Corruption Puts Off Investors: US Ambassador
By James Welsh and Yun Samean
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
Corruption and land grabbing are hindering development in Cambodia, scaring away investment and jeopardizing the country's future, US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli said Thursday.
"Cambodia cannot afford the luxury of corruption," Mussomeli said at an anti-corruption conference in Phnom Penh. "It is too far behind its neighbors due to the tragedies of its recent past."
Mussomeli called on the government to pass the long-awaited anti-corruption law, and support its implementation. He also said a 2001 Land Law is not being enforced justly, "particularly when powerful vested interests are involved."
Finally, he discounted the National Land Dispute Authority as having "no appreciable effect yet on land disputes." To make his point, the ambassador cited the May and June evictions of thousands of villages from the Bassac community and Koh Pich. "Any conflict over this private land dispute properly belonged in the courts, but somehow City Hall became involved, creating a non-transparent process that was confused at best," he said.
In the case of Koh Pich, Mussomeli said, the court refused to "independently consider the merits of the case." Instead, it "blindly" accepted the city's interpretation of the land law. That interpretation would make "every single resident of an island in Cambodia an illegal squatter."
Mussomeli said the situation is even worse in the provinces. In Mondolkiri, he said, "there are serious allegations that a foreign company was awarded 10,000 hectares of land—the legal limit—even though they already cleared and are planting 16,000 to 20,000 hectares of land.
"The award documents apparently state the intention to grant up to 199,999 hectares of land—nearly 20 times the allowable limit in the land law," he added.
CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap said Prime Minister Hun Sen is aware of the problem of corruption and is acting to eliminate it. "Hun Sen does not tolerate corrupt officials," he said.
Mussomeli said the problem is systemic and has corroded even basic institutions. Children, the ambassador said, "go to school and what is the first lesson they learn— that they need to pay their teachers a little extra to get taught?"
"Cambodia cannot afford the luxury of corruption," Mussomeli said at an anti-corruption conference in Phnom Penh. "It is too far behind its neighbors due to the tragedies of its recent past."
Mussomeli called on the government to pass the long-awaited anti-corruption law, and support its implementation. He also said a 2001 Land Law is not being enforced justly, "particularly when powerful vested interests are involved."
Finally, he discounted the National Land Dispute Authority as having "no appreciable effect yet on land disputes." To make his point, the ambassador cited the May and June evictions of thousands of villages from the Bassac community and Koh Pich. "Any conflict over this private land dispute properly belonged in the courts, but somehow City Hall became involved, creating a non-transparent process that was confused at best," he said.
In the case of Koh Pich, Mussomeli said, the court refused to "independently consider the merits of the case." Instead, it "blindly" accepted the city's interpretation of the land law. That interpretation would make "every single resident of an island in Cambodia an illegal squatter."
Mussomeli said the situation is even worse in the provinces. In Mondolkiri, he said, "there are serious allegations that a foreign company was awarded 10,000 hectares of land—the legal limit—even though they already cleared and are planting 16,000 to 20,000 hectares of land.
"The award documents apparently state the intention to grant up to 199,999 hectares of land—nearly 20 times the allowable limit in the land law," he added.
CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap said Prime Minister Hun Sen is aware of the problem of corruption and is acting to eliminate it. "Hun Sen does not tolerate corrupt officials," he said.
Mussomeli said the problem is systemic and has corroded even basic institutions. Children, the ambassador said, "go to school and what is the first lesson they learn— that they need to pay their teachers a little extra to get taught?"
15 comments:
Mr. Cheam Yeap, you are absolutely right, our beloved PM is aware of corruption. I am sure he knows about this. But I just want to know that: why does he know? Does he corrupt himself? or does he order his subordinates to corrupt? or does he receive every corrupt money? How is he acting or pretending to eliminate?
Could you elaborate abit more, H.E Cheam Yeap?
AH Cheam Yap, Vietcong trained economist sure know alot about AH HUN SEN but he doesn't know a damn thing about Cambodian economy! ahah
Ah Cheam Yeap (ah chheam riey), you are so stupid than a Goat (cheam). Did you know that you're contradicting yourself in the previous excerpt? You're charging Yash Ghai of unknowledgeable of Ah Hun Sen evil regime.
"Many millions people knows the truth". Now, you are admitting that ah saddam Hun Sen knows about the corruption. In conclusion ah Hun, ah Satan diciple ignore the suffering of these Khmer people from losing their homes because your Dog excepting finances from companies to gains' wealth.
Yash is right & honorable ambassador Mussomeli is right to attack ah Hun crdibility. The world needed to do the same.
another excellent job mr. US ambassador. we really appreciate what you are doing.
keep up the good work.
and good health and good luck to you and your loved ones.
thanks.
Thousands of Cambodians please walk infront of US Embassy in Cambodia express our support to Mr. Mussomeli's great speech. Where are King and King father? What are they doing?
