March 2, 2011By A. Gaffar Peang-Meth
PACIFIC DAILY NEWS
My article last week on the Khmer-Thai border gunfight over the Preah Vihear temple ruins was posted on the Khmer blog KI Media. Expectedly, it brought out a wave of Greek philosopher Plato's mythical Gyges ring wearers, with noisy anonymous comments that lashed out against the Thai "invaders."
Unsurprisingly, some placed me on the side of the Khmers' historical enemy, the Thai "thieves," because I mentioned the 4.6 square kilometers around the temple as the disputed area. The Khmer wife of an American friend branded me in an e-mail as a "crocodile losing his way in the lake" -- I am ungrateful to the land of my birth to side with the enemy.
There's no disputed area, my critics say, only Khmer land wanted by the Thais -- the party line. Premier Hun Sen should be happy; he wants the conflict on the western border to distract the people from the more significant encroachment by the Vietnamese on the eastern flank.
Predisposition
As humans, we are generally predisposed to see things or other people in a certain way, positively or negatively, as our perceptions are affected by information, values, beliefs and experiences, direct and indirect. It's a mental prejudgment. With it, we stereotype, generalize and oversimplify. A negative predisposition stigmatizes and discriminates.
Speaker, author and workshop facilitator Leslie Aguilar advised in "Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts," to pay attention to our words and behavior; that this is more than being politically correct; it's about being "professionally competent," "personally conscious." She wrote: "It's about respect."
The bloggers who demonize those they don't like have used profanity and racial slurs, and say this is a free country. Gone are the Buddhist precepts of compassion, harmony, and peace.
"Samdei sar jiat," a Khmer saying goes -- literally, "words reflect race"-- how we use our words in our speech reflects our racial and ethnic prejudices.
The Foundation of Critical Thinking, which seeks to educate and cultivate "fair-minded critical thinking," teaches: "Much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed, or downright prejudiced."
We all can think. In a free society we're free to think and free to express, though freedom is not absolute. The foundation says not all thinking is of the same quality, and advocates "high-quality thinking" that comprises two inseparable elements: creativity and criticality, or to assess and evaluate to understand if what was created is leading to the desired goal, with improvement as a purpose.
Creativity and criticality do not conform with Khmer traditions and Khmers' learning.
Since the time of the early Khmer Empire, Khmers learned to "korup, bamroer, kaowd khlach, smoh trang" -- "respect, serve, admire, fear, be faithful/loyal" -- to the god-kings and other authorities. Khmers' contemporary blind and irrational obedience to political figures and political power is the heritage of that culture.
Cambodians follow their leaders, even into the abyss. Ideas and ideals are secondary; creativity and innovation are a threat; criticality is not an assessment but a denunciation.
Thankfully, other bloggers encouraged that I continue to urge readers to reflect and learn. One reader asked me to write in Khmer. The writer fears Khmer readers missed my points. I don't write for Khmers but for all audiences.
A weak cause?
On Feb. 22, the Voice of America broadcasted that Cambodian analysts in Phnom Penh say the Khmer-Thai border dispute can't be resolved without International Court of Justice clarification. The VOA said a court official confirmed it won't clarify or reinterpret its verdict on Preah Vihear, made in 1962, without a request from the disputed parties.
Two days later, the VOA reported, Cambodia's news agency quoted Hun Sen as saying Cambodia has sent an official request to the ICJ to clarify its verdict.
I received in my e-mail a Khmer academic's letter to the Phnom Penh Post, charging its former editor, Michael Hayes, with being "a spin doctor for Thailand" because of Hayes's piece, "The view from Cambodia" -- which I thought was as anti-Thai and pro-Cambodia as a Cambodian partisan wants to see it.
Ringing in my ears were the words of French playwright Victor Hugo: "Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause."
Anger ignited
Some Khmer expatriates circulated petitions denouncing the Thais; demonstrators in some cities condemned the Thai "invasion."
It's impressive that Hun Sen ignited successfully Cambodians' anger against the Thais. But anti-Thai Cambodians are silent on the historically imperialistic expansionist-annexationist Vietnamese, who installed Hun Sen as premier in 1985, and with whom Hun Sen will produce a new map of Cambodia.
He and his ruling party have allowed hundreds of thousands of Vietnam's immigrants to settle, work and vote in Cambodia.
Complicating the matter, Hun Sen is backed by the King Father and the King Father's son, the current king, who signed the 2005 supplements to the unequal 1979 Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Cooperation with Vietnam, as his father had wanted.
One day, the Vietnamese and the Thais will connect at Cambodia's western border.
A. Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D., is retired from the University of Guam. Write him at
15 comments:
Thank you, for a very thoughfull analysis of the subject matter. Indeed Hun Sen and his gang had managed to turn the Preah Vihear incident in to a cover up of the Vietnamese expansion to our eastern border. Cambida will become a hybrid nation in 20 years if things are going at the current rate. Thai land is also a hybrid nation. I am hoping that the Hybrid Cambodia will find the courage to find its own destiny as independence nation.
All I wish for Khmer people that would be brave enough to die for the many - just the Arab countries that ousted those sadistic Authoritarian regimes in the Muslim world.
Today Ghadafi, Tomorrow Hun Sen!
Good, KI-media criticized political censure. But it is OK for them to shut the mouth of those who criticized them. How they would behave if they were the people in power? Dictators themselves!
Thai ambition over Cambodia was already there since 14th century. The judgment on Preah Vihear Temple was pronounced on 15 June 1962 and the proceedings were instituted on 6 October 1959 by an Application of the Government of Cambodia, then Prince Norodom Sihanouk as Head of State. Hum Sen came to power with the invasion of VN Army on 7 January 1979. Why you keep talking about HS? Do you think that Cambodians who do not have a PhD do not know how to love their country? Come on! Be fully Khmer, not only half Khmer. If you were to care about the East, you should also care about the West as well. We do not want to lose any territory.
Cambodia should have more Ph D.-the real ones- not fake ones like Hun Sen, Bun Rany, Mong Rithy, and a lot more fake among CPP clan. I am glad that there are real Khmer Ph D. like Peang Meth, Kuch Chanly, Lao Mong Hai, and more .
Fake Ph D. are mostly Yuon's dogs.
i admire dr. meth-peng's well thought reflection. i think people reacted in angry way on the blog; they criticized professor meth-peng as a sign that nobody is perfect in everything. hopefully, their anger is short-lived; however, as with the siem's aggression and provocation toward cambodia, it is unforgiving in my khmer opinion! siem has no rights to want to steal and continue to steal lands, territories, temples, etc, no matter what the situation in cambodia was in past. they have no rights to steal and violated cambodia's sovereignty, temples, etc... as for the other hated historical enemies, the viet/youn on the east side of the country, i'm sure most khmer hated them and do not trust them either, but the difference now is that the youn is not provoking khmer like the siem on the west side of cambodia. i think youn and khmer are cooperating well together at this time, that's why they are for the first time, work together to properly demarcating the common borderlines of the two countries. i think demarcation the borderlines for cambodia is very important as it helps to stop the historical enemies from continuing to encrouch on khmer sovereignty, etc, because we can use law to stop them from doing illegal things to cambodia like they did in the past during the dark ages of cambodia. i rather have cambodia properly demarcating the common borderlines than leave it undemarcated, etc. thank god, cambodians are now better educated and reformed and changed, etc, with the rest of the world. i think it is good for cambodia to open up to the world in many ways and live by the rule of law. although, there are still a lot of works to be done, i must say that i credit the current gov't for their hard work to improve things in cambodia, not as fast as some of us wanted to see, but they are doing it, that's what matters more. for the sake of cambodia, it seemed to me trivial to say the current gov't is made of up most former revolutionized, hard-working people from the past's upheaval of cambodia's social fabric. as far as they love, care and reform cambodia, themselves, etc, i say more power to them, depsite their so-called different status or from different walks of life in khmer society, etc... i think it is good that cambodia strived to pluralized the country's politics and blur the line between people from all walks of life in the service of the country. that is a good sign for cambodia to come. and i believe everyone of us are capable to self-reformed, self-educated, etc, so for me, a person's past or background seemed trivial or unimportant compare to the immediate, manifested work they've done to improve or reform the country social system, etc...
it is good to encourage the freedom to expression ourselves without so much fear, obstacle, etc... everyone of us can all help to make a real, lasting difference in one way or another. got to love cambodia. god bless cambodia and all our beautiful khmer people and citizens, etc...
3:23AM ! If you good you shouls welcome criticide!
Sam Rainsy may be a good man and has good intention, but he is no hero he is a coward in my book.
The definition of a Hero means: a figure in Mythology and legend renowned for great strength, courage and daring.
Sam Rainsy tucked his tail and ran when he was confronted with jail time. He rather let people supported him take his jail time instead. He ran around barking to all the international canines for support to get him back into his own lost political arena, which none of the main donor country care to listen to his outcry. And he only gets support from his own political party people who are dumb enough not to see the truth. These people are uneducated and those who want to be recognized in the political arena for their future personal gain.
Mou Sochhua should be named a hero instead. She stood her ground and fought for what she believed (although I don't think suing the PM was a smart move for her) but she did it and did not fear of jail time. Now that is strength, courage and daring. Now that is good leadership role model.
