Inside Education Excellence

24 Aug 2012

By Ung Bun Ang

Cambodia500

INSIDE EDUCATION EXCELLENCE

One has only to look at the recent Bac II examination to find excellence in Cambodian education. The government is too modest when claiming the exam process is acceptable; its promised prosecutions for irregularities turn out to be unnecessary. It must be proud of its education policy that prepares youth for a future as well as contributing to a high GDP. A survey by social researcher Kem Lai confirms the students’ potential.

The survey indicates students take initiatives. An overwhelming 92% of the student respondents say they initiate collections of money for exam officials; however, they play down the significance of their initiative by saying the collection is not so original; it has already become a “culture”. They are also creative in calling for divine interventions before the exam.

The students are generous, caring for one another, and work well together. According to the survey, while the 92% initiates the collections, only two-thirds can afford to chip in. However, 78% of the respondents claim they share their work and copy from each other. These are excellent pre-requisites for teamwork.

CAMBODIA500 : The Casino Border Plan

NagaWorld  Casino in Phnom Penh: is it the PM’s subtle way of letting Cambodians know NagaWorld has already been a border marker that separates Cambodia and Vietnam? (Photo: Theary Seng)

14 August 2012
Op-Ed by Ung Bun Ang

If the PM aims to set a world record in monologue, he will have a long way to go. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez spoke for nine hours in his state-of-the-nation speech last January. However, he beats former Cuban leader Fidel Castro by about twenty minutes, but the latter makes his frequent five hour speeches outdoors in the hot Caribbean sun, not in air conditioned hall.

In his monologue, the PM spells out his secret plan he says he is forced to reveal. He has been protecting the Cambodian border with casino buildings. He sounds far from being stupid when claiming: “One can remove border markers, but one can’t remove five-storey hotels. Don’t be stupid”.

The claim first shows Hun Sen knows border markers can be moved. This means 287 markers that he has had them planted along the Cambodia-Vietnam border have a limited use; they cannot settle border encroachment as some pragmatists expect. Second, being not stupid means there must be new casino additions to the current number of about 25 – a lot more to be exact to cover the whole border. The Cambodian border with Thailand stretches 803 km, with Laos 541 km, and Vietnam 1,228 km.

HOW CAMBODIA WILL PAY

HOW CAMBODIA WILL PAY

18 July 2012
Op-Ed by Ung Bun Ang

The decision of the chair in the 2012 ASEAN meeting shows Hun Sen policies throw Cambodia into a position of having to choose between his two heavy hitters who are in disputes over the South China Sea territorial claims. On one corner, there is China – a powerful benefactor who dishes out loans and grants to him. On the other corner stands Vietnam – Hun Sen’s saviour who earns his eternal gratitude for his power base.

Of course, it would be nice to befriend with everybody. But there is a kind of friendship that can cost small potatoes like Cambodia dearly in the long run. Hun Sen has puts Cambodia into a benefactor-beneficiary relationship with the two major powers who are in the conflict that has no easy way out.

The decision not to issue any customary communiqué after the 2012 ASEAN meeting – whether it is influenced by China or not – pleases China who prefers to keep ASEAN out of the South China Sea disputes that directly involves four ASEAN members. China must be satisfied that all the monies it dishes out all these years to Hun Sen leadership have come to fruition, especially when it counts most.

At the receiving end, it is very doubtful if Hun Sen has an option of not pleasing China. He needs the Chinese monies that he claims to have no string attached to keep his Personal Interest Groups flourish so that his support base can be strengthened. He knows what it takes, and what he must do, to keep the Chinese monies rolling in under the facade of development.

2010 Alternative Prizes - Opinion by Ung Bun Ang

2010 ALTERNATIVE PRIZES

Alternatives Watch – 31xii10 – Special Edition.

It is time again for the well-deserved in Cambodian politics to receive awards for their remarkable actions in 2010.

