click picture here see good viewsWednesday, August 26, 2009
The Accreditation Committee of Cambodia Held a Meeting to Conclude Its Activities – Tuesday, 25.8.2009
Posted on 26 August 2009
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 627
http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 627
http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com/
“Phnom Penh: The Accreditation Committee of Cambodia released the results from its checking the educational progress during the Foundation Year education [the Foundation Year is defined as the first academic year towards achieving a bachelor degree] of 38 higher education institutions, which found that 15 educational institutions performed very good, 15 performed good, and 8 performed moderate during the year 2008-2009.
“The findings of the assessment were announced during a meeting of the Accreditation Committee of Cambodia in the morning of 24 August 2009 at the Council of Ministers, under the presidency of the Minister of the Council of Ministers, Deputy Prime Minister Sok An.
“Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said that the main mission of the Accreditation Committee of Cambodia is to assess the quality of education of higher education institutions, based on a set of standards, on which also all relevant sides, such as higher education institutions and relevant ministries, have commented. The assessment of the quality of education is a difficult task, requiring thorough attention and extreme carefulness, otherwise there might arise various kinds of criticism.
“According to the report of the Accreditation Committee of Cambodia, the assessment of the quality of education has two stages: the assessment of the quality of education during the Foundation Year education, based on six characteristics, and the assessment of the quality of education of educational institutions, based on nine standards, which are planed to be achieved by 2010, following pre-set stages and procedures.
“The Foundation Year education programs of 35 higher education institutions were assessed. The Accreditation Committee of Cambodia fully accepted the Foundation Year program of 19 institutions, while the programs of a further 16 institutions were accepted temporarily. This year, there were no higher education institutions where their programs were rejected [as not qualified].
“During the assessment of the quality of the Foundation Year programs, working groups implemented procedures for the assessment and for observations, and set up clear procedures for the task, in order to ensure fairness and transparency in their assessments.
“Based on some reference document, including documents of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University – 上海交通大学 – and the Times of London Higher Education Survey, the ranking of universities in the world usually focuses on the following major criteria:
1- Assess former students
2- Assess accomplishment awards
3- Assess the number of learners and researchers of various subjects
4- Assess the number of articles published in humanities and in science
5- Assess the outreach of universities by covering the percentage of foreign
lecturers, the percentage of foreign students, the proportion between the number of lecturers and students, the size of libraries, and the number of books
6- Assess assessments by partner universities
7- Assess assessments by employees
8- Assess assessments by staff and students of universities etc…
Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #4981, 25.8.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
Authoritarian regimes must be opposed
A. Gaffar Peang-MethPacific Daily News (Guam)
August 26, 2009
In an authoritarian regime, political power is concentrated in an authority not responsible nor responsive to the people. Such a system is the polar opposite of a democracy.
In a June posting in Foreign Policy Online, Freedom House executive director Jennifer Windsor, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty president Jeffrey Gedmin and Radio Free Asia president Libby Liu warned in "Authoritarianism's New Wave," that our current international system based on the rule of law, human rights and open expression, is being confronted by a "most serious challenge" from modern authoritarian regimes in "updated, sophisticated, and lavishly funded ways."
In the 94-page study, "Undermining Democracy: 21st Century Authoritarians," experts from the three institutions analyze strategies and methods used by China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and Venezuela "to impede human rights and democratic development" in their countries and abroad.
Windsor, Gedmin and Liu expressed their concerns that "policymakers do not appear to appreciate the dangers these 21st century authoritarian models pose to democracy and rule of law around the world."
The study reveals that the 21st century authoritarians, like the traditional ones, manipulate the "legal system, media control, and outright fear" and protect their power by "rewarding loyalists and punishing opponents without regard to due process."
To domestic audiences, they "redefined and heavily distorted" the concept of democracy, stressing their achievements and belittling what is "Western." To overwhelm, distract and disrupt legitimate Internet discussions which they deemed undesirable, the new authoritarians subverted "legitimate online discourse ... enlisted loyal commentators and provocateurs" and used "draconian laws to punish outspoken online critics and discourage any who might emulate them."
