(Kyodo) - A dating agency launched earlier this year to help Cambodian men and women find their perfect match is raising government fears that such a service will jeopardize the country's cultural traditions.
Seng Leakhena, general manager of Couple Service, said that since debuting in January, nearly 100 Cambodian men and women have registered.
Of them, four couples are dating, with the agency already inspiring two marriages.
Seng Leakhena said she initiated the business with experience she gained from Singapore.
The dating agency, she said, is designed to help women find their partners rather than waiting for men to approach them, as is customary in this country.
"Some women, they see men they like, but are afraid to seek them out," she said.
The service, however, has not been warmly welcomed by the government, which fears fake marriage arrangements and women being dragged into the country's thriving sex trade.
"The ministry is not welcoming the service because it contradicts Khmer culture. It is not yet time for Cambodia to accept such a service," said Women's Affairs Minister Ing Kunthaphavy.
"It must be reviewed whether the service is serving in good faith and reaching the right target of real couples or exploiting them into the sex trade," she told Kyodo News.
Seng Leakhena responded that her service simply aims to offer more opportunities and choices to anyone seeking a spouse.
About 10 people visit her office daily, with about 10 to 15 telephone enquiries.
Clients are required to pay $30 for their first introduction, and are strongly encouraged to provide full disclosures of their living status, working experience and income. Subsequent introductions cost $10 each.
Prince Sisowath Kola Chhat, secretary of state of the Culture and Fine Arts Ministry, also frowned on the service, saying it may lead to social anarchy.
"I do not agree with this...It should be held off for another 50 years," he said.
Traditionally, a Cambodian man approaches a woman for marriage, and is required to go through their both sides' parents and/or elderly relatives.
Seng Leakhena, general manager of Couple Service, said that since debuting in January, nearly 100 Cambodian men and women have registered.
Of them, four couples are dating, with the agency already inspiring two marriages.
Seng Leakhena said she initiated the business with experience she gained from Singapore.
The dating agency, she said, is designed to help women find their partners rather than waiting for men to approach them, as is customary in this country.
"Some women, they see men they like, but are afraid to seek them out," she said.
The service, however, has not been warmly welcomed by the government, which fears fake marriage arrangements and women being dragged into the country's thriving sex trade.
"The ministry is not welcoming the service because it contradicts Khmer culture. It is not yet time for Cambodia to accept such a service," said Women's Affairs Minister Ing Kunthaphavy.
"It must be reviewed whether the service is serving in good faith and reaching the right target of real couples or exploiting them into the sex trade," she told Kyodo News.
Seng Leakhena responded that her service simply aims to offer more opportunities and choices to anyone seeking a spouse.
About 10 people visit her office daily, with about 10 to 15 telephone enquiries.
Clients are required to pay $30 for their first introduction, and are strongly encouraged to provide full disclosures of their living status, working experience and income. Subsequent introductions cost $10 each.
Prince Sisowath Kola Chhat, secretary of state of the Culture and Fine Arts Ministry, also frowned on the service, saying it may lead to social anarchy.
"I do not agree with this...It should be held off for another 50 years," he said.
Traditionally, a Cambodian man approaches a woman for marriage, and is required to go through their both sides' parents and/or elderly relatives.
8 comments:
These dating agencies wanting nothing more than your money! Yes! Your hard earn money! Only foreigners would use such dating agency services for their sexual need! Many of the people who going through such agency have no social skill to get what they want and also very desperate individual who are looking for a very young women especailly older men to fullfill their fantasy! ahahahah
If Cambodian people want to interbreed between half-human and half-animal and this is the way to do it!ahahah
If we want a free country, this dating business is part of the package. People are allowed to be loose, dump, stupid, lunatic or whatever they want to be.
There are people like you and I, that are also allowed to be free to choose our lives the way we want to choose and live our lives. We can choose to live luxurously, happily , incredibly with love and affection from our friends and family that are around us. We can choose to laugh, share the joy, having fun or great time with people that we loved and care for without having to worry and fear of any body. We just want to live the good life and stress free life,the best we can be! and however we want it to be!. Hey, if we an affort it and no one control us, then why not?. We can choose to do good things for other unfortunate people like Ms. Angelina Jolie or Princess Diana of England or Ted Tunner of CNN. We are free! no one would say or do anything to hurt us. Poeple would wish us only good wishes and throw flowers at our feet, if they see us. It's entirely opt to you and I!
