Index by nearly 60%. Even so, Cambodia still ranks 148 among 193 countries — four places behind Myanmar, and the worst in Southeast Asia.
Hun Manet has vowed to improve lives at every level, with a goal of middle-income status by 2030. The climb, experts say, will not be easy.
TALKING POINTS
Crime Scene
The U.N. urged Cambodia to arrest the Chinese crime bosses running Sihanoukville’s cyber scam mills, saying mass arrests of low-level employees had little lasting impact. Police raided two compounds in early March, rounding up nearly 500 employees, yet Zhong Huokun, a Chinese national and the suspected ringleader, somehow managed to escape.
Book Ban
A court in Vietnam sentenced two Khmer Krom activists to several years in prison for “abusing democratic freedoms.” Officials accused the men of distributing the “Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” a book published by the U.N.
Crony Capital
How does a little-known construction company with zero experience land a $1.5 billion contract with a state-backed Chinese firm? According to reports by Jack Brook, it’s because Kampot Logistics and Port is controlled by Try Pheap, the well-known illegal logging giant and former adviser to Hun Sen, whom the U.S. slapped with sanctions in 2019.
Dark Web
The Ministry of Information repeated threats to ban publishers who break the government’s “ethical journalism” rules, following the closure of a little-known Khmer-language website for repeated infractions. Media groups urged officials to stop using the criminal code to silence the press.
Magic Hour
An incredibly rare coral reef spawning was recorded in Cambodian waters for the first time, demonstrating to awe-struck researchers that coral colonies remain healthy despite rising ocean temperatures. Spawning occurs once per year and typically lasts less than 60 minutes.
Sober Roads
Drunk-driving checkpoints are working so well that entertainment venues are complaining about slow business. Police say the roadblocks, which run from 8pm to 2am, have reduced drunk-driving accidents by 80%. The prime minister said a 10pm start might be permissible.
Street Pop
DJ Shortkut, from the Invisibl Skratch Picklz, will provide beats at Saturday’s Rombak Battle, Cambodia’s semi-regular hip-hop dance competition. The contest features many of the region’s top B-boys. Entrance is free.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Officials Uncover Source of Convoy Lumber
March 19, 2004
Forestry officials said Thursday they have identified the source of the luxury timber that the Forestry Administration alleges was transported from Preah Vihear province to the capital in the convoy of Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema last week.
Sam Rainsy’s Suit Against PM Accepted
March 18, 2004
Sam Rainsy’s allegations that Prime Minister Hun Sen planned a 1997 grenade attack on a crowd of peaceful protesters in an attempt to assassinate him was accepted for consideration by a municipal court prosecutor Wednesday, a court clerk said.
Lawmaker Assailed in Court for Ties to Mobitel
March 17, 2004
Five opposition party lawmakers went to court Tuesday to give evidence in their lawsuit against the director of Mobitel and Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun.
Man May Have Bought Body for Sham Death
March 16, 2004
A Cambodian-Canadian man allegedly faked his own death by buying the corpse of a deceased woman and torching her body inside a car in a suspected life insurance claim scam, Siem Reap police officials said Monday.
Photo: Steffen Sameiske, via Flick.
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….Everywhere! Stop! Stay in control.
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