By Huy Vannak
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
“I say, for a Cambodian, I am the one who planted the most trees, that’s me, I planted about 10 million trees already" - CPP Tycoon-Senator Mong Reththy who is accused by Global Witness of involvement in illegal logging in CambodiaOkhna Mong Reththy criticizes the report published by Global Witness, an organization involved in the observation of forest and illegal logging, by saying that Global Witness accused the wrong person and did not cooperate to fully check its report.
The reaction of Mong Reththy, president of the Mong Reththy Group and (CPP) senator, came after Global Witness made available to the public its report, on 01 June. The report indicated that Mong Reththy’s seaport is involved in the transportation of illegal goods and illegally logged woods.
On Saturday morning, Mong Rethtthy told RFA regarding the accusation made by Global Witness that: “They (Global Witness) should accuse whoever did it, it’s not like Global Witness does not know, it knows, why do they accuse someone who did not do anything. I asked them: if I am the perpetrator, why did I make an appointment with them (“vea” – a derogatory connotation of them)? I said we can meet either in Phnom Penh or in London, I will pay my own airfare to go explain (to them), but they did not reply.”
In the over 100-page long report detailing the investigation on illegal logging in Cambodia between 2004 and 2007, Global Witness listed the names of high-ranking government officials, as well as 9 businessmen, who are involved in the deforestation of thousands of hectares in various provinces in Cambodia.
The report also listed Mong Rethhy’s name, and accused him of involvement in the transportation of illegally logged woods through the Mong Rethtthy port.
Mong Reththy said that he always participate in the protection of the environment, and he even participated in the planting of million of trees. “I say, for a Cambodian, I am the one who planted the most trees, that’s me, I planted about 10 million trees already. And they accused me of illegal logging, this is … however, I believe that the population of the entire country and the population in the entire world know everything already, and my chief (Hun Sen?) also knows, I cannot hide anything from him, he knows who did what.”
15 comments:
Thanks that you planned million trees, but you did cutting parents and grand-parents trees as report said.
Planted 10 millions of tree? How many tree he plants every day and how long doest it take to plant 10 million trees? Lets calculate?. he must spend 40 years to plant it daily include on saturday and sunday with at least 684 tree per day.
I know clearly that I did planted...but not trees ...yet it is the coconut oil TREES...where he confesticated land from the people...
When a wealthy man is this ignorant, you can bet he's a thief and a thug who hires out his dirty work.
Cambodia have been suffer for long time of these mafia familes.
AH MONG RETTHY is guilty as charge! Now why would man want to plant a million trees if he didn't cut it? So what is the fucken incentive for him to do such thing?
This damn fucker did cut a million trees! The lightning will strike him if he didn't plant those million trees!
Ah Rethy Moung was made from Ah Kwak's shit. This bastard was talking Lop Lop and worst than animals. Only and only Ah one eye Hun and his crooks believe that Ah Hmong had plant a million trees.
3:01, good to see you apply the
math. I wish more people are
like you. Math is such an
important tool for truth finding.
However, allow me to say that most
tycoons don't know how to plant
trees, and what they said is just
a figure of speech. Normally, they
hire people to take care of things
on their behalf, but we need not
to give them credits because they
failed to tell us how much they
spend on replanting those trees.
Even so, this is not a good time
to replant trees, we need more
lands to expand our agro industry.
It is not enough as it is to
meet the need of the fast growing
population.
Global witness in Khmer:
http://hunsenmafia.alkablog.com
showing the Hun Sen's family
corruption in Cambodia
Mr Mong Rithy, I am not jalous with you who is a big tycoon. I will feel very proud and respect you if you are realy a "self-made man". But can you tell the truth: How did you do to you become a multi-millionaire in a very short time? I want to learn from you!
Thank you! Mr. Mong Rithy for speaking the thrue.
So Hun Sen knows every thing, he knows who did what, yes!
I hope you will pay yourself the air trip to be a vidness when international community bring Mr. Know Every Thing to court for destroying Cambodia Forest!
ALL OF YOU ARE KHMER SHOULD NOT CHOP THE TREES TO KEEP MONEY IN KHMER POCKETS. PLEASE LET THE USA CHOP ALL TREES AND CREATE SMOKES TO DESTROY THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE WHOLE WORLD. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW DO TO CALIFORNIA IN LA. THE USA DENY AND NOT JOIN IN THE GREEN HOUSE SUMMIT. SO WHO IS THE EVIL? MONG RETHTHY OR THE USA? WHO KILLS PEOPLE OF ARAB IN THE WORLD, THE USA OR HUN SEN?
THINK WITH YOUR STUDY BRAIN!
if the Global Witness is the good and fair person. Why you adre not come and talk face to face to Mong Reththy?
Or it is because you are shit!
H.E. Dr. Oknha Mong Reththy …
A life from a pair of worn rubber KR sandals and 10 grams of gold to a well-known millionaire!
I put my KR shoes on display in my office because I walked in them from my homeland to find a job in Phnom Penh in 1979. I keep these sandals since I do not want to forget about the time when I was the poorest. Whenever I turn around, I see them behind me and I think of it. In the past, when we had KR shoes, they seemed magic because we had to go everywhere on foot. Nothing was more important than them! Obviously, the most reason I put them here is because I want to remind myself not to be overjoyed with my assets and remind myself that in the past I owned only one pair of worn shoes, but I still possibly live; and why now I have everything, I need to do bad things. Sooner or later I will be cremated, why do I need “Ambition?!” and why do I need to leave behind with unpleasant names … Dead Tiger leaves Skin! – Dead Man leaves Reputation! Everything I have, I got through hard works and sweats, but when I pass away, I then can bring nothing with me to the soul world … so I do not want my next generation curses me!...