No doubt, the “Collective Irresponsibility Prize” goes to premier Hun Sen for coming up with a nifty conclusion – after a quick official inquiry – that absolves everyone for the 353 deaths at the 22/11 Spean Koh Pich stampede. He admits the biggest mistake is carelessness and inept assessment of the situation. However, he says it is a joint responsibility, so no one is going to be responsible, which gives much comfort to those who are careless and inept. Effectively, the Cambodian buck has nowhere to stop. Rubbing salt in the wound, the premier claims the death toll would be higher if he were not in charge, which means Cambodians are small potatoes who ought to be thankful that only 353 of them are dead.

Prince Ranariddh grabs the “Will The Royal Soufflé Rise Twice? Prize”. After suffering two years of being busy with what his father describes as doing nothing in the Palace, the prince relies on drug addiction metaphor to seek limelight again. After reducing his 56 seat party to a mere 2, he says he comes out of the oblivion to reunite all royalists under a brand new Funcinpec 81. He says he will not aim to oppose – but solely to cooperate with – premier Hun Sen, which indicates he is looking for wealth and glory again. It is immediately rejected by leader of the prince’s target group royalist Funcinpec Nhiek Bun Chhay, who needs the proposed unification like a bullet in his head. Funcinpec has always been cooperating with the premier, and enjoying all perks. There is no need to rock the boat, which could only spoil its fortunes.

While the prince re-emerges to amass fund for his eventual retirement, opposition leader Sam Rainsy secures the “Potential Early Departure Prize”. He appears to have found some quantum of solace in exile with a forced retirement staring at his face. He no longer seems to know what he wants; he lately contents himself with a wait-and-see strategy. When asked how he will return to the ring when he wants to, he simply replies, “you just wait and see”. He may have an ace up his sleeve, but it is clear his frantic lobbying with foreign friends and sympathisers outside the ring is not as effective as he wishes. The light at the end of the tunnel he keeps on promising his supporters may just be an incoming train. Sam Rainsy is stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, which points to his imminent departure from politics. If he remains in exile, his SRP leadership role will become totally ineffectual; premier Hun Sen often claims – and SRP does not even bother to deny – that there are elements in the SRP top leadership working for him. However, if Sam Rainsy is allowed to return, he will have to make colossal concessions to premier Hun Sen that will end his political ambition.

Happy New Year, anyhow.

Ung Bun Ang

For Another Regime Change

The Samdach and the Pauper? (Photo: Reuters)

Alternatives Watch – 20xii09
Op-Ed by Ung Bun Ang

Prime minister Hun Sen is perpetuating an international strategy for a regime change that has time and again brought disasters to Cambodia. He has involved Cambodia in a push for a new government in Thailand. He declares the relations with Thailand will only be normalised if prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is voted out of office.

However, Hun Sen’s beneficiary, deposed Thai prime minister Thaksin, may not be strong enough to regain power. Their footwork so far may look interesting, and make some Cambodians proud of their prime minister, but Thai opinion leaders believe the conflict has overall benefited the Abhisit government: its popularity has improved; Thaksin becomes a perfect decoy to divert attention from the government’s failure to revive the economy; and Thaksin can now be blamed for any economic fiasco.

Meanwhile, Thaksin has some serious personal problems. First, he may be burnt by the Dubai World financial mess that has recently flared up. Judging by his ego and eagerness to please the Dubai investment community and make his presence as a billionaire felt, his investments in real estate projects, financial, and debt instruments in Dubai must be sizeable. Thus, the Dubai trouble is likely to rattle Thaksin. And his other assets amounting to 76 billion bahts (US$2.28 billion) have been frozen by the Thai authority, waiting for a court verdict later this month that can remove his fortune forever.

Second, it is possible he will lose his residency in Dubai, which is an emirate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He may be violating the UAE’s principle that allows nobody to use the UAE as a political base to attack other countries. And Thailand has actively sought the UAE’s assistance to bring Thaksin to serve a jail term for corruption, even though there is no extradition treaty between the two countries.

