Drumming in the Cambodia New Year [in Long Beach]

Flag-bearer Vincent Haim, 11 months, is set for the Cambodian New Year parade. (Carlos Delgado / For the Press-Telegram)

Celebrating on a budget

04/05/2009
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram

LONG BEACH - A leaner, cleaner Cambodian New Year parade hit Anaheim Street on Sunday.

It took 47 minutes for the Cambodian Coordinating Council's banner at the head of the parade to make the approximately half-mile trek from Junipero Avenue to MacArthur Park, but it marked a successful conclusion to a tough yearlong journey for the parade.

With a worsening economy dampening donations and restricting entrants in the popular event and a bill of $40,000 for city services, the parade had significant obstacles to overcome.

But at 10:13 a.m. under a cloudless sky, the parade successfully embarked on its fifth annual trip through the center of Cambodia Town, after an celebration and blessing by local monks.

Parade chairman Sweety Chap said he was proud, particularly of his volunteers, for sticking together and pulling off the event that, despite the smaller numbers, retained the color, vibrancy and spirit of previous years.

"We told everyone we were on top of it and don't worry," Chap said. "I think it's good."

This year's roster of parade entrants was 53, down from 80 the year before, and four City Council members were no-shows. And while the crowd of onlookers may have been a bit thinner, particularly in the midsection of the parade, there was a large enthusiastic gathering at the parade terminus at MacArthur Park.

The route was also pristine this year, thanks to the efforts of about 60 volunteers, organized by the United Cambodian Community and Sixth District Councilman Dee Andrews' office, who staged a neighborhood cleanup on Saturday.

As Allan Lim and Chenda Che stood in front of Lim's Mkott Pich jewelry store, they talked about the importance of the parade.

"We should have this every year to show our culture, especially for the younger generation," Lim said.

"This is the best way to promote Cambodian culture to Long Beach," Che added.

From civic to arts to sports groups, many of the parade participants celebrated the Year of the Ox in colorful garb from their homeland and played traditional and newer Cambodian music.

And while the overall number of participants was down, there were a couple of notable first-timers, including a group that practices labokator - ancient Khmer martial arts - at MacArthur Park, and members from the Long Beach chapter of

100 Black Men, a national group working to provide positive leadership in black communities.

By noon, the last group in the parade arrived at MacArthur Park, ending the event on schedule.

If there was a downer to the event, at least in the eyes of some, it was the decision to move the celebration after the parade from MacArthur Park to a dusty, rock-strewn lot on the corner of Walnut Avenue and Anaheim Street. A number of parents were upset that there were no grassy areas for their children to sit or play and noted the lack of shade. The move was done to save money on park fees.

Ninth District Councilman Val Lerch agreed the lot was barren, but said it was a symptom of the times.

"I'm going to have the same problem at the Veterans Parade," said Lerch of the event he helps sponsor in North Long Beach.

With the city's budget deficit, the amount of aid given to events has been severely curtailed.

"I don't know how you get around the fees these days," Lerch said.

Ever the optimist, Chap tried to put a positive spin on the celebration location, saying it reminded residents of Cambodia, where many villages are in flat open spaces.

"I like it here. You can see everything that's going on," he said.

The city's Cambodian New Year events are not over. On April 25, the annual New Year Celebration will be staged at El Dorado Park.

Organizers were short of funds, but have been working with the city to cut costs and guarantee the event will be held as planned.

greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291

Budget shortage looms: SRP

Monday, 16 March 2009
Written by Kay Kimsong The Phnom Penh Post

OPPOSITION lawmakers have called on Prime Minister Hun Sen to account for the large increase in the 2009 national budget, expressing concerns the country lacks the revenue to cover all its slated expenditures during the current global financial upheaval.

In a letter dated Friday, Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarians advised the prime minister to consider amending the 2009 Budget Law, approved by the National Assembly in December, citing a significant drop in customs tax revenue in the first two months of this year.

The Assembly approved US$1.75 billion in spending for 2009, a 28 percent jump on the $1.37 billion spent in 2008.

The letter claims that the Ministry of Finance's General Department of Customs and Excise collected just $64 million in customs tax revenues over January and February, compared with $86 million over the same period last year - a decrease of around 27 percent. Based on these figures, the letter said, tax receipts will fall well short of the $585 million expected in 2009.

"I think the figures show clearly that the government won't be able to collect the amount of customs tax it is planning," said SRP lawmaker Son Chhay.

"My question to the government is what sources of income the government will use for budget expenditures."

He said also that the slowdown in the global economy would likely lead to a further tightening of the state's coffers, estimating that the government would collect a mere 57 percent of its total planned expenditure for 2009.

Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh and other local and international institutions have forecast that the Cambodian economy will be impacted by the financial crisis, especially in garments, tourism, agriculture and construction - the four pillars of the Kingdom's economy. Earlier this month, the IMF predicted Cambodia's GDP would shrink by 0.5 percent in 2009, a far cry from the government's prediction of a 6 percent rise.

Kun Nhem, deputy director of the General Department of Customs and Excise, agreed that import taxes had declined slightly this year, noting a sharp decline in car, motorbike and gasoline imports.

He said that the financial situation has taken the National Assembly by surprise, and that when it debated the Budget Law in December, no one had expected to face such a severe economic downturn.

He added that the department would review the situation in the first quarter of 2009 and set out a new revenue plan based on the current economic situation.

But National Assembly First Vice President Nguon Nhel said the opposition should not worry about the budget for this year.

"Be aware that the government has already known that this would happen before planning the budget. We do have a package of funds to spare once the financial crisis arrives," he said.

"It is not the right time to ask the government about budget expenditures before the law is implemented."