They undermined or crippled democracy, human rights and rules-based organizations, including the United Nations, and actively promoted or encouraged strong "nationalist or extremist" views of history to imprint in the younger generation hostile attitudes toward democracy and suspicion of the outside world.
To advance their interests internationally, authoritarian regimes are using "soft-power methods ... particularly, through billions of dollars in no-strings-attached development aid."
As Russia, Iran and Venezuela use "oil wealth to build foreign alliances and bankroll clients abroad," China, a country that aspires to world power status, has adopted a "doctrine of win-win (shuangying) foreign relationships" and encouraged Latin American, African, Asian and Arab states "to form mutually beneficial arrangements with China based on the principle of noninterference."
This brings to mind Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's trip to Asia late last month. On a mission to re-engage the United States in Asia, Secretary Clinton signed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation that is guided by the principle of "Non-interference in the internal affairs of one another." In other words, "Live and let live."
In the June 4 London Economist Online article, "An (iron) fistful of help," the article begins with, "China, Iran, Russia and Venezuela have been doling out largesse. Should Western democracies be worried?"
The significance of "authoritarian aid" does not lie just in its total value -- China does not publish aid figures, but the World Bank says China gives Africa $2 billion a year -- but "autocracies offer an alternative to western aid," which demands "good governance," while China and others do not, says the Economist.
The "Undermining Democracy" study says Chinese aid "now outstrips that of democratic donor countries" in many Southeast and Central Asian states. It says, "The Chinese government is Cambodia's largest provider of military aid, most of which goes to antidemocratic security forces that are used as a political weapon by Prime Minister Hun Sen." It says Beijing has pledged $600 million to Phnom Penh while Washington gives Cambodia about $55 million a year -- less than a tenth the aid from Beijing.
It says each year Beijing trains at least 1,000 Central Asian judicial and police officials, "most of whom could be classified as working in antidemocratic enterprises."
Writes the Economist: "Naturally, help from harsh regimes is rarely encumbered with pesky demands for good governance. This makes it welcome to corrupt officials and even to those merely sick of being lectured by Westerners. Alas, it can encourage bad governance."
"This unconditional assistance -- devoid of human rights riders and financial safeguards required by democratic donors, international institutions, and private lenders -- is tilting the scales toward less accountable and more corrupt governance across a wide swath of the developing world." The study states: "An absence of institutional accountability, leads to repressive and arbitrary governance, and to entrenched, rampant corruption."
It says authoritarian regimes "are eroding the international rules and standards," but that the democracies are "uncertain" about how to respond.
Authoritarian regimes that are "already well-practiced in the art of allowing economic activity while protecting their political prerogatives ... are vigorously advancing their own, illiberal values. ... Why they would abandon this approach when dealing with foreign governments?"
Though the study notes, "In a 21st century context, isolation or disengagement from these authoritarian regimes are not viable options," it warns against falling into "authoritarians' trap," because authoritarians "would prefer engagement ... but only on their terms" in order to advance their economic interests.
Because democracies are rules-based, accountable and open systems, grounded in human rights and rule of law, "It is therefore in the democracies' interest to safeguard and promote the very qualities that set them apart from the authoritarians."
A. Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D., is retired from the University of Guam, where he taught political science for 13 years. Write him at peangmeth@yahoo.com.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
How Cambodian culture re-emerged after the devastating Pol Pot years
Image via flickr.comhttp://www.eturbonews.com
By Tom Fawthrop
Bangkok Post
Aug 25, 2009
The awesome grace and meticulous movements of the performers have entranced audiences since ancient times, an experience now shared with plane-loads of tourists descending on Siem Reap in western Cambodia, the jumping off point for the world's largest temple complex - legendary Angkor Wat.
Dating back to the days of the great Angkor empire that flourished from the 9th to 15th centuries, Cambodian dance is a celebration of the gods, mythology, and the world of the royal palace.
This 144-page, lavishly-illustrated, coffee-table book authored by Denise Heywood, a lecturer on Asian art, brings the reader a fine appreciation of Cambodian dance intertwined with the turbulent history and how it has always been at the core of Khmer culture and identity. The book details and explains the origins and development of the dances, music, and shadow puppetry, all in the context of their spiritual importance as a medium for communicating with the gods.
