Hatoyama resigns for being unable to hold his election promise ... how about Hun Xen and his many unfulfilled promises to donor countries?

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has been under pressure after backtracking on a promise to move an unpopular U.S. Marine base from Okinawa Island.

Japan's prime minister announces resignation

June 2, 2010

(CNN) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama announced Wednesday he will resign after eight months in power.

"I'm going to step down," Hatoyama declared in a live broadcast on Japanese television NHK, while addressing party members of both the upper and lower houses of the Diet, Japan's parliament.

"I have had many shortcomings, I have been allowed to lead all of you for the past eight months to today. I am extremely grateful for having been given this opportunity," he said.

Eight months ago, Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan won a sweeping victory, an outcome hailed by many as a revolution in Japanese politics.

With promises of a cleaner government, Hatoyama worked to shift the political dynamics in Japan by taking away power from the bureaucrats and granting more power to politicians and local governments.

In his first speech as Japan's 92nd prime minister, Hatoyama made promises that he would conduct a clean and transparent government, launching a task force to monitor government spending.

But soon afterwards, allegations of illegal campaign financing tarnished his administration's image. Some of his cabinet members were investigated for corruption.

His approval rating took further hits over his failed promise to move a major U.S. Marine base off Okinawa to ease the burden of the island, which hosts the majority of the United States military presence in Japan. Earlier this month, calling his decision "heartbreaking," he announced that the base would remain on Okinawa, although relocated to a different part of the island.

Hatoyama's critics claimed he gave in to U.S. pressure, and his government coalition broke up.

Hatoyama said that while he did lose public trust, he hopes future generations will remember his legacy.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have often been dubbed as an alien and how I understand this is that I see not current Japan but always try to see future Japan," he said.

"Local government, local communities should be the main actors," said Hatoyama.

"In five or ten years people of Japan will understand what I am talking about."

Parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place in July.

The DPJ will now elect a new leader of the party -- most likely on Friday -- who will be in line to be the next prime minister of Japan.

Some time early next week, Hatoyama will dissolve his cabinet in the morning and the new party leader will stand for election as new prime minister by both upper and lower houses of parliament.

Cambodia to let foreigners own property

Posted at Alibaba.com

PHNOM PENH, March 25 - Cambodia's parliament is to debate a law next month that would allow foreigners to own property directly, one of the aims being to attract more investors to the Southeast Asian country.

Until now, foreigners wanting to buy property have had to do it through a Cambodian representative.

"This is a really good thing, because all these modern apartments, the Cambodians don't have money to buy them," said Nun Pheany, spokeswoman at the Land Management Ministry. "For condominiums, this is an encouragement to investors."

Neighbouring countries including Vietnam had passed similar laws, so it was time Cambodia did, she said. "We want to have contact with big investors, to make them feel warm in Cambodia."

The National Assembly will begin debating the legislation on April 1. It would allow foreigners to own apartments above the ground floor in buildings 30 km (19 miles) from the country's borders. Foreigners will only be able to buy a maximum 49 percent of any building.

"This law has been sought by the private sector. We've wanted it for quite some time," said Sung Bonna, chief executive of Bonna Realty Group and president of the National Valuers Association.

"This will encourage foreigners, investors to help the recovery. The real estate and construction sectors have been weak," Sung Bonna said.

Heng Sakara, a manager at All Plan International, developer of the $55 million River Palace 31 in Phnom Penh, said the law could attract huge numbers of foreigners to the country.

"Diplomats and investors, most of them want to buy units, apartments for their personal property. Cambodians couldn't afford to buy all of them," Heng Sakara said, adding it was good news for his 31-storey project, suspended due to the economic slump.

Cambodia's economy enjoyed several years of double-digit growth before tourism and the garment sector took a hit from the global economic crisis. The economy probably shrank in 2009.

Sung Bonna said Cambodia's real estate and construction sectors were hit hard in 2008 and 2009 and forecast that this year would be only a little better.

Output in the construction sector slumped 42 percent in 2009 to $1.7 billion, ministry spokeswoman Nun Pheany said. She did not yet have have data for 2010.

Hun Xen: Anti-corruption law is almost out [… more than a decade late and numerous broken promises later]

This anti-corruption law is stretchy [KI-Media note: the word “yoeut” means both stretchy and lengthy in Khmer] just like a chewing a gum: SRP MP Son Chhay (Photo: Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

30 January 2010
By Ky Soklim
Radio France Internationale
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
Click here to read the article in Khmer

Hun Xen announced publicly that the anti-corruption law is almost out, therefore, government officials will have to declare their wealth, and those who do not declare their entire possession will face the law (sic!).

