By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
02 June 2009
Senior Cambodian officials told reporters Tuesday that remarks about corruption made by the US ambassador last week could damage diplomatic relations between the two countries.
US Ambassador Carol Rodley said at a ceremony for an anti-corruption concert Saturday that the practice costs Cambodia $500 million a year.
At a press conference Tuesday, Om Yentieng, a senior adviser to Hun Sen and head of the government’s anti-corruption body, assailed the remarks as “one-sided.”
US-Cambodian relations have thawed in recent years, and the Southeast Asian nation has emerged as a willing ally in the regional war on terror.
But donors have pushed Cambodia to reign in deep-rooted corruption and continue to seek the passage of anti-corruption legislation that has been in a draft stage for more than a decade.
US Embassy spokesman John Johnson declined to comment on the government’s statements.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cabinet Minister sent official letters to the US Embassy saying the statement was regrettable.
The two government offices said the US was basing its view on a biased assessment from an opposition-aligned economic institute.
US Ambassador Carol Rodley said at a ceremony for an anti-corruption concert Saturday that the practice costs Cambodia $500 million a year.
At a press conference Tuesday, Om Yentieng, a senior adviser to Hun Sen and head of the government’s anti-corruption body, assailed the remarks as “one-sided.”
US-Cambodian relations have thawed in recent years, and the Southeast Asian nation has emerged as a willing ally in the regional war on terror.
But donors have pushed Cambodia to reign in deep-rooted corruption and continue to seek the passage of anti-corruption legislation that has been in a draft stage for more than a decade.
US Embassy spokesman John Johnson declined to comment on the government’s statements.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cabinet Minister sent official letters to the US Embassy saying the statement was regrettable.
The two government offices said the US was basing its view on a biased assessment from an opposition-aligned economic institute.
19 comments:
KI media is too naive to expect Dracula to seek help to stop blood sucking.
Kuoy Pichet
Cambodia must pass corruptions laws asap! no more delay!
Corruption law is not good enough for Cambodia. To clean up corruption is to change to a new government and lock up the pro-viet government in prison or better yet, waste them.
Corruption law will not solve the problem. in fact, it creates more problems and the corruption law will not be a detterent. The only way Cambodia gets rid of corruption is by not practicing corruption.
sometimes, i find the media is biased and so one-sided in their view. i think what they (gov't) is against is more of a technical approach to doing or meddle in an independent, sovereigned country like cambodia's internal affairs that they are talking about, not so much against the critics, but he method or the unruly approach the critics is using is what cambodia think is uncalled for. just like the other article that pointed out the srp party member were against the passing of the disabled law that recent passed in parliament or assembly; they cited that it they were against it because of the technical approach of doing so, and now look at how the gov't is criticking the way the US ambassador criticized the corruption in cambodia. it's the same way, it's about the etiquette or the way the approach or doing so that is the problem, not the critics itself. hello, wake up everyone! god bless cambodia.
sounds like the technical issue of proper etiquette to me. cambodia needs to retraining our people the proper khmer etiquette again since the stupid KR destroyed most of it already. people have to know the proper etiquette in most way in cambodia, especially in dealing with others. god help cambodia.
Dracula suck only the blood of a Yuon Hanoi. Fucking your mother a 7:44 AM.
Жоб твою мать a 7:44 AM, а юн Ханой.
កូនមីចោរកាចុយ 7:44 AM.អាយួនហាណូយ។
Hun Sen senior advisor Om Yentieng just another corruped CPP,if Hun SEN continue to use them as adviser ,nothing will change in CAMBODIA.
it is kind of odd to call bluff on a high US government official...I admired the spokesman's gut for he to seriously critiquing the US Ambassador as unreliable and irresponsible...
Corruption is a legal definition and it varies county to country. An unfettered free enterprise system allows for payment for those who do things for others- only a so-called corruption law prohibits payment for services involving government officials. It it s fact that the U.S. law called Foreign Corrupt Practice Act allows payment of money to public officials to expedite paperwork for example, and it allows the payment of university expenses i.e. tuition, room and board of the children of government officials, and that is not corruption. Cambodia has "corruption" just like Thailand, VN, China and most every country.
The critics are very effective if they came from the vietnameses government.
Frequently, people have proclivity of pinning blame on others, yet very capable of dictating to others while refuse to listen.
PPU
Cambodia is not the same as US or European countries. All these countries, their citizens had to declare yearly finance-balances and pay tax. But they all still have had problem with the corruptions, Germany, France, UK and of course USA.
Now what you expected from our country Cambodia ? You need to know exactly the corruption systems, to prove and to understand why CORRUPTION ? Not all of the Khmer citizen know or pay income tax.
It is although hard to stop corruption, but we can improve step by step, if we all want and work together.
One thing is very important for the future of the nation is the Education. In the mean time, we have a lot of private institutions for the wealthy families, but not for all Khmer children. I would say an academic study is just a part of the "Education System".
The level of the national education are not well as the authority expected and the PM Mr. Hun Sen has the right to blame it.
All teachers in Cambodia wanted to do more for their students, but the situation did not permit, because of many reasons.
Cambodia increasingly and publicly heads down into the road of corruption and dishonesty, unconscientiously focuses on the moral depredations of CPP's regime, and especially the systematic corrupting influence of vice among every Khmer people as a simple means of escaping the mentally financial miseries of his/her poorest lives.
just his name alone tell me who he is. Hun Sen should choose adviser who is experienced and well edudated.
The corruption is not symptom that can not be cleaned,it must be used by the democrcy system,in Cambodia inocent people have no input into the public,this symptom shoudl be cleaned from the top to battom,it can not be cleaned from the battom.
Unocent people are suffer,they're
not corrupted,don't be compared to poverty to Eurpean cost living.
Corruption is an over used word. Cambodia is no different that the countries around it and most countries of the world. At least in Cambodia so-called corruption is a way to spread the wealth to those at the bottom end of the economic pole. In other words, the police standing on the corners, the lower staff at government offices wouldn't be able to have a livable amount of money. The U.S. is big on corruption, but it's defined they way they want. Under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices act, it's not corruption for a US citizen or company to BRIBE a public office to expedite paperwork- but some how in Cambodia is not ok.
If you want to know where the US Ambassador get the figure of annual loss of $500 million to corruption in Cambodia, please go to this website and read it:
http://www.usaid.gov/kh/democracy_and_governance/documents/Cambodian_Corruption_Assessment.pdf.
It is ridiculous that the Foreign Ministry of Hun Sen regime alleged that the US Ambassador Carol Rodley used the figure of Economic Institute of Cambodia for reference to her speech at Clean Hand Concert. Actually she used the study by Casals & Associates for reference.
I think what 9:20 AM said is not true. Corruption never benifits the poor or the powerless but the rich and powerful. Of course corruption can somehow help police officers on the corner of the street and lower government officials to survive. But it should be noticed that the corrupt money those officials take must also be paid to thier bosses, the powerful. I think if corruption is good, all countries around the world would not have anti-corruption law or measures to combat corruption. Instead all leaders around the world would give the reward to corrupt officials. Also if corruption is good Vietnam or China would never sentenced to dead the corrupt officials; instead those corrupt officials should be promoted. 9:20 AM! you are ឆ្កួតឡប់។
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