16 April 2007By Uk Sav Bory
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy wants to see that village chiefs be elected by villagers from a list of individual candidates, next month, in communes where the opposition party recently won the election.
Sam Rainsy said that the selection of village chiefs through an election held by the villagers among individual candidates would show democracy at work at the lowest level [of government]. It will also avoid the selection of village chiefs by political parties, and it would avoid the selection of village chiefs without any participation from the villagers themselves.
Sam Rainsy said: “In each village, there are elders, pagoda Achar (masters of ceremony), teachers, village elders who are not members of any political party, but they want to present their candidacy to become village chiefs. They are respected by the entire village even though they do not belong to any political party, this should not matter. Therefore, the Sam Rainsy Party will organize an open election, this is true democracy, starting at the village level.”
Regarding the issue raised by Sam Rainsy above, Muth Channtha, NRP spokesman, said that he supports this idea, but he said that the legality issue must be reviewed. “For any election, we must review the law first, [and find out] who has the right to vote for the second mandate village chiefs. We must review the legality aspect thoroughly.”
Nouv Sovathero, Funcinpec spokesman, declined to comment on this issue at this point in time. Cheam Yiep, the CPP MP, gave an interview to a local newspaper saying that the CPP will oppose this plan to elect individuals as village chiefs.
In response to this proposal advanced by Sam Rainsy, Khieu Sopheak, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) spokesman, said that in Cambodia, there is no law that states that newly-elected commune chiefs and sangkat chiefs can choose new village chiefs to replace those who have been chosen last year by the previous mandate commune chiefs.
Khieu Sopheak said: “Villages where we have organized in the past, we have already voted to make the selection already, therefore, they (village chiefs) must fulfill their duty for one mandate, that is not less than 5 years. The (proposed) election in this manner cannot be done, it is not prescribed by the law.”
Kul Panha, executive director of Comfrel, said that the idea advanced by the opposition leader is a good initiative for local level democracy, and people will be able to vote in individual candidates. This type of election will allow villagers to vote in those whom the they like to fulfill their work. Kul Panha said that the MoI should push for a law so as to improve democracy.
Kul Panha said: “In the past, village chiefs have been selected by the commune councils, this brought about a political party bias, and it also creates a lot of problems during the election. Developments are also facing a lot of problems (through this process).”
On 01 April, the SRP won in 28 communes and sangkats out of a total of 1621 in the entire country.
Sam Rainsy said that the selection of village chiefs through an election held by the villagers among individual candidates would show democracy at work at the lowest level [of government]. It will also avoid the selection of village chiefs by political parties, and it would avoid the selection of village chiefs without any participation from the villagers themselves.
Sam Rainsy said: “In each village, there are elders, pagoda Achar (masters of ceremony), teachers, village elders who are not members of any political party, but they want to present their candidacy to become village chiefs. They are respected by the entire village even though they do not belong to any political party, this should not matter. Therefore, the Sam Rainsy Party will organize an open election, this is true democracy, starting at the village level.”
Regarding the issue raised by Sam Rainsy above, Muth Channtha, NRP spokesman, said that he supports this idea, but he said that the legality issue must be reviewed. “For any election, we must review the law first, [and find out] who has the right to vote for the second mandate village chiefs. We must review the legality aspect thoroughly.”
Nouv Sovathero, Funcinpec spokesman, declined to comment on this issue at this point in time. Cheam Yiep, the CPP MP, gave an interview to a local newspaper saying that the CPP will oppose this plan to elect individuals as village chiefs.
In response to this proposal advanced by Sam Rainsy, Khieu Sopheak, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) spokesman, said that in Cambodia, there is no law that states that newly-elected commune chiefs and sangkat chiefs can choose new village chiefs to replace those who have been chosen last year by the previous mandate commune chiefs.
Khieu Sopheak said: “Villages where we have organized in the past, we have already voted to make the selection already, therefore, they (village chiefs) must fulfill their duty for one mandate, that is not less than 5 years. The (proposed) election in this manner cannot be done, it is not prescribed by the law.”
Kul Panha, executive director of Comfrel, said that the idea advanced by the opposition leader is a good initiative for local level democracy, and people will be able to vote in individual candidates. This type of election will allow villagers to vote in those whom the they like to fulfill their work. Kul Panha said that the MoI should push for a law so as to improve democracy.
Kul Panha said: “In the past, village chiefs have been selected by the commune councils, this brought about a political party bias, and it also creates a lot of problems during the election. Developments are also facing a lot of problems (through this process).”
On 01 April, the SRP won in 28 communes and sangkats out of a total of 1621 in the entire country.
11 comments:
I agree with SR and his ideas 100%.
It's time to stop the ways of the communists.
Sounds like a good idea to me.