I want to share couple real stories. 1). This episode was existed in one of border refugees camps. Two Khmer soccer teams couldn't resolve their dispute, despite a Khmer referee was trying his best. The two teams finally came to settle their differences with another referee who was not Khmer. 2). This was happened in Mass, USA. A Khmer woman in mid 30's was swearing that the rest of her life she would give a f...damn sh...her... to any Khmer man. Why? I don't know but she must have had a good reason to be moody,nasty, angry, temper tandrum outburst. Now she has white man instead. Now use your critical thinking to reflect the two stories to Cambodia society.
To brother love 2:05AM
Thank you for the beautiful stories! Let do some analysises here!The first story shows that many Cambodian people in higher position tend to practice favoritism! You need to understand that Cambodian people had been suffered at the hand of big and powerful Cambodian people who had practiced favoritism for along long time. Being a referee is a symbol that is associated with people in power! An example would be Mr. HUN SEN himself! Most the people in Mr. HUN SEN government are related by marriage to Mr. HUN SEN one way or another and many CPP officials are millionaire while average Cambodian can't even find enough rice to fill their cooking pot! This is sad isn't it!
Fortunately with today technology in most professional games are being monitor with special cameras from all angles and so there is no point of arguing with each other. The referee can replay and slow picture frames down to millisecond to find who is at fault!
Now for the second stories regarding a Cambodian woman in her mid 30's! I honestly she is being stupid for stereotype all Cambodian men in the first place! I am sure there are those Cambodian men who love to play with women's heart and there are those who just want to be a family man! How the way people behave and act are all base on experience! It is too bad that she experienced only the bad one! Who know maybe she want different taste or maybe she is just plain ugly looking! ahahahahahahahah!
So anymore story you want to share?
I have a good freind that will not marry a Khmer man. I asked her why? She said that our own kind have less respect to her. That was the true. She married a white man and now having 2 children in their teenagers.
I found that very interesting. I see my self differently. I don't see anybody else that I can love and trust more than my Khmer spouse. I know my dear life is my Khmer spouse's hands. That feeling and that one I married to is going to stay that way and with me for a long long time. I see my kids, my grandkids and my great grandkids running around in our house one day and here is my best friend, my long time lover and my Khmer spouse sitting right next to me. We both will be looking at each other and them with a great big smile in our faces. So far, We have made about some 20 years into our married ilfe and I'm not going to change my mind about it. The Khmer spouse that I have comes home to me every day. We are going to stay just like that for years to come and we don't see anything wrong with it. We like being around each other and share everything that we have. Good or bad, but they were all ours and they all look great! All I can say is that I love my Khmer spouse and no other!
This writting is dedicated to my Cambodian Spouse, my best friend , my partner and my beloved mate for life! You will always be loved by me and I'm forever yours,
the two stories show the Khmers can't depend on their skills to solve the problems. To settle among them, they tend to look to foreigners to give hands on. Khmer society no longer trust each others. The society has been broken into pieces.
Khmers give much more credit/respect to foreigners than their own regardless the individual has done a lot of good deed to the nation.
That probably true. We need to do something to win back love and trust.
I have A few ideas that I like to guess and it might be corrected:
1.low self esteem
2.low education
3. low income or low standard of living
4. no respect
5. no love
6. no trust ( which associate with dishonesty )
7. poor personal grooming
8. over confident
Anyone else would like to share some of the ideas that might be helpful or improving?
Stop digressing from the article; just give input to above journal.
Those are roots of corruption and impunity and may be we should TAKE CAMBODIAN MEN'S DOMINANT SOCIETY TO THE NEXT LEVEL AND REALLY WORK AT IT.
Cambodia can not continue to disvalue itself by dislike each other, distrust each other and DISRESPECT EACH OTHER and it was starting with OUR OWN DAUGHTER AND SON.....
We all should starting giving both of our children( boys and girls )an early education of what is it respect? love? good moral? trust? or honesty? from their early ages on up. They have to be able to believe, to trust and to love each other again. I don't think, we did enough on it. Just my opinion....
I feel really bad that teachers, the most honorable profession in the world have to take bribe from kids or their parents just to get by or thru tomorrow.
It tells me that someone ignoring that profession big time.
ALL CAMBODIAN TEACHERS NEED A RISE!
ALL CAMBODIAN KIDS NEED TO READ MORE, LEARN MORE AND BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT BRIBE IS BAD, VERY BAD AND IT SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.
THANK YOU MR. EMBASSADOR FOR YOUR POWERFUL SPEACH AND CONCERN AND FOR THE LIBRARIES THAT AMERICA CREATED IN PHNOM PEHN, SIEM REAP AND A FEW OTHER DISTRICTS IN COMPOUNG CHAM AND SOON TO BE IN BATTAMBANG . I'M SO HAPPY TO LEARN THE NEWS THAT I COULD CRY WITH TEARS OF HAPPINESS AND JOY!
OH..We forgot about Equality.
Please put that into our equation of education as well.
Where is accountability? and rsponsibility? and where is Mr. Or Mrs. Minister of Cambodian Education?
You need to do something better or deserve to be fired!!!!!!!!!
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