On Thursday, PM Hun Sen announced that tough measures will be taken against army officers who protect and back up illegal activities. He issued stern warnings to army officers who are conducting illegal business deals or who are involved in illegal businesses. He told these officers to leave the army rank as they bring bad image to the RCAF in general.

Regarding corruption, Hun Xen indicates that in the future, the anti-corruption will be adopted, and it will require high-ranking officers to declare all their wealth, therefore, those who do not declare all their wealth could face jail sentence.

Cheam Yeap, the CPP chairman of the National Assembly’s economy and finance committee, indicated today that government officials with the rank of department head and above must declare their wealth. As for the politicians, those who hold the rank of under-secretary of state and above will also have to declare their wealth.

According to Cheam Yeap, the anti-corruption draft law was approved by the Council of Ministers, but it did not reach the National Assembly (NA) yet. Cheam Yeap claimed that the NA could ratify this important law in April.

It should be noted that the anti-corruption draft law was in preparation since 1994, but up to now, the draft law has not been ratified yet. The anti-corruption includes 9 sections and 57 articles.

SRP MP Son Chhay, who has closely followed this law since 1994, said that this law is stretchy [KI-Media note: the word “yoeut” means both stretchy and lengthy in Khmer] just like a chewing a gum. To Son Chhay, whether the law is tardy or not is not important, what matters is whether the current government will have the political will to rain down on those corrupt officials or not. Son Chhay noted that a number of corrupt officials in Cambodia never had to face the law at all.

Cambodia allows foreigners to own property [-Another Hun Xen's broken promise?]

Fri, Dec 04, 2009

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA (AFP) - The Cambodian government on Friday approved a draft law allowing foreign ownership of buildings such as apartments and office buildings to boost economic growth, the country's cabinet said.

The draft law approved in a meeting chaired by premier Hun Sen was aimed at "attracting investors, facilitating the growth of real estate market, and pushing the development", a cabinet statement said.

But Information Minister and government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said foreigners will be permitted to own only buildings and apartments, not the land beneath them.

"We will allow foreigners to have ownership of buildings from the first floor up," he told AFP.

The draft law is expected to be approved by Cambodia's parliament and senate, and then will be promulgated by King Norodom Sihamoni.

The move comes after the private sector in recent years urged the government to allow foreign ownership of properties such as apartments or factories, saying a liberalised real estate market would spur the economy.

Under the current rules, foreign property investments can only be made through the name of a Cambodian national, and many are unwilling to risk losing their assets to potentially unscrupulous local partners.

The cash-strapped country's investment law was amended in 2005 to allow foreign ownership of buildings, but the legislation had yet to be implemented and the initiative floundered.

Despite current restrictions, billion-dollar skyscraper projects and sprawling satellite cities promising to radically alter Phnom Penh have bloomed over the past few years.

But many projects have been halted or slowed down as Cambodia has been buffeted by the world financial crisis after several years of double-digit growth fuelled mainly by tourism and garment exports.

The International Monetary Fund in September predicted Cambodia's economy will contract 2.75 percent this year amid the slowdown.

Cambodia approves sub-decree of co-ownership regulations

PHNOM PENH, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Council of Ministers on Friday approved a sub-decree of new co-ownership regulations, allowing legal ownership of individual apartments or condominium ownership, which paves the way for a law allowing foreign ownership of some property.

The new co-ownership regulations will make it possible to own units within a larger building without having title to the land it's on, according to the press release from the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers which was presided over by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

"Its objects will guarantee to protect rights of legal holders in apartments or condominiums for co-ownership," it said, adding that it will facilitate to management work of co-ownership of apartments and co-owners who live in the apartments or condominiums.

Moreover, the new regulations will also facilitate co-ownership for sale, exchange, donation, in-heritage, permanent rent, and collateralizing of the private parts as personal ownership. The sub-decree, with seven charters and 27 articles, has large coverage for exercising all kinds of the apartments and condominiums across the country.

"This sub-decree will be applied in the country soon and local people who bought the houses in the apartments, condominiums and skyscrapers blocks will know about the rights and ownership," Nun Pheany, spokeswoman for Ministry of Land Management, Urban planning and Construction, told Xinhua.

The foreigners have not had rights to own Cambodian land or housing so far. They could rent for doing their business or staying only, she stressed.

"In the near future, we will have a law on the foreign ownership of Cambodian land and housing. My ministry and Ministry of Justice are discussing to compose that draft law in accordance with our constitution," she said.

"By that law, the foreigners, perhaps, could own above the first floor for apartments or condominiums, even though, we need to discuss more details," she said.

