Hun Manet Debuts at U.N., Tax Office Tackles Graft, Koh Ker Gets UNESCO Nod
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, September 22, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
GRAFT INDEX: The Interior Ministry halted all its anti-counterfeiting operations after a string of misconduct complaints, and the Tax Office ordered its officials to stop taking bribes. Critics say it's too little, too late — others say, it’s about time.
WET WORK: It will take five years to rid Phnom Penh’s rivers of trash, an optimistic NGO claims. The group needs money for the project and has begged city dwellers to stop throwing garbage in the waterways.
HIGH PRAISE: Kudos to Koh Ker, the 10th-century temple complex and latest addition to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Hun Manet ordered Cambodians to bang drums to celebrate — let’s hope Jayavarman IV heard them.
THE LEDE
Tough Start
The publicity honeymoon for Prime Minister Hun Manet has quickly turned cold.
In a stinging wave of bad press, the Ministry of Agriculture threatened to close CamboJA, the country’s only independent news publisher, for reporting the brutal beating of a critic, and a Candlelight Party leader was sentenced to 18 months in prison for bouncing checks. In Banteay Meanchey, police jailed six opposition officials for incitement and fraud — reportedly for refusing to join the CPP.
There was optimism in some corners that the new administration would be less thuggish than the last. The latest question is, will it be worse?
High Times
The worst is over for Cambodia’s economy, according to the Asian Development Bank, which predicted a strong second half to 2023 despite revising annual economic growth down from 5.5% to 5.3%.
Growth in the service industry, led by an uptick in tourism, would continue through the end of the year, the ADB said, pushing annual expansion in the sector to a healthy 8%. Inflation remained steady at 3%.
The bank maintained a positive outlook for 2024, forecasting the Kingdom’s economic growth at a robust 6% — among the best in the region.
Sewn Up
More than 85% of garment factory workers report taking out high-interest loans to make ends meet, as stagnant wages and rising prices make it impossible to survive on salaries alone.
The situation is dire for many, even those working six days a week, and activists have pressured global brands — such as Nike, Adidas and Levis — to pay workers fairly. A living wage in Cambodia, according to a global watchdog, is $231 per month.
The Labor Ministry is holding talks with unions and factory owners over next year’s minimum pay. Few are expecting more than a token increase — between 50 cents and $2 — to the current wage of $200 per month.
TALKING POINTS
Top Flight
Fireworks and a thunderous Olympic Stadium celebration welcomed Koh Ker Temple to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The ancient capital is the second recipient from Preah Vihear province, following the 2008 addition of Preah Vihear Temple. The Kingdom is preparing to submit more locations, including Phnom Tbeng, Prek Kampi, Prek Prasop Wildlife Sanctuary and Thmat Peuy Thoeun Krasang Nature Reserve.
Big Bucks
Hun Manet will address the U.N. General Assembly and meet with U.S. investors during a three-day visit to New York, his first as prime minister. Cambodia is working overtime to attract foreign investment as its real estate, manufacturing and tourism sectors sputter.
Shock Value
Cambodia will discount electricity prices for more than 20,000 industrial-sized manufacturing and agricultural businesses in an effort to boost productivity. The cuts will extend from October to December — and possibly longer depending on the outcome of the trial period — with reductions reaching up to 20%.
Tea Money
The Tax Department ordered collectors to stop taking bribes and demanding “informal fees,” tacit acknowledgement of corruption in the ranks. The directive comes as the department suffers steep revenue drops in some areas, including taxes on real estate and property, and works to cover the shortfall.
Trash Flow
A Phnom Penh environmental group estimated it would take at least five years to rid the city’s rivers of garbage. River Ocean Cleanup, powered by more than 100 volunteers, set an optimistic target of 2028 to finish cleaning the Tonle Bassac, Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers.
Travel Warning
The Kingdom’s deadly roads claimed more than 1,000 lives in the first eight months of the year, according to official figures. Vehicle accidents cost the country at least $400 million annually, the minister of transportation said, calling the situation a public health crisis that demanded urgent attention.
Fake Cops
The Ministry of Interior suspended all anti-counterfeiting operations under its management after a spike in public complaints about officer misconduct. The ministry did not make any allegations public, but said agents were conducting a “systematic investigation” and would hold lawbreakers accountable.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Life Inside One Of Cambodia’s Worst Prisons
September 20, 2003
Doung Sovanary pulls a small ring of keys from his belt and opens the rusty barred doors of Kompong Thom provincial prison, known by police and NGO workers as one of the filthiest and most crowded prisons in the country.
Village Chief Put on Probation for Killing Girl
September 17, 2003
The Kompong Cham provincial court freed a village chief charged in the shooting death of a 16-year-old girl at the Chhup rubber plantation, handing him a two-year suspended sentence under a five-year probationary period for an unintentional killing.
Gov’t To Deport Alleged Militia Organizers Forming Armed Force
September 16, 2003
The government will deport two US citizens for allegedly creating a militia at a fake refugee camp in Banteay Meanchey province, officials said Monday.
WEEKEND READING
An Illustrious Photographer on Warzones and Hollywood
A conversation with Roland Neveu.
The little-known blockchain firm behind Southeast Asia’s digital payment systems
Japanese blockchain startup Soramitsu worked on Cambodia’s popular Bakong, a blockchain-based “quasi-digital currency” system. The company is working with the central banks of Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
How Small States Navigate U.S.-China Rivalry: The Case of Cambodia
Amid major power competition, Cambodia is preserving its strategic autonomy through ‘smart and flexible diplomacy.’
Photos: Worker, Clean Clothes Campaign. Koh Ker, UNESCO.
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