Tell those control freak Government to get lost or to support our best interest instead. Wouldn't that be nice?
Don't worry about those problem people. If they are stupid enough to do bad thing to get their behind in trouble,they soon will learn.
I support the government that are brutal to BAD PEOPLE. Trust me they need it.
People that don't know the price of freedom.They will do bad thing,lose it and go to jail. That's all and we'll see how hot they look in jail.
I truely believe that by going straight INTO THOSE IRON BAR ROOMS or criminal cell a few times, they will come out CLEAN and FINE people! if not they just have to go back and don't ever let them come out again.
I love freedom!!! Give me more!
To 1:23PM
"If we want a free country, this dating business is part of the package." I don't think so!
This is where you don't understand. You see getting in love or getting marry is no business because business involve using the money to buy what you want! Real love can't be bought with money!
If to have dating business and why not legalize prostitution at the same time because prostitution is also business! This is more like paying to get sex anyway and who give a fuck about virginity! Right!
Wrong, I do! I certainly don't want to marry a woman who been out dating more than 100 men!
The date business is not thing more than promoting promiscuity and the spread of disease!
Poor people are just like you and me but one thing that is different the poor people don't have money and in the world of business the poor people will do anything to survive including offer their love for money! In this case freedom is very elusive for poor people! It is time to regulate the dating business for the freedom of all the people!
freedom for all! All for freedom!
To: 8:35a.m
If you are to run a country, which i hope ,you will be a dawn good man. Please spend our national treasure or money to educate our poor people, help them, educate them, provide assistances, establish social workers, enforce a heavy tax and allow a certain town and country or legalize them to do their bussiness. Please keep the rest of town and country free of such as well. Remember the ballot or voting system!
Please understand that people whose like selling their body , taking their clothes off, they are their bobies. They probably what they do best or love doing it. That is their right. We all only live one. Everyone is free to choose what ever they want to choose and as a good govenment to all, do our best to control it by mean of educating , educating and introduce other means of good life to them instead. When there is a will there is a way. That is freedom for all and all for freedoom!
It's only a dating business and not everyone is too caring for it.
Yes, virginity is precious, but virginity should be handed it to the right person. That is why this dating business should be a way out and allow.
UNDER THIS GREAT BIG BLUE SKY, THERE IS MORE THAN ONE TREE AND ALL TREES DESERVE RAIN WATER!!!!!!
Same with people. We are all different. Just because one or two well known people oppose that deosn't mean the whole country is with them . Those few well known people probably don't know anything, but their own tiny little world or 4 walls at home.
People that want to do, should be able to do and having an available places to help them out..People that don't want to, stay away from it, but people should have their right to choose and do!!!
It's depressed me so very bad to know that most of the governments on this earth are small mind and control freak. Why can we have a government that are nice, kind and understanding to us? or let us do whatever we want to do ? and when we please? Those governments are just sick!and before we know it, you and I are also sick.
Being able to laugh and be happy or find true love should be the most precious thing in the world!!! and nothing else should ever match it!
As long as we have a government that want to control our private lives and thoughts, look out! There will be more and before you know it, there will be nothing left, but 4 invisible walls!!! Enjoy!
I would like to dedicate this writting to men and women that have lost their freedom thru no fault of their own, but thru a government changing system and many many have lost it forever!
1.7 millions Cambodian lost their freedom and lives thru communist system and never again see the light of true hapiness, freedom and dream that they were one hope for and live for!
Good bye my beloved and innocent people! May your soul rest in peace and bless us with new kind of thoughts, new kind of attitude, new kind of government and plenty plenty of wealth and happines and freedom for us to enjoy for so many years to come!
To 1:18PM
ahahahahah! Well first define what is love? Why do people fall in love? Why do people willing to do all kind of thing just to find love? NOw that you have love in your hand and what do you do to maintain love? I am just asking all these questions so that people have a second thought before they commit to love!
I truely believe dating business is not the way for any virgin woman to find the right man!