Good luck, your excellency (Sam
Rainsy).
I cannot agree more with the very good initiative of SRP’s president and its people. It is time to make a change. The change which slowly but surely brings to life the free democracy starting right from the grass root level. Those who oppose the idea are idiots who are too much influenced and fooled by communist ideology and who are so worried that unfortunate Khmers will live a better life in a better world of Cambodia. Those buns of shits have no problems at all passing some stupid and unimportant laws but at the same time are so afraid to even think of introducing any new law that makes democracy flourish.
Your Highest Excellency Sam Rainsy! Remember, I am now, as an intellectual who loves nothing more than democracy and social justice for our unfortunate Khmer fellow citizens, writing from the bottom of my heart to really support all your efforts and hard works with your men and women in your party.
I am not at all a political activist. I have been a teacher for almost the rest of my life earning only 100 000 riels (about 25 USD) per month. Being a teacher these days is much like a bun of shits as our whole month payment is equal to only a small outdoor meal for three people or equivalent to a five-day meat for meal for a dog of quite a few CPP’s senior members. Though the pay is nothing but a backup for my survival, I have never voted for the CPP since I was 18, during the time I could vote for the first time in 1993. Many people in my family are blind-folded supporters of CPP. They have voted for the CPP only because they have been so much intimidated by fears including:
1. Fear of being even poorer and more desperate and more helpless if CPP is defeated.
2. Fear of getting into the state of civil war again if they don’t vote for CPP and if CPP fails an election. This fright has been very feasible by CPP’s intentional intimidation through its mobilizing of arm forces, random killings, and broadcasting of Pol Pot’s atrocity and many other countless cunning acts by CPP which are shown on its local TV channels just days before each election.
3. Fear of losing a chance of making good money (for a handful of CPP officials) as this is the only time that they can be so corrupt but yet protected by the culture of impunity and its network of widespread nepotism and favoritism in the CPP.
4. Fear of being sent back home (for hundred thousands of illegal Vietnamese immigrants who are living in almost every square meter of Cambodia territory.
5. Fear of being no one who will ever offer them some more small gifts (vote buying) including a Sarong (women garment), a small packet of seasoning, some instant noodles, some kilograms of rice etc. before each election like what the CPP has been doing and will always be doing. Many poor and desperate and less informed people believe that it is better off voting for the CPP so that they will be kept being offered those gifts again in the next elections, at least to make them live for another few days.
6. Fear as they are fooled to believe that only the CPP will build more schools, roads, hospitals and other infrastructures and no other political parties will ever be able to do so, (Sic)!
7. Fear that if they do not vote for the CPP, then the CPP’s people will scare the shit out of them to make them say they have not voted or will not vote for the CPP.
8. Fear the double standard and unfair treatment in the community if they appear not be friendly to the CPP. For example, they often are excluded from receiving any emergency relief during hazardous times of the year when the country is hardly hit by natural catastrophes and other man-made dangerous phenomenon.
9. Fear of being prosecuted in mass if the CPP is defeated as many CPP’s people are so corrupt and are criminals but for the time being under the CPP’s control they are safer protected and still at large for their illegal commissions. Many CPP’s senior people are prone to be brought to trial at any time if they appear to be against the CPP itself. Many of its people are lawbreakers, but the CPP has protected them unless to what extend when those people look loyal and less harm to the CPP. But, experiences show that, CPP has already laid the traps and they are ready to catch anyone of its members and put them in jail or make them disappear, should they wish. This makes the CPP’s people themselves are sometimes cold and helpless which eventually influences them to keep being loyal to the CPP for a few more years if not for a few more elections.
10. Fear of being revenged by some oppositional party activists because for many years, the CPP’s activists have been so unkind and abusive toward the opposition activists.
If it was not too long already, I would even include some more fears and intimidations embedded in the mindsets of many Khmer people who want to vote for SRP but do not feel free to do so because of the above fears.
Hopefully, this will help SRP understand some more from the teacher’s point of view in regard to the propaganda in each election.
Please remain our hero! Only you in the SRP may help make a different and change in the current spoiled system of Cambodia’s politics.
Though I am not a strong pro-SRP, I have never voted for the CPP nor other parties but the SRP.
Teacher in Phnom Penh
Let's think out of the box. Let's first count the number of layers of administration in Cambodia from the bottom up:
1. Village chief;
2. Commune council;
3. District office;
4. Provincial office;
5. Ministry: lowest office;
6. Ministry: middle office;
7. Ministry: high office
8. Ministry: Director-General
9. Ministry: Under-secretary of state;
10. Ministry: Secretary of State;
11. Ministry: Minister.
One concrete example: A colleague and I registered our NGO. We went through the administrative layers from the bottom to the top. At the ministry, we noticed that the letter of approval had been initialed by five officials, that is it had passed through five different officials, before the minister signed it in the end. This is the reality. If Cambodia was a private company, it would go bankrupt by the sheer weight of its administrative layers. These administrative layers are like multiple layer umbrellas (chhat ruot)in Buddhist temples which provide no shade.