However, Nun Pheany said the foreigners would not be allowed to buy the land near borders with neighboring countries because it could affect national sovereignty and which is also prohibited by the law.

She said that when foreign title law is to be approved, it will help increase the foreign investment and contribute to economic growth in the country.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Piggy - Anti-Corruption Law

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Donor 'talk fest' slammed

Brad Adams

Thursday, 30 April 2009
Written by Tom Hunter
The Phnom Penh Post

THE biannual meeting of donors and government officials is nothing more than a "talk fest that has achieved virtually nothing over the past 15 years", one rights group official said, as others agreed and cited glacial progress towards vital reforms in areas such as corruption and responsible governance that is, they claim, threatening to derail the Kingdom's overall development progress.

"We can expect the same old recycled statements from donors this year, followed by the same old promises by the government that will not be worth the paper they are printed on," Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said by email Wednesday.

At the Government Donor Coordination Committee (GDCC) meeting Tuesday, donors noted that in areas such as land rights, corruption and freedom of information, significant progress had not been forthcoming - concerns they have voiced at every similar meeting for the last decade.

In a statement similar to many released at previous meetings, development partners "urged that the four fundamental laws - relating to good governance and corruption - be submitted to the National Assembly for enactment as expeditiously as possible".

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith defended the forum Tuesday.

"These are big laws, and the government needs more time to workshop in order to stream knowledge to both civil and public servants," he said.

But Chhith Sam Ath, executive director of NGO Forum Cambodia, said that it was only the political will of the government that was impeding reform.

"In my view, the level of concern from the donors has not changed between Tuesday's GDCC meeting and the ones held in previous years," he said.

Adams said donors as well as government officials bore responsibility for the lack of progress on these issues, saying they have "never acted in a truly coordinated way to put real pressure on the government to engage in necessary reforms".

Draft law could allow foreign ownership of Cambodian property [-Another one of Hun Sen's broken promises?]

Mon, 27 Apr 2009
ABC Radio Australia

The Cambodian government has drafted a law that could pave the way for foreign ownership of property in Cambodia.

Existing rules prohibit foreigners from owning land, which supporters say prevents speculation and price volatility.

The proposed changes would allow for foreign ownership of houses, apartments and condominiums from the second floor up for resale.

Foreigners would also be able to inherit property.

The Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, Im Chhun Lim has told the Phnom Penh Post the proposed law has been submitted to the private sector for feedback.

Cambodia Passes Budget Without Increased Military Spending

Tuesday December 9th, 2008

PHNOM PENH (AFP)--Cambodia backed down on a vow to double military spending, instead reducing money for its defense ministry as the national assembly passed the 2009 budget Tuesday.

Cheam Yeap, head of the Cambodian parliament's finance commission, said the $1.8 billion budget for next year included increased spending on education, infrastructure and agriculture, but the "military budget is only $160 million."

The budget is an abrupt turn from the government's October promise to double military spending to $500 million following a firefight with better-equipped Thai troops at a disputed border area.

Cheam Yeap didn't answer questions about why the government backed down from increasing spending on its armed forces, but the decision would have rankled international donors who recently pledged nearly $1 billion in aid to the impoverished country.

Many of Cambodia's Cold War-era weapons misfired during an Oct. 15 firefight with Thai troops on disputed land near the ancient Preah Vihear temple that left one Thai and three Cambodians dead.

While Thailand's armed forces number about 300,000 and the country has a well-equipped air force, Cambodia's much smaller military is badly equipped, badly trained and disorganized, according to a Western military official in Bangkok.

Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia flared in July when the 11th century temple was awarded U.N. World Heritage status, rekindling long-running tensions over ownership of land surrounding the temple.

Although the World Court ruled in 1962 that it belonged to Cambodia, the most accessible entrance is in Thailand's northeastern Si Sa Ket province.

Hun Sen’s Broken Promises And His Government of National Disunity

Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
On the web at http://khmerization.blogspot.com

“Mr. Hun Sen’s declaration of a solo government and running the parliamentary commissions by his own party alone is an attempt to lead Cambodia away from democracy toward dictatorship. In reality, Mr Hun Sen is advocating a government of national disunity instead of a government of national unity.”

The Prime Minister of Cambodia, Mr. Hun Sen, is notorious for his bullying character and a thuggish behaviour and, to a certain extent, his profanity. His other notoriety, hidden from public view, has been his namesake of ‘a boss from hell’.

All these notorieties notwithstanding, his famous trademarks have been his broken promises. The promises of resignations had never been materialised. The PM had made promises on numerous occasions to resign if he could not stop illegal loggings, could not curb corruption and tackle land-grabbing from powerful people serving in his government. These abuses are still rampant and we have yet to see the PM resign.