Thus, Thaksin could be broke and homeless, which is not an encouraging prospect for the man who has relied wholly on wealth to buy his way into power. Still, politics is such a fluid state of art that Thaksin may make a comeback – at least that is what Hun Sen is working on. Of course, Hun Sen can do more to help; he can follow his predecessors by allowing his friend to use Cambodian soil to launch his campaign to regain power.

In return for his effort, Hun Sen must expect rewards from Thaksin, who is right that “Everything depends on benefits”, similar to the way Vietnam has received from Hun Sen tributes for securing his power in Cambodia. And the benefit must be substantial for Hun Sen to be so committed to the Thaksin cause.

Nevertheless, while Hun Sen can enjoy the benefit, Cambodians may again begin to suffer, particularly when a Thaksin campaign from Cambodia provokes a Thai military response. Cambodian leaders in the past sixty years do not have a good record of ensuring their foreign friends they help will not, in return, plunge Cambodia into war and devastations before and after their successful regime change.

Ung Bun Ang

Quotable Quotes: “Alms given openly will be rewarded in secret.” - Anonymous. Chinese proverb.

The Thaksin Card

Alternatives Watch – 20xi09
Op-Ed by Ung Bun Ang

After conquering his local opponents, prime minister Hun Sen must content himself with escalating the border dispute into a major international clash that absolutely antagonises Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. His trump card is deposed Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra whom he has appointed as his economic adviser.

Hun Sen appears totally committed to Thaksin, eventhough he has not disclosed his main objective. He pushes so hard for Thaksin, whom he treats as an eternal friend, to be back in power in Bangkok. He openly goads the Thai prime minister into elections: “If Abhisit is so sure of himself, then he should call an election... What are you afraid of? Is it that you are afraid you will not be the prime minister?” He virtually calls the Abhitsit government a thief when he refers to the fact that it cajoles sixteen of Thaksin’s allies in parliament to form the current government. “You claim other people's property as your own. How can we respect that?” asks Hun Sen.

However, Cambodia – not Hun Sen – may just end up missing out. The adviser seems assuring when saying he sees a lot of synergy between Cambodia and Thailand. “What is good for you will also be good for my country,” claims Thaksin. This possibly means a joint-administration of Preah Vihear and other grey areas along the border is the best option for both countries. This implication is consistent with the fact that it was Thaksin’s ally Samak government that sent Thai troops to Preah Vihear in July 2008, and that the first armed clash occurred in October 2008 when Thaksin’s brother-in-law and close ally Somchai Wongsawath was the Thai prime minister. Thus, either Thaksin supports his allies’ blatant aggression, or his influence over them is insignificant. Either way, Cambodia is unlikely to benefit from the prime minister’s eternal friend.

Cambodia is not a Thaksin’s priority. In his claimed effort to reduce Cambodian poverty, the adviser promises to attract foreign investments. Nevertheless, while accepting and appreciating his appointment, Thaksin confesses, “it's not going to be fun like working to help Thai people out of poverty”. Cambodia is pushed to the back seat.

Thaksin may also have difficulty in sharing benefits, despite his sound rhetoric: “If the benefits are shared equally, surely the government can stay longer”. The fact that his own government did not last long means he failed the benefit sharing test; subsequent governments that were regarded as Thaksin’s proxies lasted even shorter. Unless he learns from the lesson, it will be doubtful how Cambodia can benefit from the wisdom. Furthermore, for a person like Thaksin who makes a fortune of two billion dollars in just four years from a telecommunication monopolistic structure secured through his connections and corruption, sharing benefits equally may just be hot air.

However, if the adviser does believe what he claims: “Everything depends on benefits”, Hun Sen can look forward to some substantial return for his titanic investment in Thaksin. Meanwhile, disappointment, if not disaster, likely awaits Cambodian people.

Ung Bun Ang

Quotable Quote:
“Benefits make a man a slave.” - Anonymous. Arabic proverb.

Business Side of Hun Sen Stability

"I, me and myself"?

Alternatives Watch – 10v09
Op-Ed by Ung Bun Ang

So, according to prime minister Hun Sen, as long as he remains at the top job there will be political stability in Cambodia. He makes this claim at the recent Second Mekong-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Siem Reap. And Hun Sen is probably right about the stability, considering the fact that oppositions are weak, disorganised, and unable to mount any credible challenges to him.

