Washington and Phnom Penh
11 December 2009
The Council of Ministers on Friday approved the long-awaited draft of an anti-corruption law, but critics worry they will have little chance to change it when it comes up for parliamentary debate.
The law will attempt to rein in the country’s endemic corruption, which starts with traffic police taking bribes from overloaded trucks and ends with senior ministers taking kickbacks for lucrative land and business dealings.
Cambodia ranks No. 158 out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s corruption index, putting it ahead of only Burma and Laos in the region. The country loses as much as $500 million a year in revenue to corruption, according to US estimates.
“The anti-corruption law is a part of the reform program of the royal government, for good governance, strengthening the rule of law, sustainable development and poverty reduction,” according to a statement by the Council of Ministers issued Friday.
The three main strategies in the law, the statement said, are education and prevention; curbing corrupt acts through legal measures; and “participation and support from the public.”
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Friday the law would establish an independent anti-corruption council. It also requires the declaration of assets by parliamentarians, government officials, military personnel, police, judges, prosecutors and court clerks. The draft law provides a jail provision from 1 month to 15 years.
“If the anti-corruption law comes into effect, corruption in Cambodia will be reduced more than in the past,” Mam Sitha, president of the Cambodian Independent Anti-Corruption Committee, a non-governmental organization, said Friday. “Even though we don’t know the effectiveness of the law, it’s better that we have the law.”
The draft law was initially proposed in 1994 and has since been amended with inputs from non-governmental organizations, government critics and donors. The draft reached the National Assembly floor in 2003 but was sent back for improvements. It has since been with the administration.
“What the government wants is a law that is effective, promotes the rule of law and has no discrimination in delivering public services,” Phay Siphan said Thursday. “The law will ensure that there is no abuse of power or of public confidence.”
The draft, which was not disclosed publicly Friday, is expected to reach the National Assembly for debate next week.
Opposition lawmakers doubt they will have a chance to contribute to the debate over the law. In the past, some laws have passed without a single word changed, and opposition lawmakers worry they will not have enough time to study the new draft.
“Corruption in Cambodia is systematic, existing from the bottom to the top,” Kem Sokha, president of the opposition-aligned Human Rights party, said. “It does not happen by chance as in other countries, or in Cambodia’s past. We have to start cleaning it from the top first, and if the court dares not prosecute leaders, the anti-corruption law will only be a tool to prosecute low-ranking officers and those whom the powerful don’t support.”
Yim Sovann, spokesman for the leading opposition Sam Rainsy Party, suggested that recommendations from civil society, which include setting up an independent anti-corruption body, should be included. Access to information should be mandated, he said.
“If we cannot have access to information in public and government institutions, especially involving corrupt officials in the government, we cannot effectively fight corruption...and the law we are making now will become just a blank paper,” Yim Sovann said.
Donors, who provide hundreds of millions of dollars to government coffers each year, have pushed hard for anti-corruption legislation, threatening strict conditions on aid or to spend their money on other countries in need.
Meanwhile, local organizations argue that corruption hinders the rule of law. And it remains to be seen how effectively the new law will be in curbing corruption.
“Victory depends on the law and what is in it,” said Chea Vannath, a political analyst and former head of the Center for Social Development. “If the law focuses on prevention, education, and awareness promotion, the implementation will be based on that.”
A law that focuses on legalities and punishment will be hard to enforce, and less fruitful, she said. “It is difficult to hunt down a perpetrator and punish him. It takes lots of time and money, but the result is small.”
The law will attempt to rein in the country’s endemic corruption, which starts with traffic police taking bribes from overloaded trucks and ends with senior ministers taking kickbacks for lucrative land and business dealings.
Cambodia ranks No. 158 out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s corruption index, putting it ahead of only Burma and Laos in the region. The country loses as much as $500 million a year in revenue to corruption, according to US estimates.
“The anti-corruption law is a part of the reform program of the royal government, for good governance, strengthening the rule of law, sustainable development and poverty reduction,” according to a statement by the Council of Ministers issued Friday.
The three main strategies in the law, the statement said, are education and prevention; curbing corrupt acts through legal measures; and “participation and support from the public.”
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Friday the law would establish an independent anti-corruption council. It also requires the declaration of assets by parliamentarians, government officials, military personnel, police, judges, prosecutors and court clerks. The draft law provides a jail provision from 1 month to 15 years.
“If the anti-corruption law comes into effect, corruption in Cambodia will be reduced more than in the past,” Mam Sitha, president of the Cambodian Independent Anti-Corruption Committee, a non-governmental organization, said Friday. “Even though we don’t know the effectiveness of the law, it’s better that we have the law.”
