Date: 12/09/2007
Posted at: http://www.myp1t.com/blog/view/id_230/
In today's Cambodia, the number one topic of conversation is not about politics, who is sleeping with whom and getting what in return (that's the one of the top topics, though). It is about how much the speaker's land holdings are worth now and where so and so bought and sold recently and for how much.
For the past two years, land prices have skyrocketed, fueled by frenzied speculation, money-laundering, "investment" by foreigners and overseas Khmers.
Many rice farmers have seized the opportunity to sell their rice fields for what they considered to be a fortune and most have spent this money on bigger houses, motorbikes for themselves and their children. A few have reinvested the proceeds of the sale by purchasing land in more promising locations or used part of the money to start a business.
When the money runs out, after selling the material goods, many rice farmers have no land to grow rice and fall on hard times.
In the meantime, this new "sub-middle class" behaves exactly like the nouveau rich Oknhas and Angkareaks who are the self-appointed "masters of the land" and lord over non-cashed up neighbors and other penniless people around them.
I regret to say that a few of my distant relatives have exhibited this trait and I have witnessed it first-hand all around me, i.e. in markets, restaurants, even at the Cambodian Cultural Village in Siem Reap.
In November 2007, to encourage foreign investors to come to Cambodia, Hun Sen boasted about the fact that, in many areas of Cambodia, land prices were as high as in Hong Kong and some areas cost as much as New York. He implied that Cambodia was economically developed since land prices were comparable to Hong Kong's or New York's. I would have thought that high land prices were a disincentive, not an incentive, for investors.
Earlier this year, the so subtle communicator Hun Sen said in public that , if he was no longer Prime Minister, there was no guarantee that land prices would keep on rising and that, if anything, they were likely to fall.
My relatives who have most recently joined the ranks of the moneyed class did not take long to express the same thought that Hun Sen was the key to Cambodia's stability and have been uncharacteristically silent about the shortcomings of the Cambodian government.
Their obsession with land prices, money, wealth has turned them into social bores among other relatives and friends but so far, no one has had the courage (or rudeness, according to Cambodians) to tell them diplomatically that they have changed and not for the better.
Friends have told me that they have noticed the same change.
Do you have friends and relatives who have also changed along the same lines?
Does money change people, irrespective of race, religion, educational level?
With all these corrupt politicians and slutty entertainers as their idols and role models, have many Khmers embraced a culture of greed, money worship that pretends to follow the rites of Buddhism but violates some of the most basic precepts of Buddhism?
For the past two years, land prices have skyrocketed, fueled by frenzied speculation, money-laundering, "investment" by foreigners and overseas Khmers.
Many rice farmers have seized the opportunity to sell their rice fields for what they considered to be a fortune and most have spent this money on bigger houses, motorbikes for themselves and their children. A few have reinvested the proceeds of the sale by purchasing land in more promising locations or used part of the money to start a business.
When the money runs out, after selling the material goods, many rice farmers have no land to grow rice and fall on hard times.
In the meantime, this new "sub-middle class" behaves exactly like the nouveau rich Oknhas and Angkareaks who are the self-appointed "masters of the land" and lord over non-cashed up neighbors and other penniless people around them.
I regret to say that a few of my distant relatives have exhibited this trait and I have witnessed it first-hand all around me, i.e. in markets, restaurants, even at the Cambodian Cultural Village in Siem Reap.
In November 2007, to encourage foreign investors to come to Cambodia, Hun Sen boasted about the fact that, in many areas of Cambodia, land prices were as high as in Hong Kong and some areas cost as much as New York. He implied that Cambodia was economically developed since land prices were comparable to Hong Kong's or New York's. I would have thought that high land prices were a disincentive, not an incentive, for investors.
Earlier this year, the so subtle communicator Hun Sen said in public that , if he was no longer Prime Minister, there was no guarantee that land prices would keep on rising and that, if anything, they were likely to fall.
My relatives who have most recently joined the ranks of the moneyed class did not take long to express the same thought that Hun Sen was the key to Cambodia's stability and have been uncharacteristically silent about the shortcomings of the Cambodian government.
Their obsession with land prices, money, wealth has turned them into social bores among other relatives and friends but so far, no one has had the courage (or rudeness, according to Cambodians) to tell them diplomatically that they have changed and not for the better.
Friends have told me that they have noticed the same change.
Do you have friends and relatives who have also changed along the same lines?
Does money change people, irrespective of race, religion, educational level?
With all these corrupt politicians and slutty entertainers as their idols and role models, have many Khmers embraced a culture of greed, money worship that pretends to follow the rites of Buddhism but violates some of the most basic precepts of Buddhism?
15 comments:
Yes, it's burning inside, isn't it? Seeing our won beloved culture going back to the Neanderthals' age, I, myself, is aching. It's been over a year since someone gave me this "KI website" to monitor the situation in Cambodia.