My birth name was Ka Seak Heang, changed into Mong Reththy after the Pol Pot regime because of its poverty connotations. I was born in Trapeng Roum village, Takeo province. I left school at grade 4 in 1968 owing to poverty and so were 13 brothers and sisters. Every morning I got up very early and had to sell Khmer cakes until 8 am. My school started at 7 am, so I always got beaten with a stick by my teacher for being lazy and always late. When I was 12, my father sent me to work as a Chinese noodle waiter in Phnom Penh city with an idea of wanting me to become a Man and to know what living life was really like. My father told the Chinese noodle shop owner that he needed only his son’s bone and skin back home. Then I had to work from very early morning by 4 am to cook Chinese noodle soup and after finishing selling in the afternoon, I had to look after their sons and daughters until late at night. I usually went to sleep at 10 pm and by time my both hands became thick-skinned!... I had worked for two years, and then I worked as a construction worker plastering walls. I was normally kicked and knuckled on the head and bottom! Life then was very miserable and awful! By missing my home land so much, I decided to go back there without knowing the way. My workmate brought me to the taxi station and I begged the taxi driver to take me home for free.
With a bloody unbreakable poverty in my family, I then asked my parents if I could be laid down as monk at the age of 16. I had gone to the monkshood for 5 years, continuously learning Pali/Balai language in Neakkavoan and collecting alms for life in Phnom Penh city. I left the pagoda in the age of 21. Then Khmer Rouge regime came and controlled the whole Cambodia in 1975. Like many others, I worked as slave waiting for the death during that brutally genocidal regime. I was forced to get married in collective group of 13 couples, that neither bride nor groom had ever met one another. We had only half a chicken to celebrate the group marriage and had to remember which wife belonged to which husband by changing scaves called Kroma without any traditional Khmer music and presence of both sides’ parents. We spent 30 days to know each other and to begin going into a real life of marriage in evil jaws. And by that reason I have lived with my wife since that time until today.
In January 1979 right after the liberation day, I came into Phnom Penh city to look for a job with 3 fishes and 4 tin cans of rice, cooked my food along the streets and slept in the Independence Monument. And when I run out of food, I begged and worked for food. When raining, I run and seek shelter from the heavy rain under the shadows of the trees very often and one day I suddenly met my wife for a family reunion. My background is like a story of a novel! Then I started to do some small business like patching bicycle tyres, selling fired bananas, and then roast meat. But the capital was from the earrings my wife inherited from her mother weighted only 3 Houn/10 grams cost about US$10 then. And this is the capital that led me to become Oknha/official philanthropist/Doctor degree/Millionaire/Senator/famous Dignitary as I am today. In 1980, I got a job as a porter in Phnom Penh port, a business I would be involved in for the next 28 years. Before going to work, I got up at 4 am and took morning glory vegetable by bicycle from Sansam Kosal pagoda to Pochentong market. With hard works and entrepreneurial spirit, I and my wife scrimped and saved enough money to buy a small motorbike and its trailer. With this transport mean, when I had a free time, I took passengers from Phnom Penh city to Tram Khna market in Kampong Speu province and bought charcoal there to sell in Phnom Penh city.
In 1990, I had advanced to a gravel and sand enterprise in the Ministry of Transport and Telecoms and by the end of 1990’s I was no longer a government official, giving up my position to become a full-time businessman, working as a representative of Chroun Youhak Hong Kong Construction Company in 1993. I established Mong Reththy Imports and Exports Company to export raw rubber and import construction materials and cars. I started my company with only $1,000 capital. After my initial successes, I established more firms such as Khmeng Wath Construction Company, MRT Palm Oil Company, MRT Steel industries and Oknha Mong Port. And today I have Real Estate Company, M’s Pig ACMC Cambodia Co., Ltd. and several others firms to be established in the short time coming. Eventually, all of these would be combined in MONG RETHTHY GROUP today.
I became a well-known businessman when I was 36 years old and I can tell everybody that hard work and work hard is the best way to build my name. I have spent over 30 years working in simple jobs. Life is about struggle! NOTHING COMES EASILY WITHOUT DROPPING YOUR SWEATS AND TEARS…
Dear Oknha Mong Reththy,
No one can make EVERYONE happy...
No one can make EVERYONE love him... and
No one can make EVERYONE salute him...
Needless to explain yourself to the writer who expects you to plant 10 million trees with your own two hands because the writer may not have laid his own bricks to his home.
Needless to explain yourself to the writer who expects you to disclose your cost of planting because the writer may not have disclosed how much he has spent on booze and girls to the writer's parents.
Needless to explain yourself further to the writer who seek your experience in becoming a multi-millionaire because the writer may not have seek his parent's experience in making babies.
I wonder if the writers here will continue writing such negative remarks in the event that Oknha Mong Reththy walks up to the writers and say "young man, I see potential in you, I see a young man with caliber, what business do you have in mind? I'll put in $20 million and let's be business partners, you can be the CEO".
Touch your heart, don't lie to yourself, be realistic... and keep your answers to yourself...
Sour Grapes....
all these officials are all crooks, they haven't learn their lesson from the civil war.
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