The Cambodian people are over-ruled.
Let's think about eliminating two lawyers at the bottom: no village chiefs; no provincial offices. All powers and responsibilities of the provincial authorities should be tranferred to district authorities. All powers and responsibilities of village chiefs should be trabsferred to commune councils. Districts and communes have more or less the same size of the population to look after. Many issues should be decided only at the district level. District offices should be located in such a way that people can make a day trip by bicycle to get things done there, leaving home in the morning and getting back in the evening. Only serious matters go to the ministry.
At the ministry, there is a need to abolish at least two layers to cut down the bureaucracy and save time and resources.
Furthermore, each office must have a performance pledge. For instance, registering the birth of a baby at a commune office should be completed with a copy of the birth certificate given to its bother and/or father within 20 minutes; the same for registering a marriage, notifying the wedding of one's children, certifying one's address or one's conduct, etc...
At land registry offices: just say 30 days after receiving the application.
At vehicle registration offices: 5 days after receiving the application.
Etc...
Etc...
Staff should also serve people with curtesey. "Can I serve you, Sir/madam? Are you attended to? Can I help you? can you queue up, and wait your turn? First come, first served"
There should also be periodic evaluation of the performance for the promotion of staff, for further improvement, for correcting flaws in the procedure, for further skill training for staff, etc...
This is what is called "administration as service, people as clients", or " citizen-centered public administration" or public management.
LAO Mong Hay, Hong Kong
Good point, Dr. Lao, but if the
issue is bureaucracies, why can
we just cut the bureaucracies,
without cutting any
administrator?
9:27, I know you have hardship
with your salaries, but what make
you think Mr. Rainsy can improved
your lifestyle? From the way he
sounds, I think many company will
jumped ship when he take office,
and that is worse for you because
you salary come from tax revenue.
There are many jobless in worse
condition than you. I propose
a statue quo and wait for better
days. I am optimistic that it will
come.
Okay, even if I am wrong, what good
is money, if you are dead. You
hatred for communist will soon to
kill you. That is why you wanted
to vote for Mr. Rainsy, right?
Do you think he can defeat
communist with tiny Cambodia when
they wont even budge to the US
attacking them? That is a serious
weak point that he has. I wont
take that lightly.
Sam Rainsy is a good person.
He has excellent record in the
finacial institution. That is all
I know, but that is far from
what is required to run a
country, especially in this
neighborhood.
It is a noble opinion Mr. Rainsy, for Wester way of Demoncracy, not the one made fron Chin or Vietname Congchar.
There are lot of shirts that looks
good, but some don't fit. I would
wait and see how it does.
Furthermore, I would try to
anticipate all potential problems
that might arise from this.
7:01, you are right that money does not make any good if one is dead! Teacher, like me and many others I believe, wants respects, honor and dignity, moral support and proper living condition, not just about money and high pay. But, Hun Sen and his government has done very little to help teachers in that regard because they have been geared by the fact that they are politicians for lifelong power and wealthiness that they have no time left to even think about teachers. I vote for Sam Rainsy because I believe that he may make a difference. I don't vote for CPP because I know for sure that the statue quo will see its even worse days ahead in such a corrupt, bureaucratic and spoiled system. Though many people fear of death, it is better off dying than living in this present prolonging and endless hardship in today Cambodia. I am not very convinced that Sam Rainsy will do things much better. But the one thing I am convinced is that Hun Sen and his government has done very little good to make us think that it is a promising governing body.
Vote for a change! Whatever change it is, then vote for another change!
Who knows who is better if he is not given an opportunity to demonstrate his real capacity in governing the country.
Teacher in Phnom Penh
Teacher, don't let your perception
fool you. Fact of the matter is we
have a lot more people to care for
beside teachers. Personnally,
I am dying to get more for our
law enforcement officers, but I
can't. We got too many beggars to
take care off. We can't just focus
on teachers, firemen, and Police
officers. We do care about our
teachers. I don't care what anyone
said otherwise. Come on, what is
the rush? Are you dying? Please, be
patient and let us take care of
others too, will ya? We don't have
magic wand; you know?
Continue: Okay teacher, frankly,
I don't know the extend of your
difficulty, but if it is really
bad, perhaps you could extort some
money from some of the spoiled
rich students of yours for now,
okay? I think this is fair, since
the rich keep you down, you can
make it up from their kids,
hehehe. How's that sounds?
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