Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Cambodian Corruption Becoming Worst in Region, Advocate Warns

Social activists carry an anti-corruption banner during a rally in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 
14.08.2012
By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer

Cambodia ranks 164th of 182 countries on Transparency International's corruption index.

WASHINGTON DC - Cambodia's corruption problem easily surpasses that of its neighbors and could soon be worse than Burma's, a transparency advocacy group warns.

Preap Kol, head of Transparency International's Cambodia office, said NGOs need to work with the government's Anti-Corruption Unit to tackle the "complicated" problem.

Preap Kol spoke to VOA Khmer by phone from Berlin, Germany, where he was attending an anti-corruption conference that he says gave him a better understanding of how corruption works and how difficult it can be to eliminate.

Cambodia ranks 164th of 182 countries on Transparency International's corruption index.


"If Cambodia does not reform on time, [Burma] can improve a step ahead," Preap Kol said. But Cambodia can also reform in the coming years, as Burma has, he added.

Meanwhile, the Cambodian government has been making moves toward rooting out some corrupt public servants. Last week, authorities arrested four officials from the Ministry of Land Management for allegedly embezzling money in a housing construction plan for retired soldiers and the poor.

Preap Kol said such steps were necessary for Cambodia's reform.

"The action is part of the participation of law enforcement against corruption, and it is also part of prevention," he said.
"We encourage the authorities to do more work, because we know that there are many complaints with the [Anti-Corruption Unit]."

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not only Cambodia are corrupt,

All southeast Asia countries are corrupted ., croocked ,etc.
Even,EU NATIONS are the same .

Anonymous said...

5:43am,

But Cambodia is the worst corrupted country in the region .
( as the title stated )
Are you trying to defend Corruption in Cambodia ?

Anonymous said...

5:43am, levels of corruption are not the same and that's why they are ranked accordingly.

If you don't mind giving your money when you don't have too, hey, go ahead but don't complain when the amount is beyond your ability to pay.

Anonymous said...



The most corrupt countries in the
world are:
11.Venezuela.(oil).
10.Haiti (bureaucracy0
9.Iraq.
8.Sudan.
7.Turkministan.
6.Uzbekistan.
5.Afganistan.
4.Myanmar.
3.North Korea.
2.Somalia.
1.Cambodia.
So Cambodia is the worst ones in
the world.

Ah Hun Sen is the evil man in this
planet.