The draft law was initially proposed in 1994 and has since been amended with inputs from non-governmental organizations, government critics and donors. The draft reached the National Assembly floor in 2003 but was sent back for improvements. It has since been with the administration.
“What the government wants is a law that is effective, promotes the rule of law and has no discrimination in delivering public services,” Phay Siphan said Thursday. “The law will ensure that there is no abuse of power or of public confidence.”
The draft, which was not disclosed publicly Friday, is expected to reach the National Assembly for debate next week.
Opposition lawmakers doubt they will have a chance to contribute to the debate over the law. In the past, some laws have passed without a single word changed, and opposition lawmakers worry they will not have enough time to study the new draft.
“Corruption in Cambodia is systematic, existing from the bottom to the top,” Kem Sokha, president of the opposition-aligned Human Rights party, said. “It does not happen by chance as in other countries, or in Cambodia’s past. We have to start cleaning it from the top first, and if the court dares not prosecute leaders, the anti-corruption law will only be a tool to prosecute low-ranking officers and those whom the powerful don’t support.”
Yim Sovann, spokesman for the leading opposition Sam Rainsy Party, suggested that recommendations from civil society, which include setting up an independent anti-corruption body, should be included. Access to information should be mandated, he said.
“If we cannot have access to information in public and government institutions, especially involving corrupt officials in the government, we cannot effectively fight corruption...and the law we are making now will become just a blank paper,” Yim Sovann said.
Donors, who provide hundreds of millions of dollars to government coffers each year, have pushed hard for anti-corruption legislation, threatening strict conditions on aid or to spend their money on other countries in need.
Meanwhile, local organizations argue that corruption hinders the rule of law. And it remains to be seen how effectively the new law will be in curbing corruption.
“Victory depends on the law and what is in it,” said Chea Vannath, a political analyst and former head of the Center for Social Development. “If the law focuses on prevention, education, and awareness promotion, the implementation will be based on that.”
A law that focuses on legalities and punishment will be hard to enforce, and less fruitful, she said. “It is difficult to hunt down a perpetrator and punish him. It takes lots of time and money, but the result is small.”
18 comments:
Robbers are trying to teach corrupt polices how they will be certified and to become legal robbers without being arrested.
I keep my fingers cross. At the same time I feel like the thieves are feeling the importance of having the anti corruption law in place, and they will be the ones who will determine they will do it... and that is Cambodia. We are just seem to be the country always at odds....
“It is difficult to hunt down a perpetrator and punish him. It takes lots of time and money, but the result is small.”
=It is not difficult to hunt down perpetrator especially when the perpetrator is a high official in the government. Well... the fact is Cambodian government doesn't want to invest in high technology in crime fighting and their police force arm with a small gun and a scooter! ahahhahah. I will be amazed if they have investigation unit to hunt down criminals.
I had been to Cambodia and the very first thing that caught my eyes are the high fences and some even have barbed wire. This tell me that Cambodia is still high crime rate country. And I believe that Cambodia is better off for having the law than not to have the law because people can be hold accountable according to the law. Most laws in Cambodia only apply to dirt poor Cambodian.
ANOTHER PLOY TO CHEAT DONNORS. THEY ARE A BUCNH OF PROFESSIONAL THIEVES. SEE HOW THIS LAW WILL BE ENFORCED. NIL, MY BET .
8.45am
But, this law can be used to hang those officials later when they los their power. See former Taiwan's president as an example.
One case is up to 15 years, how about 10 cases? you can calculate.
People shall be happy now as the law will come into force soon. Loves to see all the declarations of weatlh and assest by all parliamentarians.
Nothing that we can't do, well, we start from today on, it'll goes step by step. come on and help our country.
yuvachun khmer
Can you morons that think you are so corruption-free say you are clean? You mofo's most likely are very much unclean as anyone you like to talk shit about. Sihanouk's regime, Lon Nol's regime, all of which are the mother loads of corruptions. Sihanouk's regime was corrupted that when they took over the economy from the Chinese merchants, the rice economy collapsed. Lon Nol's regime was so corrupted they listed ghost soldiers and when time comes to fight, they were understrength and got their asses kicked.
Looking back at the recent history, name one regime that is clean. If you can't, obviously you fuckers ain't clean either since I know many of you hypocrites served under those past regimes, ah pok Lon Nol leftovers.
This Anti-Corruption law ain't gonna have any effect on AH Kwack! He's a Kleptocratic Ruler! As long as AH YOUN controls Cambodia will be the same!