But Cambodia's recent tragedy brought its great tradition of dance near oblivion. The "Killing Fields" regime of the Khmer Rouge not only killed through slave labor, starvation, and slaughter nearly 2 million people, including 90 percent of artists, dancers, and writers, but it also came close to extinguishing Khmer culture and tradition. Pol Pot's brand new agrarian dystopia had no place for the arts, culture, or any other kind of entertainment except xenophobic songs and Pol Pot propaganda.
Heywood first arrived in Cambodia as a freelance writer in 1994, and her interest in dance was heightened by the extraordinary tale of how a few dancers and choreographers survived the genocidal years from 1975 to 79.
In January 1979, a new Heng Samrin government backed by Vietnam proclaimed the restoration of normal society after four years of the Pol Pot regime had trashed most aspects of family life and the previous society.
A handful of survivors emerged from the darkest era in Cambodian history dedicated to resuscitating their cherished traditions of dance. Actor, poet, and director Pich Tum Kravel and former director of the National Conservatory Chheng Phon were among the cultural stars who miraculously survived.
They became the key people enlisted by the new Ministry of Information and Culture under Keo Chenda, charged with the critical mission of bringing all the surviving dancers together.
The expertise was handed down through the generations from master to pupil and never documented in written form, so everything depended on human memory. The late Chea Samy became the leading teacher at the re-established School of Fine Arts in 1981 (ironically Pol Pot was her brother-in-law).
Piecing together the collective memories of survivors and much of the vast repertory, the performing arts were revived.
When this reviewer saw the post-Pol Pot Cambodian National Dance Company perform in Phnom Penh in 1981, it was a highly-emotional experience. Members of the audience wept. This outpouring of raw emotion encompassed both tears of sadness for those loved ones they would never see again - and tears of joy that Khmer dance was alive again and had risen from the ashes of nihilistic destruction.
Nothing had greater significance for the Khmer people in this process of rebuilding than this revival of the nation's soul and psyche in which dance plays a central role.
While Heywood is to be commended for her documentation of the revival of dance in the 1980s, it is a pity she has wrongly contextualized this cultural renaissance by claiming that "Heng Samrin's Vietnamese government" organized a national arts festival in 1980.
In fact, President Heng Samrin and everyone else in the new government were all Cambodians and not Vietnamese. Somehow the author has been infected with the cold war propaganda emanating from Asean governments and US embassies in the region.
The reality was more complicated. The cultural revival depicted in this book makes it clear that Vietnamese control over security and foreign policy, despite tensions and differences with their Cambodian allies, did not block the re-emergence of Khmer culture that at the same time planted the seeds for future independence.
In 2003, Unesco bestowed formal recognition proclaiming the Royal Ballet of Cambodia to be a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage. And one year later, Prince Norodom Sihamoni, a former ballet choreographer and dancer, was crowned king.
Thai classical dance borrows much from the dance traditions of Angkorian times. After Siam's invasion of Siem Reap in 1431, hundreds of Cambodian dancers were abducted and brought to dance in Ayutthaya, at that time the capital hosting the royal court of the Thai king.
This timely book also mentions that Cambodian choreographer Sophiline Shapiro has, among many other projects, adapted Mozart's Magic Flute to Khmer classical dance as part of a 2006 festival to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the great composer's birth.
This production with many innovations caused a stir among the purists. Shapiro passionately defends her new productions against the critics, telling the author "increasing the repertory of dance will help to preserve it and prevent it from atrophying or becoming a museum piece."
By Tom Fawthrop
Bangkok Post
Aug 25, 2009
The awesome grace and meticulous movements of the performers have entranced audiences since ancient times, an experience now shared with plane-loads of tourists descending on Siem Reap in western Cambodia, the jumping off point for the world's largest temple complex - legendary Angkor Wat.
Dating back to the days of the great Angkor empire that flourished from the 9th to 15th centuries, Cambodian dance is a celebration of the gods, mythology, and the world of the royal palace.
This 144-page, lavishly-illustrated, coffee-table book authored by Denise Heywood, a lecturer on Asian art, brings the reader a fine appreciation of Cambodian dance intertwined with the turbulent history and how it has always been at the core of Khmer culture and identity. The book details and explains the origins and development of the dances, music, and shadow puppetry, all in the context of their spiritual importance as a medium for communicating with the gods.