Well, Just say if the virgin woman found her man! Does she knows her man real background? Hey a man is smart enough to put anything in writing or saying anything just to get pick by a beautiful woman! A man will lie, cheat, and steal for a beautiful woman! A man is willing to be abused by a beautiful woman! I had seen this before!
Does she knows her man family history? There are certain thing run in the family like diseases a! How would you like to be with a man who has a mental illness and schizophrenic that is ran in his family history! Do you like your kid to be schizophrenic too? How about dieseases like leprosy?
Does she knows her man generational curse? Well, Some man is cursing to do certain for the rest of their life(usually the bad one) like being poor or gravitate toward certain profession or belief in some stupid things! The mentality and the belief that his family always poor and so he can't change anything but being poor too!
Does she knows her man habit? What is this man is hardcore gambler and drinker! What if this man has a history of abusing woman in the past? Or maybe he is a control freak!
Dating business is all about business! Don't you see the word "business" after the word dating? In any business setting there is a buy and a seller and of course there is a middleman! In this case, the dating business agency is the middleman! The woman with virginity is the seller! And the buyer is the desperate old or young man without sex for 10years!ahahahah!
Please don't tell me that the dating business agency can screen out all the bad people! It cost more than $2000.00 dollar just to do a DNA test for a single disease! Now do you think the dating agency will spent $2000.00 out of their pocket just to find you the right mate and only make $34.00 from you? You got to be kidding me! Dating business is for profit!
Folk it is better to go through your parent and your parent can ask friends ,relatives, and neighbors or even to ask the other side of the family to find out all about your man or your woman! They are 90% percent right base on my experience! For me I am looking for quality not quantity and these are the channel that I will go through!
I believe in finding the right woman and no government is going to stop that! Once I find her and I will shower her with love and respect and we will build beautiful memory together because one day when we get old and wrinkle and we no longer have physical attraction and it is the beautiful memory that I will cherish with her until death do us part!
After love, there is memory.
Do what we want, but don't stop others or encourage the ugly the nasty and mean government to regulate us more. Freedom like " rain water falling from this great big sky" shoule be for everyone.
We all needs plenty of room to breath and live our lives peaceful by our own mean and not by some idiot or a controling freak.
Please use our head and do the right thing folk. That is all i'm saying. Good luck and best wishes!
To 1:30p.m
By the way, when we are dating someone, are we jumping into bed with that particular person right away? I would not think so. Would you?
IT would take sometimes and enough for us to make a decision.
Yes, to honor and trust our parents is the best thing, but some people don't have parents. They need help. Please Don't tell me that you forgot. I didn't. I thought for all.
Again freedom means the world to me and I hope it means the world to you as well. None of us was born with freedom nor inherit it.
If we want freedom and preserve it, we have to fight for it and everyday or we will lose it forever just like some 1.7 millions Khmers people before us. I hope that we all remember that and never again allow it to happen.
President Ronald Reagan, THANK YOU SO MUCH!
you are my true inspiration! I greatly appreciate your wisdom. You show me the way to be free, to live happy and to be able to make my own decision AND lead my life the way I want to lead. I'm at peace and fully satisfy of where i'm standing.
NO GOVERNMENT SHOULD INTERFER WITH THEIR PRIVATE CITIZENS'LIVES UNLESS IT INVOLVED WITH THE NATIONAL SECURITY. IF IT'S ONLY A DATING BUSINESS,LET IT GO.
SPEND YOUR PRECIOUS TIME OR YOUR INTELLIGENT HEART AND MIND WORRY ABOUT DELEGATING SOME MAJOR PROJECTS FOR SAFETY, SECURITY OR PROSPERITY FOR OUR OWN PEOPLE AND COUNTRY INSTEAD.
WE WANT TO BE FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND WE DON'T NEED YOU! PLEASE LEAVE US ALONE!
TO THE GENTLEMAN AT 1:30P.M, YOUR REASON SHOULD BE PUBLISH AT SCHOOL OR IN CLASS ROOMS AS WELL AS MINE.
OUR KIDS NEED TO KNOW ALL THE FACT AND REASONS TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION FOR THEIR LIVES.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT AND VOICE YOUR THOUGHT ALL KMHERS OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE. THANK YOU FOR WRITIING!:)
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