Strongman Unfriends Facebook, Krisher’s Clinics Closed, Drones Induce Border Drama
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, June 30, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
LEANING IN: The Kingdom’s property sector is heaving with excessive oversupply, receding demand and rising defaults. Even so, regulators have approved 1,500 new projects this year.
FREE RANGE: Police in Siem Reap said they had recaptured some two dozen crocodiles that escaped from captivity. Residents, who have reported crocs in a local river, aren’t so sure.
MODERN MAN: Lu Ban Hap, who worked alongside Vann Molyvann and helped define the Kingdom’s Golden Era of architecture, died in France. He was 92.
THE LEDE
Grid Locked
Call it performance art, Strongman style. Lol.
The prime minister made a point of theatrically deleting his Facebook account, blaming the increasing number of fake “Hun Sen” pages for shattering his trust in the social network.
It’s a convenient rationale: A Facebook oversight board this week handed Hun Sen a six-month suspension for inciting violence. The tech giant had already taken down the offending video in question, and a humiliating ban was likely next.
The prime minister has been a prolific poster for years, sharing golf photos, baby pics and rambling political speeches to his 14 million followers. As a sign-off, he urged supporters to find him on Telegram, his new preferred platform — or TikTok!
Old Wounds
The government abruptly shut three health clinics established by Bernard Krisher, the philanthropist and founder of The Cambodia Daily who died in 2019, leaving thousands of patients without care.
An accounting firm for a person “very close” to the prime minister said the clinics would only be allowed to reopen under three conditions: the board of directors must publicly renounce The Cambodia Daily and its management; it must sell a 50% stake to an unidentified buyer; and it must pay a $100,000 “facilitation” fee.
The closed clinics, and out-of-luck patients, appear to be the unfortunate byproduct of the CPP government’s vicious, long-simmering grudge against the Krisher family and The Daily.
High Interest
A surge of complaints has forced regulators to intervene in hundreds of cases of home foreclosures, highlighting growing financial concerns across the property sector.
Experts cautioned that rising interest rates were squeezing buyers and sapping demand, with low sales weighing heavily on developer’s bottom lines. The World Bank has warned that without intervention, loan defaults could destabilize the banking sector and damage the Kingdom's economy.
Despite the ominous red flags about excessive oversupply and poor regulation, the government has approved nearly 1,500 new construction projects this year.
TALKING POINTS
Border Control
An irritated Hun Sen blasted his military for failing to shoot down foreign drones operating in Cambodian airspace. In response, 10,000 soldiers and 200 anti-aircraft weapons were deployed to the Vietnamese border, where the unidentified drones have appeared every night for a week.
Press Threats
Facebook suspended the account of Pheng Vannak, publisher of Pheng Vannak News, for repeatedly threatening to kill a Cambodia Daily Khmer journalist. The publisher said he would "cut off your head with an ax" if the journalist, Taing Sarada, stepped foot in Cambodia. Sarada, host of The Daily’s popular “Ideal Talk,” urged authorities to take action.
Hard Time
Hun Sen vowed that political prisoners who received foreign help would serve their full sentences, identifying Theary Seng and Kem Sokha by name. Seng, a dual American-Cambodian citizen, was sentenced to six years for conspiracy and incitement. Kem Sokha was sentenced to 27 years house arrest for treason.
Deep Water
The new $1.5 million Dang Tong Port in Koh Kong is expected to significantly boost tourism between Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, according to transportation officials. The port, which can handle ships up to 20 tons, is part of a plan to build a modern, nationwide transportation network.
Cage Free
Two dozen escaped crocodiles, some as big as 80kg, have been recaptured, according to the Siem Reap police. The reptiles made a fast getaway when a farmer forgot to close their gate. Numerous sightings have been reported, and authorities continue to patrol local rivers.
Star Bright
Ros Serey Sothea, the legendary Golder Era songstress, is the subject of an English-language graphic novel set for release this year. "The Golden Voice: The Ballad of Cambodian Rock's Lost Queen," will chronicle the Battambang singer’s rise to fame and disappearance under the Khmer Rouge.
Proud Legacy
Lu Ban Hap, an architect and contemporary of Vann Molyvann who helped define the Kingdom’s Golden Era of architecture, died in France at 92. His work on the National Assembly, Olympic Stadium and Chaktomuk Conference Hall helped shape the country’s modern identity.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Pre-Election Food Stockpiling Begins Slowly
June 25, 2003
The rush has come nowhere near the run-up to 1998’s elections, but a few Phnom Penh residents have begun stockpiling foodstuffs because of fears that election turbulence will shutter markets.
Rights Workers Say Police Torture Widespread
June 25, 2003
As the UN marks its International Day in Support of Victims of Torture today, human rights officials and legal watchdogs in Cambodia are trying to refute the government’s claims that the torture of suspects in police or judicial custody is not as widespread as some have claimed.
Sam Rainsy Party Councilor Found Dead in Kompong Cham
June 24, 2003
A commune councilor was found dead in Kompong Cham province on Saturday, during a scheduled visit in the area by opposition leader Sam Rainsy, and managers of at least six newspapers announced that they would sell advertising space to parties competing in the July 27 elections.
Photos: Hun Sen TikTok, screenshot. “The Golden Voice,” courtesy Greg Cahill.
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