SRP parade during the 2007 commune electionTuesday, June 23, 2008
By Ros Sokhet and Adrien Le Gal
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the original article in French
26 June is the launching date for the official election campaign, political parties will parade their supporters in trucks along Phnom Penh city streets. This is a good business time for pickup truck owners who increase their renting price for the occasion.
$60 per day! Chhay Serey Roth, the owner of three pickup trucks parked near the Preah Monivong Hospital, has all the reason to be satisfied with them. Taking advantage of the election campaign, he increased the daily renting cost of his trucks by almost sixfolds, and the trucks are in large demand by political parties to transport their supporters on 26 June. “My clients are the CPP and the SRP. I didn’t choose them, to me, it’s strictly business,” he said. Political parties are less insisting than before: “There are more trucks than before. During the past elections, political activists pressured us to rent the trucks to them.”
Sok Sambo’s only truck, at the O’Russey market, also found a client for the 26. “The SRP reserved it for $50. It’s a party that I find very likeable, but that’s not the reason why I rented it to them, they were the first one.”
Srey Tong Heng only got $40 for his truck which is waiting for the HRP to come and pick it up at the Olympic Market on 26 June. “I didn’t know that you can rent it at a higher price. The party representatives came and told me a price. I didn’t think about it and I agreed,” he said. To him, business and politics do not mix. “I would rent the truck to any party, even if I don’t agree with their ideas.”
At the SRP, the subject is not taken lightly at all. “The SRP has already rented about 100 trucks in the capital in preparation for 26 June. But in the Daun Penh and Tuol Kok districts, all the trucks were already rented to the CPP!” said Ho Vann, the SRP candidate for the city of Phnom Penh.
In 2003, the cost of renting a truck was $30 per month for the election. In addition to the gasoline price increase, according to Ho Vann, the current increase of truck renting price is due to the pressure exerted by the ruling party which tried to hoard all the trucks it can find. “The CPP tried to prevent us from renting trucks, but we already have enough!” Ho Vann claimed.
$60 per day! Chhay Serey Roth, the owner of three pickup trucks parked near the Preah Monivong Hospital, has all the reason to be satisfied with them. Taking advantage of the election campaign, he increased the daily renting cost of his trucks by almost sixfolds, and the trucks are in large demand by political parties to transport their supporters on 26 June. “My clients are the CPP and the SRP. I didn’t choose them, to me, it’s strictly business,” he said. Political parties are less insisting than before: “There are more trucks than before. During the past elections, political activists pressured us to rent the trucks to them.”
Sok Sambo’s only truck, at the O’Russey market, also found a client for the 26. “The SRP reserved it for $50. It’s a party that I find very likeable, but that’s not the reason why I rented it to them, they were the first one.”
Srey Tong Heng only got $40 for his truck which is waiting for the HRP to come and pick it up at the Olympic Market on 26 June. “I didn’t know that you can rent it at a higher price. The party representatives came and told me a price. I didn’t think about it and I agreed,” he said. To him, business and politics do not mix. “I would rent the truck to any party, even if I don’t agree with their ideas.”
At the SRP, the subject is not taken lightly at all. “The SRP has already rented about 100 trucks in the capital in preparation for 26 June. But in the Daun Penh and Tuol Kok districts, all the trucks were already rented to the CPP!” said Ho Vann, the SRP candidate for the city of Phnom Penh.
In 2003, the cost of renting a truck was $30 per month for the election. In addition to the gasoline price increase, according to Ho Vann, the current increase of truck renting price is due to the pressure exerted by the ruling party which tried to hoard all the trucks it can find. “The CPP tried to prevent us from renting trucks, but we already have enough!” Ho Vann claimed.
4 comments:
It's time to stop Ah Scam Rainxy from wasting our poor taxpayers' money on nonsense for his own political gain.
taxpayer's money? you stupid idiot! The CPP is control of the taxpayer's money, SRP money mainly comes from donors. I sometime see comments like yours and it proof that your blind and stupid.
What donors? Average gorilla in Long Beach has a hard time make end meat. Who are you trying to kid, huh?
Impossible, no one will wanted to go in the wrong direction back to year-zero with Ah Scam Rainxy.
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