Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
20/06/2007
Aid without reform and strict guidelines puts Cambodia at risk to become a beggar nation, solely reliant forever on foreign aid and incapable of one day functioning independently, Seng Theary, executive director of the Center for Social Development said Wednesday.
The consultative group of donors Wednesday pledged to give Cambodia $690 million in aid in 2007, raising questions about the number of years Cambodia will be reliant on aid, on how future generations will pay off foreign loans and whether the government was doing a good job with the money.
Governments must not forget that the aid is money from individual foreign taxpayers, so it should be 100 percent relevant to the Cambodian people, Seng Theary said in a VOA Khmer interview. This alone should make the annual aid pledges important to many people.
"There should be strong conditions," she said. Without them, reform won't take place. "That's why we need the donors to do more."
Continued aid without reform risked turning Cambodia into a "beggar," she said.
Projects undertaken by the government that don't succeed should be scrutinized by donors, and poor projects should not receive funding, she said.
Donors need to make sure the aid is being properly spent, and, if it isn't, they should be ready to cut it off, Seng Theary said.
Even as the aid comes in, the government ignored calls from rights groups for greater transparency on government expenditures and debt, she said.
The consultative group of donors Wednesday pledged to give Cambodia $690 million in aid in 2007, raising questions about the number of years Cambodia will be reliant on aid, on how future generations will pay off foreign loans and whether the government was doing a good job with the money.
Governments must not forget that the aid is money from individual foreign taxpayers, so it should be 100 percent relevant to the Cambodian people, Seng Theary said in a VOA Khmer interview. This alone should make the annual aid pledges important to many people.
"There should be strong conditions," she said. Without them, reform won't take place. "That's why we need the donors to do more."
Continued aid without reform risked turning Cambodia into a "beggar," she said.
Projects undertaken by the government that don't succeed should be scrutinized by donors, and poor projects should not receive funding, she said.
Donors need to make sure the aid is being properly spent, and, if it isn't, they should be ready to cut it off, Seng Theary said.
Even as the aid comes in, the government ignored calls from rights groups for greater transparency on government expenditures and debt, she said.
4 comments:
Who is going to pay back those debts when Ah animal Hun Kwak and all his crooks burn alive by HELL.
The government seems to be very happy when receiving aid at a time.
But Cambodian people do not satisfy with that because we are not the beggar nation.
HUN SEN is the useless Prime Minister. Other countries always look down on Cambodian people because of him, HUN SHIT.
now we become the begger nation, do we deserve all these?...we need to tell him, he, hun kvak needs to go back home, srok yuon.
we don't need the begger leader like him. he put cambodian people down, the world look bad at us.
no shame if you are Cambodians..
THE PRIDE TO BE A LEADER
Who are we? We are Khmer.
Who are Khmers? Khmer or kampouchea are “ kampouch neak jea- a free man, a master of oneself, and a master of others”.
So now are we still Khmer? Yes, one hundred percent we are still Khmer.
Are we still free men, maters of ourselves, and the masters of others? Yes, we are still free men, masters of ourselves, and masters of others.
How? We are free to become beggars and we are free to remain poor and free to live under any invasion from neighbor countries. We are the masters of ourselves without having any intervention for being beggars. And we are the masters of others because wherever our leaders go, other countries always pay them off- donation, to ask our leaders to do them favors like respecting for human rights, alleviating poverty, corruption and culture of impunity… If other countries do not beg our leaders, they will not do that. See, how strong we are. We are still Khmer.
THIS IS THE PRIDE OF HUN SEN GOVERNMENT.
THE REAL PRIDE TO BE A LEADER
Every nation always wishes to have a good leader because, as John C. Maxwell says that, “ Everything rises and falls because of leadership”. Historically, a good leader is the fundamental of strengthening national economy, and cementing and heightening the national pride and national identity. Yet a bad leader is the evil of the nation.
A good leader must lead by competence, respect, law, example, responsibility, sacrifice, integrity, strong political will, and empowerment. Characteristically, a good leader knows whom he serves, knows what he is doing for, knows how to lead and how to be led to achieve his goal - the health of the nation.
Just look back to our best leader ever born- King Jayavarman VII, he is really a good leader. He really knows whom to serve, what he is doing for, and how to lead and how to be led. In this sense, he used his slogan that, “The suffering of his people is his suffering”, to motivate his commitment.