But Cambodia's recent tragedy brought its great tradition of dance near oblivion. The "Killing Fields" regime of the Khmer Rouge not only killed through slave labor, starvation, and slaughter nearly 2 million people, including 90 percent of artists, dancers, and writers, but it also came close to extinguishing Khmer culture and tradition. Pol Pot's brand new agrarian dystopia had no place for the arts, culture, or any other kind of entertainment except xenophobic songs and Pol Pot propaganda.
Heywood first arrived in Cambodia as a freelance writer in 1994, and her interest in dance was heightened by the extraordinary tale of how a few dancers and choreographers survived the genocidal years from 1975 to 79.
In January 1979, a new Heng Samrin government backed by Vietnam proclaimed the restoration of normal society after four years of the Pol Pot regime had trashed most aspects of family life and the previous society.
A handful of survivors emerged from the darkest era in Cambodian history dedicated to resuscitating their cherished traditions of dance. Actor, poet, and director Pich Tum Kravel and former director of the National Conservatory Chheng Phon were among the cultural stars who miraculously survived.
They became the key people enlisted by the new Ministry of Information and Culture under Keo Chenda, charged with the critical mission of bringing all the surviving dancers together.
The expertise was handed down through the generations from master to pupil and never documented in written form, so everything depended on human memory. The late Chea Samy became the leading teacher at the re-established School of Fine Arts in 1981 (ironically Pol Pot was her brother-in-law).
Piecing together the collective memories of survivors and much of the vast repertory, the performing arts were revived.
When this reviewer saw the post-Pol Pot Cambodian National Dance Company perform in Phnom Penh in 1981, it was a highly-emotional experience. Members of the audience wept. This outpouring of raw emotion encompassed both tears of sadness for those loved ones they would never see again - and tears of joy that Khmer dance was alive again and had risen from the ashes of nihilistic destruction.
Nothing had greater significance for the Khmer people in this process of rebuilding than this revival of the nation's soul and psyche in which dance plays a central role.
While Heywood is to be commended for her documentation of the revival of dance in the 1980s, it is a pity she has wrongly contextualized this cultural renaissance by claiming that "Heng Samrin's Vietnamese government" organized a national arts festival in 1980.
In fact, President Heng Samrin and everyone else in the new government were all Cambodians and not Vietnamese. Somehow the author has been infected with the cold war propaganda emanating from Asean governments and US embassies in the region.
The reality was more complicated. The cultural revival depicted in this book makes it clear that Vietnamese control over security and foreign policy, despite tensions and differences with their Cambodian allies, did not block the re-emergence of Khmer culture that at the same time planted the seeds for future independence.
In 2003, Unesco bestowed formal recognition proclaiming the Royal Ballet of Cambodia to be a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage. And one year later, Prince Norodom Sihamoni, a former ballet choreographer and dancer, was crowned king.
Thai classical dance borrows much from the dance traditions of Angkorian times. After Siam's invasion of Siem Reap in 1431, hundreds of Cambodian dancers were abducted and brought to dance in Ayutthaya, at that time the capital hosting the royal court of the Thai king.
This timely book also mentions that Cambodian choreographer Sophiline Shapiro has, among many other projects, adapted Mozart's Magic Flute to Khmer classical dance as part of a 2006 festival to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the great composer's birth.
This production with many innovations caused a stir among the purists. Shapiro passionately defends her new productions against the critics, telling the author "increasing the repertory of dance will help to preserve it and prevent it from atrophying or becoming a museum piece."
Civic Group Opposes House Discussion on Preah Vihear Temple
Yesterday a civic group observing the dispute on Preah Vihear Temple between Thailand and Cambodia petitioned to halt the discussion about a settlement with Cambodia, scheduled for a Parliament meeting this Friday .
The civic group who follows the dispute on Preah Vihear temple, led by Mom Luang Valwipa Jaroonroj์, Thepmontri Limpapayom and Veera Somkwamkid, submitted a petition calling for a postponement of the house discussion about a temporary agreement between Thai and Cambodia over the disputed ruins and land.