I agree that Cambodia need to clean up corruption from the top down. However,it is not just government officials who need to clean their act, leaders of the oppositions as well as political organizations need to stop the abuse, corruption, nepotism, favoritism and cheating and lying.
Political leaders who challenge the ruling party in corruption must be clean themselves, otherwise they have no moral authority to stop others from being corrupted.
It is unfortunate that most Cambodian leaders, leaders of the opposition parties are included, are morally corrupted. That's why voters have said again and again that-- all politicians are [badly] the same.
Corruption is a social decay. It must be reduced from within each individual's heart and mind.
Corruptions started with high ranking military officials, the moon generals, the star generals, these people still illegally logging, those poor khmer people that shot and killed everyday by Thais soldier, because of these high ranking officials lured them to cut down the tree for them, we must started investigate with high ranking officials and all government officials in every level, they are the most corrupted people in cambodia right now...
People of Cambo need to learn from our past ancestors' teaching, do the right thing!, commit no crime, be clean to yourself and to others, have some loves, compassion,respect to yourself and to others is the way to life. The bible says, the righteous will live forever and the wicket will be terminated, and buddha says, Karma will come upon you seven times. In other words, the corrupted people will have to pay the price at the end of the day!. So, wake up brothers and sisters, together we can fight for our right and justice! by speaking up about the morality, integrity and professionalism. Khmer people are not dumb but we are the "just people", when we are kind, it does not mean we are dumb. It is those who uses the tech tich are the one who is shallow minded people and they think they can get away from it but the reality is no one in the world can get away from any kind of evil acts. Beleive me brothers and sisters, for forty years of my life, I have witnessed no one can get away from their wicked act. E.g. there was this beautiful peron got robed by this wicked person, but along the way his family had to pay the price, first, his son accidently shot him and later his two sons involved in another robbery and then got shot by two policemen. So, therefore you can see from father to sons and in the end their souls can not be saved. This is the true story and there are a whole lots more but i have no time to tell you however, maybe next time. Final advice Cambo gov't please try to follow the Aust way of life, like try to adopt their policy, law and order extra, only the gov't can save their own country and no one else can. Aust
Nobody is denying that is no corruption in the world or in any country for that matter! But any form of corruption must be manageable so that the people have room to breath, to make a decent living, and get a decent healthcare, and have a decent education for their children...on and on. What I am seeing in Cambodia right now is that the corruption is too much and 90% of dirt poor Cambodian people still trap in poverty and there is no way out.
2:14 PM
90% percent is in poverty? lol dude learn to stop pulling info out of your ass. Check again. The poverty is high but not 90 percent for sure. It's statement like that that I know you people's words are meaningless because you invent facts out of thin air.
It will be nice to see a law finally passed but have the other laws really stopped crime? If you are rich and powerful you can still kill, rape and steal and there are laws to stop that but nothing is done. At the end of the day the people committing the crime are the one's designing and implementing the law so what hope do we have for this to do anything. Once again, it is purely to placate the international community (the donors) and to try and change Cambodia's image: 'we have anti corruption law like other countries. We still have corruption like other developed countries and we have law' (but not the spirit) will be the perennial excuse for why the law will fail.
Ultimately, while becoming a member of the civil service (politician, police, military) will always be to make money and not to 'protect and develop' the country. If this anti-corruption law really works there will be chaos as most of the military, politicians, police etc will need to be arrested.
Don't forget: mobile phone voice recorders, phone cameras and multimedia messages are the way to ensure the people can show who is corrupt not the courts or the police who will always hide the truth.
Poverty isn't just about having a lack of money - it also relates to your rights, security, wellbeing, housing, food, shelter, access to healthcare, quality education etc. If we factor in these aspects of poverty then, yes, most Cambodians live in poverty.
To 6:20PM
Are you telling me that you really believe Hun Sen government statistic on Cambodian poverty? Hun Sen government routinely lying to Cambodian people and the world about his real achievement on poverty reduction through fake statistic! I don't know where you been fool since Cambodia still receive hand out from the world community around $500 million a year and does that make my statistic any better than Hun Sen government statistic?
I tell me that I am wrong that dirt poor Cambodian people still live on $1 dollar aday!
You mother fucker needs to think before you talk!
khmer rouge kill
khmer rouge trial
khmer rouge rules
khmer rouge laws
all under yuon orders and domination
when will that end while international community continue to give confort support and reasons to these criminals to continue to commit crime against innocent people in Cambodia
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