A few days ago, he had made a surprised announcement of another of his broken promises- that he had decided to cut ties with his long-term ally, the Funcinpec Party. The PM announced that his marriage of convenience with the Funcinpec Party is no longer needed. This means that his Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) will go solo without a coalition partner. The PM has back-flipped on his earlier repeated promises of forming a coalition government with the Funcinpec Party no matter what. So what changed his mind? The only explanation would be that Mr. Hun Sen is 100% sure, and has been assured by the National Election Committee, that his CPP will win the upcoming election with a comfortable margin. So, after having been used and abused by Mr. Hun Sen for his own political gains for more than 15 years, should Funcinpec invest its trusts in Hun Sen’s empty and broken promises anymore?

Another of Mr. Hun Sen’s worrying declaration has been his decision to govern the National Assembly by himself. Currently the positions for the parliamentary commissions have been shared among the parties that won seats in the election. It would be a travesty of democracy if the parliamentary commissions are not distributed proportionately to the seats won by the individual parties. Mr. Hun Sen’s declaration of a solo government and running the parliamentary commissions by his own party alone is an attempt to lead Cambodia away from democracy toward dictatorship. In reality, Mr Hun Sen is advocating a government of national disunity instead of a government of national unity. Mr. Hun Sen had declared that he had already appointed the people to head the nine parliamentary commissions. To seasoned political observers, Mr. Hun Sen is behaving like he is winning the election already. And to experienced political observers, this sort of behaviour seemed to reinforce the suggestions that Mr. Hun Sen has no intention of relinquishing power should he loses the election.

Seeing the tense political atmosphere at present, one cannot avoid touching on the issues of defections. While people are free to join any party they like, tactics employed by a certain political party to coerce defections are worrisome. Defections from the oppositions to the ruling CPP are not spontaneous but coerced and bribed. The defectors have been unnecessarily appointed to the highly paid positions inside the already inflated bureaucracy. By any standard of government, this is corruptly squandering public money for one’s own political gains, and it is morally wrong. The money that have been paid to these defectors, who won’t have any real jobs to perform inside the bureaucracy, should be diverted to fund the pay increases for public servants like the teachers, the police, the army and administrative bureaucrats in order to assist in reducing corruption.

Coming to this point, one cannot help but mention the issue of corruption. Mr Sam Rainsy was right when he said that political buyouts are Mr. Hun Sen’s attempts to whitewash and divert public attention from the real issues of corruption and economic problems. Mr Hun Sen’s inability and, to a certain extent, his reluctant to deal with the current soaring prices of goods reflect on his conflict of interests. His daughter’s owned Tela Petroleum Company has a monopolistic right of imports of refined petrol to Cambodia. News coming out of Cambodia recently is that Tela has received government subsidy in the form of tax reduction to the tune of around $100 million dollars per year. And due to monopolistic rights given to Tela, all the petrol companies like Total, Shell and others must buy their petrol from Tela. Only Sokimex has its own imported petrol but must set retail prices commensurate with Hun Sen’s Tela. And the result is that it is a price collusion between Tela and Sokimex which kept the petrol prices very high.

The soaring prices of goods at present are related to the costs of petrol. While the petrol prices remain high, the prices of other commodities will always remain high. In order to curb the food prices, petrol prices have to be brought down. Hun Sen doesn’t have the will to resolve the current price hikes because it would affect his daughter’s petrol business. Hun Sen was just paying lip service when he said that he will do what he can to curb the current high food prices. The fact is, he will not do it because he has a conflict of interests. So, his promises for the solutions to the food prices have become another statistics of his many broken promises.

Petition Against Corruption Sent to Assembly

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
15 May 2008

A petition of more than 1 million Cambodian signatures calling for anti-corruption legislation will be passed to the National Assembly Friday, and organizers hope it will push lawmakers to act.

The signatures were collected over several months “to demand quick passage” of an anti-corruption law of international standard, according to a statement by the Coalition of Civil Society Organization Against Corruption.

“This anti-corruption petition is very important for politicians and voters, before the July national election, to demand the government and National Assembly quickly pass the anti-corruption law after the election,” said Pok Puthearith, a project manager for the Khmer Institute for Democracy. “We want the National Assembly to make a promise to the people.”

Sok Sam Oeun, director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, called the petition “a strong message for all political parties.”

The coalition wanted political parties to make the elimination of corruption a main part of their platforms, he said.

Most political parties have already done that; corruption has dogged the government since its inception, costing the nation as much as $500 million per year.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has promised to pass legislation to curb the practice many times, but that legislation has remained in the draft stage for years.