However, if it is true that the motive behind the claim is to impress new Japanese foreign minister Katsuya Okada for substantial Japanese investments in Cambodia, Hun Sen may be disappointed. His kind of stability that depends on him being there can, of course, attract certain businessmen who are seeking a quick profit with opportunities to move their capital in and out at short notice. It is a business operation that most suits fly-by-night or vulture companies that know who to bribe.

But serious foreign investors – the ones whom Council for Development of Cambodia secretary-general Sok Chenda says want to grow with the host country – may not share Hun Sen’s enthusiasm for his brand of stability the way he hopes they will. To them, the prime minister’s claim rings an alarm bell flagging a huge country risk, instead of a welcoming sign, when political stability of a country depends on an individual rather than institutions. They know there is a limit to how long a person can live, or can perform at optimum; only a strong institution can offer a lasting political stability that is conducive to long term business prosperity.

With his previous statement that without him there will be war, prime minister Hun Sen effectively makes those investors cringe. The Japanese government has been supportive of Cambodia from day one since the peace settlement; it funds, in one form or another, about fifty percent of the Cambodian national budget every year. But in contrast, Japanese businessmen generally have not been further away from what salesman par excellent Sok Chenda claims to be a unique money-making opportunity in Cambodia. There is a reason for them to stay away in droves.

If Hun Sen were to attract long term investors whom Sok Chenda cherishes, he would have to start working on building a strong government institution for Cambodia – the one that does not depend on him, and will last long after he is gone. He would need to believe that, no matter how comfortably he can walk all over his political opponents, he will neither last nor live forever. Like others, he is mortal and vulnerable to unpredictable future. He may be in charge,but not everything under the sun is under his control. Some X factor could abruptly put him out of commission, which will drown everything that depends on him.

With a strong institution, besides securing those beneficial foreign investments, Cambodia would not be thrown into chaos every time there is a leader changeover. The people would likely be spared from sufferings in between regimes they have frequently experienced since the heyday of Angkor.

Ung Bun Ang

Quotable Quote:

“A week is a long time in politics.” - Attributed to: Harold Wilson (1916–1995), British prime minister. First said in 1965 or 1966, and repeated on several occasions.

Unconvincing Salesman Par Excellence

Sok Chenda Sophea

Alternatives Watch – 30viii09
Op-Ed by Ung Bun Ang
Originally posted online

Council for Development of Cambodia secretary-general Sok Chenda may find it most difficult to attract foreign investments. He is confident, enthusiastic, and optimistic, which are necessary attributes for the task. However, he may need to be more. Reporter Roger Mitten, who conducted and published an insight interview with Sok Chenda, concludes he is only half convinced after encountering the man he dubs the salesman par excellence.

There are reasons why the salesman par excellence is not fully convincing. He claims all businessmen are interested only in profit, “not physical incentives, the political regime, not even religion – Ramadan or not, they don’t care”. His best selling point is simply that there is money to be made in Cambodia. He says there are fiscal incentives, total foreign ownership, and many untouched sectors to choose, offering “unique” opportunity foreign investors cannot find elsewhere.

Unfortunately, the sale pitch is only half truth. Globalised Cambodia, of which Sok Chenda is proud, also means investors do have access to other truth the salesman par excellence would prefer buried. Many long term investors – the type that Sok Chenda claims like growing up with the host country – take into account in their investment decisions those Sok Chenda dismisses as irrelevant, plus much more.

One of them is the high cost of doing business in Cambodia, which Sok Chenda acknowledges in particular for electricity, telecommunication, and transportation sectors. The government’s effort to reduce the electricity costs by buying it from Vietnam is commercially sensible at least in the short run, but this will not address a structural defect that keeps the cost high – corruption.