The group urged the House to call off the discussion until a transparent public hearing on this issue was held. They feel that the temporary bilateral settlement will eventually lead to the listing of the Preah Vihear temple as a Cambodian World Heritage site with Thai endorsement. If it happens, the group
says Thailand will lose its sovereignty in the 4.6 square kilometer overlapping border area.
Today at the Parliament, there will be a seminar about the overlapping border area with a presentation of evidence that shows the Foreign Affairs Ministry supporting the listing of Preah Vihear Temple as Cambodia's World Heritage.
On the other issues at the upper House meeting yesterday, the Senate resolved yesterday to extend the discussion about the borrowing act that would enable the Finance Ministry to pull in 400 billion baht for another thirty days after the Senate earlier endorsed its draft.
The senators also grilled the Prime Minister over the relocation of operations at Don Muang Airport to Suvarnabhumi Airports, tax collection, management of funds generated from the government bond issuance, political reform and the decentralization of power to local administrative bodies.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Reviving Khmer classical dance
The Dance of Loyalty to the King, May 1923. Bettmann Archive.How Cambodian culture re-emerged after the devastating Pol Pot years
Bangkok Post
Writer: TOM FAWTHROP
Published: 24/08/2009
Newspaper section: OutlookThe awesome grace and meticulous movements of the performers have entranced audiences since ancient times, an experience now shared with plane-loads of tourists descending on Siem Reap in western Cambodia, the jumping off point for the world's largest temple complex - legendary Angkor Wat.
Dating back to the days of the great Angkor empire that flourished from the 9th to 15th centuries, Cambodian dance is a celebration of the gods, mythology and the world of the royal palace.
This 144-page lavishly illustrated coffee-table book authored by Denise Heywood, a lecturer on Asian art, brings the reader a fine appreciation of Cambodian dance intertwined with the turbulent history and how it has always been at the core of Khmer culture and identity. The book details and explains the origins and development of the dances, music and shadow puppetry, all in the context of their spiritual importance as a medium for communicating with the gods.
But Cambodia's recent tragedy brought its great tradition of dance near oblivion. The "Killing Fields" regime of the Khmer Rouge not only killed through slave labour, starvation and slaughter nearly 2 million people, including 90 per cent of artists, dancers and writers, but it also came close to extinguishing Khmer culture and tradition. Pol Pot's brand new agrarian dystopia had no place for the arts, culture or any other kind of entertainment except xenophobic songs and Pol Pot propaganda.
Heywood first arrived in Cambodia as a freelance writer in 1994, and her interest in dance was heightened by the extraordinary tale of how a few dancers and choreographers survived the genocidal years from 1975 to 79.
CAMBODIAN DANCE: Celebration of the Gods Denise Heywood River Books Bangkok, 144 pp, $45 ISBN 987-9749863404In January 1979 a new Heng Samrin government backed by Vietnam proclaimed the restoration of normal society after four years of the Pol Pot regime had trashed most aspects of family life and the previous society.
A handful of survivors emerged from the darkest era in Cambodian history dedicated to resuscitating their cherished traditions of dance. Actor, poet and director Pich Tum Kravel and former director of the National Conservatory Chheng Phon were among the cultural stars who miraculously survived.
They became the key people enlisted by the new Ministry of Information and Culture under Keo Chenda, charged with the critical mission of bringing all the surviving dancers together.
The expertise was handed down through the generations from master to pupil and never documented in written form, so everything depended on human memory. The late Chea Samy became the leading teacher at the re-established School of Fine Arts in 1981 (ironically Pol Pot was her brother-in-law).
Piecing together the collective memories of survivors and much of the vast repertory, the performing arts were revived.
When this reviewer saw the post-Pol Pot Cambodian National Dance Company perform in Phnom Penh in 1981, it was a highly emotional experience. Members of the audience wept. This outpouring of raw emotion encompassed both tears of sadness for those loved ones they would never see again - and tears of joy that Khmer dance was alive again and had risen from the ashes of nihilistic destruction.
Pamina Devi choreographed by Sophiline Cheam Shapiro.Nothing had greater significance for the Khmer people in this process of rebuilding than this revival of the nation's soul and psyche in which dance plays a central role.