We (Khmers) NO longer practicing anymore Buddism, Altruism (philanthropistism), Moralism, and many more ...ism. KHMERS SEEM TO BE ENGAGING IN SELF-ABSORB, LIVE FOR ONE DAY ATTITUDES, BULLYING FOR SELF GAIN IN STATURES OR WEALTHS, ETC. We are turning blind eyes from the facts. And when someone challenging us, We (Khmers) acted the BARBARIC ways by silencing the persons of his/her dignity or death.
YES, THE POLICIANS, IN MY OPINION, IS THE ICONS OF KHMER CITIZENS SUFFERING. NO ONE IN THE OFFICES IS WORKING IN THE INTEREST OF THE NATION, CAMBODIA. HUN SEN IS LIKE A PUDDLE OF WATER. THE LONGER THE WATER STANDS IN THE PUDDLE, THE WATER TURNED TO SEWAGE LIKE APPARENT.
PEOPLE OF CAMBODIA MUST WORK TOGETHER FOR A GREATER SOCIETY -- BY REPLACING LEADERSHIP WHEN THE TERM LIMIT IS UP. God bless the people of Cambodia to have courage to fight the corruption; strike the Corrupted official with the Polio Virus or a Mad Cow Diseases.
I agree that's true. I've seen and heard that. Your points are well expressed.
You should consider leaving your comment at http://www.myp1t.com/ also. The discussion there is interesting and Khemara15, the author of the article is a columnist at http://www.myp1t.com/ and he has other article and a follow up to this one too.
old saying....mean tek...mean trey...but now...mean tek...mean....phok....this is the period of hun's and...his clan...if
u love it that way..keep voting for him...and live with it...
Oh! poor man,
I am sorry to disagree with this article and all of your comments, including this quote:
"Their obsession with land prices, money, wealth has turned them into social bores among other relatives and friends but so far, no one has had the courage (or rudeness, according to Cambodians) to tell them diplomatically that they have changed and not for the better."
If I have to tell them, I will tell them to buy more land.
The poor can help no one, but the rich can (I am not talking about the currupt people, do not get me wrong).
For example, A country like Japan, before industrialization... one expert said: This country can not be rich because of its religous practice, Buddhism (ZEN)...Now can you tell me which country donates the most to Cambodia? Where is the wealth come from?. Adam Smith said: "the wealth of its people is the wealth of its nation". The country become rich if its people rich. It is true that money can not buy happiness, but it can buy a lot of conveniences. Go for it.
How can you practice philanthropistism if you do not have the money? You got to invest in order to practice altruism, otherwise you can only practice compassionism toward other people who are in need by giving them a smile, that is not enough they need the jobs, to make money. The rich can create jobs for the poor.
Most of the riches in the west donate millions of dollars each year to the charities organisation, I will do it too when I become rich.
I can feel making money in itself has no meaning, but making an impact on people lives for a better future have more profound meaning.
CHANGE YOUR THINKING TODAY FOR A BETTER TOMORROW.
NSW, AUSTRALIA
For better or for worst, Cambodians are inevitably part of it so long as Cambodians are not being unjustly, unjustifiably and systematically sacrificed by the Viet's puppet government such as that of HUN SEN.
I would not disagree with 9:34, at the same time i know exactly what the author speaks of, first hand experience of the people i know. And i have been trying to wake them up, but they have fail to see the long term consequences of their action.
9:34, its true the nation only become rich when the people are rich and some people feel they can only give, become a philanthropist when they are rich, and compassion seems to be able to disperse readily only when one have money.
But that is also a loop thinking. Compassion is given by the attitude, and as far as philanthropy go, any person can become one when they help each other out, even on small scale.
The problem that the author really points out is the poor people's readiness to jump on the wagon of land selling when they no vision or investment to get richer, that enables them to become a greater philanthropist or make the country richer as you say, but they are selling for instant gratification of having money, to pay off debt, to buy new tvs, motos etc.
The problem with the rich people in Cambodia today is not that they are enriching the nation and helping out with their wealth, but they know the desperation attitude among the poor and takes advantage of it like vultures. These people (not all) do not understand your Adams' concept or economy or even social philanthropy for that matter. Compassion that they share only are only to other of the same status.
I see you live in Australia, i don't think you know first hand what it is like to live in Cambodia in this age of "fast" development and the budding of a new material wealth idealism.
It is not that easy to compare Cambodia to other developed nations, or nations that have developed, the progress of the country is very different, and that have a lot to do with the common beliefs and basic attitude of the of the people.
Camboda is a child stuck between wants, materialism and spiritualism. It cannot make decision because it is not a mature child yet and so the decisions you see are sometimes impulsive and leave no benefit.