Sok Chenda shows the least concern about the impact of corruption. He maintains as long as there is a profit at the end businessmen do not mind making some payment they “should not really have to make”. He does not seem to realise these unnecessary payments push the business cost up, requiring the businessmen to pass them onto consumers in the form of higher prices to retain their profit. This in turn keeps away other businessmen whom Sok Chenda tries to entice. It is a vicious cycle that could be broken only by bringing corruption under control.

However, the corruption is likely to persist, if not prospering. Sok Chenda trivialises corruption by claiming the number one in transparency Singapore still has “people who are corrupt and who cheat the tax department”. He fails to distinguish between corruption and impunity for corruption when asserting, “Singapore has policemen and jails for a reason [corruption]”. It would be hard pressed for him to come up with any case where a Cambodian high profile official is convicted and jailed for corruption. Incidentally, Sok Chenda – he says he ends the interview so that he can pick up his daughter at the British School – may have difficulty in justifying the school fee with his official meagre income.

Thus, the salesman par excellence appears to be an optimist who would say, “See, I am not injured yet” while falling from Eiffel Tower.

Ung Bun Ang

Quotable Quote:
“The latest definition of an optimist is one who fills up his crossword puzzle in ink.” - Clement King Shorter (1857–1926), British journalist and literary critic. Observer.

A Self-destructive Trait

Alternatives Watch – 20viii09

A SELF-DESTRUCTIVE TRAIT

Cambodia clings to a trait that has proved to be arguably self-destructive. For whatever reason, Khmers fight it out among themselves to the end; yet, when facing foreign challengers they become submissive, if not passive.

There seems to be a need for prime minister Hun Sen to display his undisputed power by bashing his critics. His latest boast is that his army can take full control of Phnom Penh in just two hours, leaving his opponents no room to hide. The court he controls has sent them into hiding, exile, or forced dissembling apologies. His security forces are mainly for cracking down demonstrations and evicting the poor from their land targeted for redevelopment.

Conversely, he displays enormous tolerance to foreign adversaries. He agrees with Thailand that the border dispute is to be resolved bilaterally and peacefully, allowing it to drag on, if not inconspicuously escalating. On the eastern front, the border demarcation has been left to Vietnam who is willing to provide cartographical and global positioning system technologies, softwares, and installation of border posts. As a majority shareholder in a new joint commercial venture, Cambodia Angkor Air, Hun Sen has left the whole business operation to Vietnam who appoints all Vietnamese to the entire board of directors. Even the Khmer language is missing from the airline’s website, which contains only Vietnamese and English.

The mass murder of the Khmer people was so undemanding that it must have made Pol Pot feel invincible to the extent that he would treat his arch-enemy Vietnam with contempt. Perhaps the snap Vietnamese military campaign that ousted the whole Khmer Rouge regime within weeks serves as reminder to Khmer leaders to keep their brutality for their own citizens.

The internal hostilities in the Lon Nol republican regime signify the urge within the elite to defeat each other, even when facing external threats. Their continuous conflicts marginalised their effort to fight two fronts in the country: the North Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge troops, which made their downfall predictable.

Sihanouk also exerted his unequivocal power onto his people. He orchestrated the national congress – legally it represented no one and had no judicial power – to summarily convict and sentence his opponents to death. The image of the opponents being shot by firing squads was filmed and shown in movie houses throughout the country. While the persecution of his Khmer opponents was definite and decisive, Sihanouk’s vital foreign policies were essentially based on hope. He backed and actively assisted Hanoi in the Vietnam War only with a hope that, upon their victory in South Vietnam, the communists would respect Cambodia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He had no ground plan to ensure Hanoi would honour its promise to respect and leave Cambodia out of its control.

This self-destructive trait is not limited to the above cases; the urge to beat their own kind at any price has been overwhelming for centuries. If there were some tolerance for Khmers and less blind submission to foreign adversaries, Cambodia could be pleasantly different.

Ung Bun Ang

Quotable Quote:

“Foreigners fooling about in others' civil wars are a menace. They excite baseless hope of a fair, lasting peace.” - Woodrow Wyatt (1918–1997), British journalist and writer. News of the World.