Proudly speaking, He is the King who is the most powerful, yet he is the powerless with his people, he is the King who all the people willingly follow and serve; yet he has no followers and servants, he is the King who is the richest, yet he has nothing.
He is powerful to lead, yet he is powerless because he leads by listening to his people, what his people need, what he is obliged to do to serve them. All the people willingly follow and serve him, yet he has no followers and servants because his people and him are one (basing on his slogan). They are he. He is the richest, yet he has nothing because his kingdom is the richest one in Southeast Asia, and this wealth is for the well being of his people. He distributed all his property to his people by building hospital, irrigation, roads… With this, he gives us the great identity as the “CIVILIZED PEOPLE and NATION”.
As the priority, the pride to lead is the pride that a leader is able to serve his people and nation justly, properly, equally, peacefully, and prosperously. And it is also the pride to lead if the leader willingly leads himself to step down from the power when he consciously knows that his leadership is not qualified or he cannot serve his people well. Furthermore, he willingly protects his people and defends his country from the invasion by any means from other countries. THIS IS THE REAL PRIDE OF A LEADER.
SO WHAT IS THE PRIDE OF HUN SEN OF TRYING TO BECOME A PRIME MINISTER AGAIN WHEN THE PEOPLE ARE SO MUCH SUFFERING FROM POVERTY, INJUSTICE, AND INVASION FROM NEIGHBOR COUNTRIES?
PM Hun Sen is identified as the strong man of Cambodia for his long time in power and his grips in the government. In contrast, basing on the real pride of a leader, he is not a strong man of Cambodia, but he is just an evil for our country, for now he is giving us Cambodians the new identity as the “UNCIVILIZED PEOPLE” during the riot Jan 29, and the “BEGGARS” recently. We all are now known world widely as the beggar people and the beggar nation when Siam government sent back home all the Cambodian beggars in Bangkok. This news is published widely by many famous international newspapers, magazines, and websites. You know how do you feel if you are in other countries now and you are asked what your nationality is?
He Hun Sen knows nothing about how to lead to the wealth of the nation and the well being of his people as whole. He knows only how to lead as a part, but not as the whole. He does not lead by serving all, but by serving part, or group, he does not protect all, but protect by part. Therefore, under his leadership the most Cambodians people have so much suffering from injustice, poverty, corruption, and the invasion from neighboring country.
Strictly speaking, he leads the country by begging alms from others. He does not know how to lead by standing on his own feet. This is because he does not have any leadership essences. With this he cannot be a strong man of Cambodia. Yet he is just a scarecrow and the evil of the nation. SO FOR HIM, TO REMAIN IN POWER IS TO MAKE MOST CAMBODIANS BECOME REAL SCAPEGOATS.
However, he himself still has pride to be a leader, but his pride is different from the above said. His pride is that he knows well how to lead, to serve, and to satisfy his ambition, his small group, his family, and his evilness and he wants to build on his new dictatorship dynasty in our motherland. Just see one of his slogans, “ WIN, WIN, WIN”. He realizes the up and down of his leading, so he uses this slogan to fight for power but not for the common good of the nation. This means that if he does not win he will cheat, or play a trick to win or whatever, no matter how much it costs to our poor society. This is how effective he leads and how evil he is.
SO IF HE STILL LEADS THE SAME WAY HE DID IN THE LAST MANDATE, HE WOULD BETTER STEP DOWN, FOR HE SHOULD GIVE HIS RESPECT AND FEEL SYMPATHY TO HIS POOR PEOPLE AND NATION.
However, he deserves the position of PM again if he changes his attitude in leading. This to happen only if he changes from serving by part to all, from protecting by part to all, loving by part to all, from uniting by part to all. He must look at his duty/ obligation, responsibility as a serving whole. He must feel that he and all Cambodians are one. He must know how to lead his people and allow himself to be led. Basically, he must have a vision for the health of the nation. THEN HE REALLY BECOMES THE STRONG MAN OF CAMBODIA. THIS IS THE PRIDE TO BE A LEADER.
* PRINCIPALLY, “THE PRIDE OF A LEADER IS PLACING THE INTERESTS OF THE NATION AS THE PRIORITY”. AND
* “ THE PRIDE TO LEAD IS THE PRIDE TO SERVE THE NATION AND THE PEOPLE HONESTLY AND HUMBLY”.
LET’S BUILD OUR COUNTRY GREAT AGAIN!
Pang Sokheoun
October 01, 2003.
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