No matter where you are and who you are it needs a person of integrity to handle money so it does not corrupt you. Money gives power and power corrupts the uninitiated.
On another note, the current land and building craze will end in a big bust in one to two years. If you look at all the projects being undertaken in and around Phnom Penh (count them) you will find that they are building or planning to build too many houses and condos. How many families are there that can afford to buy houses for upwards of $40,000? It will take about that time for the speculators and builders to find out that they are over-building (mind you,prices range from $40,000 upwards to $250,000 on the market) and as a result prices will fall, steeply at that. That's when all the speculators still holding land will lose a lot of money because there won't be any more buyers. The same will apply to the people who bought one of those Cambodian houses as a speculative object. The ones that made money before will be the lucky ones. Good for them. The ignorant rice farmers will be the ones to suffer the most. Even now the land speculation is dangerously close to a bust when you have prices of $100 per m2 more than 40 km from the city. Now, who is Hun Sen to know with his minimalist education?
11:49PM. Thanks for the great intuition! I'd like to quote Socrates for this forum, and/or the Khmer governments to contemplate: "from the brain and the brain only arise our pleasures, joys, laughter and jests, as well as our sorrows, pains, griefs, and tears.... These things we suffer all come from the brain........."
Will we ever have anyone that is competent enough and a heart to serve ours nation and her citizens?
Hi all,
From 2000-2005, realestates booming in USA was the same way. Look at what happen now.
As soon as textile export from Cambodia is restricted, the economy will decline. Land prices will be collapsed.
The lands in Cambodia will only get more expensive as the country becomes more developed. Right now , Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world and yet the lands are this expensive. But, just sit back and watch how much more expensive the lands will be when Cambodia reaches the level of Thailand or Malaysia ect...
We are talking about these unfortunate people that suffered no matter. Take fuel for example, ah HunSen family own a large stake of it. People have to pay about $6.00/gal of gas for the country that average income is $250-$300/yr. The inflation rate is out of proportion.
This too expensive for the general population, where 95% is dirt poor peasants. Guess what! No obesity problem in Cambodia, except the elite people.
It's easy for us to sit back & watch.
I hope that 3:51am was right.
Alot of people believe that properties price in Cambodia was based on speculation.
We all think differently, Cambodian property market is quite distinct from the US property market. The US market was driven by the strong economic growth, but Cambodian market is base on the following expectations and facts:
1) The first wave of industrial evolution started in England and then spread thru out Europe that bring prosperity to those nations.
2) Manufacturing industry in the west is now death.
3) If you believe in Buddhism too, you will see it has rebirthed in Asia. That is the second wave of the industrial evolution if you want to call it so.
4) The UN mission is to eliminate the extreme poverty around the world by year 2020.
5) Now we have another form of organisation, known as NGO which help speed up the economic development in the poor country.
6) The developed countries support the concept of GLOBALISATION.
I am sure the property market in Cambodia will not collapse. If you do not invest today you will eat your heart out in 10 years time.
THINK OUTSIDE THE SQARE YOU LIVE IN.
NSW,AUSTRALIA
1:38
With respect, but you cannot use those criteria to the current land speculation in Cambodia. This speculation is driven by the idea of making a quick profit. When speculators sell to speculators and not the user or consumer you will have a slow-down and eventual collaps of that market. The builders build more than the market will be able so absorb. These two factors will make it collapse. This is like an economic law, and Cambodia is no exception. Cambodia is still lacking the base for an economic development along the lines of Thailand or Malaysia. Those two countries had more than garments and tourism, e. g. agricultural products, electronics manufacturing, on their way to economic development. Cambodia has mainly two sectors, garments and tourism, two very volatile industries. Anybody who gets into the speculative game now will most likely still make some money. Most experts believe it will be over in about 1 to 2 years.
Expert are not alway right and you are logically right, but market force is not driven by one factor, speculation.
In this particular market, it is driven by vision of investors.
In the 1980s Australia was received a shockwave warning from Singapoure that Australia will be a scrap of Asia, since then the government established a task force to research for new policies to counter the Asian counterpart. It come up with 3 thick volumes.
University course here added exta course like Global Trade Management Degree (post graduate study)which is to prepare manager to work in Asia. If you come to the west now yo will see every thing is made in Asia.
Cambodia will not restrict to 2 industries, she will add more industries in. When we have gas in the pipe line, cheap electricity, we will be able to manage heavy industy, not only light industry.
No one can convince me that the land price will collapse, it can slow down if the west is in recession. In this world, nothing is travel in straight line. It is always up and down, if you draw the line of best fit, it will see it is always head north.
BE OPTIMITIC, CAMBODIA WILL BE A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE AND A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO VISIT IN SOUTH EAST ASIA.
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