People need to open their eyes and accept the truth. Don't do like: A Cheiy Thleak Teuk Hay ER Hay ER!
There! I got it out of my chest.
Rooster!
Making errors is human and it can happen to anyone. It is important to recognize it even if the person is PhD scholar. That way you are respected. What is worrisome is that those who called themselves REAL PhD started to delete opinions posted here that are not favorable to them and even went bestial by calling other with fake PhD as youn dogs. Instead of going substance and explain why they were aligning themselves on Preah Vihear and territory around it with Thais who argued that the land belonged to them, believing The Hague ICJ had never decided on the ownership of it, some of you see the Cambodia – Thai conflict as HS maneuvers to make people forget the problems at the East! Some went as far as saying that the problems are all VN making.
Actually the matter of territory should not be regarded as problems between Sam Raingsy, or other real PhD and Hun Sen… This should transcend all party lines! It should be above any personal interests of all political leaders wither they are in or out of power. Showing too much of your ambitions by accusing those who love their country and are fanatically angry against Thais as HS dogs or youn dogs are counterproductive and do not bode well for the future of the oppositions and our democracy! Deleting opinions that are not favorable to you are crimes equal to blocking a KI-media website. It is merely another kind of dictatorship. How those who pretend to be democrats can do something like that. How can people believe you when what you are professing contradicted your deeds? Please do not see anything in Cambodia through your political prism. Sometime you need to look to the big picture instead of power obsession of some individuals.
Khi Việt Nam Campuchia đi, không tham nhũng, cảnh sát không lấy tiền từ các trình điều khiển, không có cảnh sát lấy tiền từ người mua từ nông dân bán Việt Nam và Thái Lan, không cắt giảm hơn nữa xuống cây, hay lái xe trên đường phố, không chết vì tai nạn, không có mất đất nhiều hơn từ người dân, không có người đàn ông trẻ tuổi hơn đâm người đàn ông khác trẻ và đất Thái Lan sẽ không nhìn xuống trên chúng ta, MIKE
Dear Dr. Peang-Meth,
Once against, I would like to take this opportunity to thank your for daring to stand up and put the true forward! This is up to individual to say what they may...if one thinks that the statement that had point in this article in correct information...it is your rights to research on the information and counter Dr. Peang-Meth's point of view. This is the free information age that Dr. Peang-Meth had put out...so for those who are critical of him...Please do so--it is your rights in democratic society that you don't have to afraid of Dr. Peang-Meth will strip off your title of H.E. Dr., Stars general, etc. Only Mr. Sen and his cicle can do that. If you happen to be in Cambodia right now, nobody dare to critize govt. They will talk anything, except on Sen's regime. Than my question is - Is it a better to live you life half dead without being able to express oneself fully on any issues that relate to govt. grand strategy...which is to sacrify public good for private gain with all cost?
I would strongly recomment those who share this space to start using your brain, rather than keep in brand new! New brain is useless!
Thank you for your currage to put your name and stood by your conviction to the true on this issue! And I hope those who critize of Dr. Peang-Meth is this article is willing to put your name and stood by your conviction to the true as you saw it on this issue as well! Only the true will set all of us free!
DR. PEANG,
I HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT YOU.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ARTICLE.
PLEASE LET US KNOW MORE ABOUT SIHANOUK. TO ME, THIS MAN NOT THE FATHER OF KHMER INDEPENDENCE, BUT HE IS THE FATHER OF KHMER TRAGEDY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND LOOKING FORWARD TO READING YOUR NEXT ARTICLE.
Thank you Dr. Peang-Meth.
Justin
"I don't write for Khmers but for all audiences"!!!!!!, but why not try a khmer version when you write something about Cambodia? well it is free choice, it is your freedom.
to 12:19 PM,
Dr. Peang-Meth's writing is not strickly for Khmer audiance, but for humanity to learn from each others. Therefore, I think that Dr. Peang-Meth should continue to write in English!
Dr. Peang-Meth, please continue to write in English, many younger Khmers who had left their motherland - not by choice, but by force need to learn about their motherland. Please Dr. Peang-Meth, think about others million of Khmers that are not living in their motherland! Please thinking about sharing your knowledge with what you have to the greatest benefit of khmer people and humanity.
Comes-on Master PEANG. i am not sure you are still 99.99% Khmer, or a half-baked Khmer now? Show me that you are knowing how to sleep, walk, talk, sit, laugh, cry, eat, and WRITE as Khmer people. My English is below basic. No comprende High Tech English. For Khmer's interests? Khmer first, i.e. Khmer Identity!Other things are secondary importance.
i love to quote your " awesome are the words..."
Your wisdom admirer,
E.Yuth
Post a Comment