While Heywood is to be commended for her documentation of the revival of dance in the 1980s, it is a pity she has wrongly contextualised this cultural renaissance by claiming that "Heng Samrin's Vietnamese government" organised a national arts festival in 1980.
In fact President Heng Samrin and everyone else in the new government were all Cambodians and not Vietnamese. Somehow the author has been infected with the cold war propaganda emanating from Asean governments and US embassies in the region that stressed Phnom Penh was being run by a "Vietnamese puppet-regime" and the Cambodians blindly followed Hanoi's orders.
The reality was more complicated. The cultural revival depicted in this book makes it clear that Vietnamese control over security and foreign policy, despite tensions and differences with their Cambodian allies, did not block the re-emergence of Khmer culture that at the same time planted the seeds for future independence.
In 2003 Unesco bestowed formal recognition proclaiming the Royal Ballet of Cambodia to be a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage. And one year later Prince Norodom Sihamoni, a former ballet choreographer and dancer, was crowned king.
Thai classical dance borrows much from the dance traditions of Angkorian times. After Siam's invasion of Siem Reap in 1431, hundreds of Cambodian dancers were abducted and brought to dance in Ayutthaya, at that time the capital hosting the royal court of the Thai king.
This timely book also mentions that Cambodian choreographer Sophiline Shapiro has, among many other projects, adapted Mozart's Magic Flute to Khmer classical dance as part of a 2006 festival to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the great composer's birth.
This production with many innovations caused a stir among the purists. Shapiro passionately defends her new productions against the critics, telling the author "increasing the repertory of dance will help to preserve it and prevent it from atrophying or becoming a museum piece."
Rolling with the punches
Photo by: Heng ChivoanThe Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 24 August 2009
Post Staff
English fighter Charlie Gillespie (left) lands a left to the face of Cambodian Vorn Viva during their bout Thursday at CTN. ISAK world middleweight champion Vorn Viva defeated Charlie Gillespie by unanimous point decision in the main event Thursday night. The Englishman proved a tough opponent, withstanding numerous hard shots and getting rocked in the fifth by a right but refusing to go down. Nearly 250 fight fans turned out to support local kickboxers against a trio of foreigners. Earlier, Thun Sophea outpointed The Contender Asia star Dominik Zidov of Switzerland, although the famed TV bad boy was recovering from a serious motorbike crash that resulted in 42 stitches in his head. In the other co-feature, Sen Bunthen fought to a draw against Ervant "The Wolf" Atagyan of Russia. Sen Bunthen had been accidentally sent over the ropes in the fifth, falling on his head and needing lengthy medical attention. With the round over and the Cambodian still dazed, the fight was declared a draw. In other bouts at CTN Thursday, Um Dara scored a TKO victory over May Sopheap due to doctor stoppage in the fourth, having cut his opponent with an elbow in the third. Also Cheam Adam came back from a second-round knockdown to score a fourth-round TKO over Sam Ounloung
Monday, 24 August 2009
Post Staff
English fighter Charlie Gillespie (left) lands a left to the face of Cambodian Vorn Viva during their bout Thursday at CTN. ISAK world middleweight champion Vorn Viva defeated Charlie Gillespie by unanimous point decision in the main event Thursday night. The Englishman proved a tough opponent, withstanding numerous hard shots and getting rocked in the fifth by a right but refusing to go down. Nearly 250 fight fans turned out to support local kickboxers against a trio of foreigners. Earlier, Thun Sophea outpointed The Contender Asia star Dominik Zidov of Switzerland, although the famed TV bad boy was recovering from a serious motorbike crash that resulted in 42 stitches in his head. In the other co-feature, Sen Bunthen fought to a draw against Ervant "The Wolf" Atagyan of Russia. Sen Bunthen had been accidentally sent over the ropes in the fifth, falling on his head and needing lengthy medical attention. With the round over and the Cambodian still dazed, the fight was declared a draw. In other bouts at CTN Thursday, Um Dara scored a TKO victory over May Sopheap due to doctor stoppage in the fourth, having cut his opponent with an elbow in the third. Also Cheam Adam came back from a second-round knockdown to score a fourth-round TKO over Sam Ounloung
Publish Post
Proposed credit bureau to regulate lending
The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 24 August 2009
Nguon Sovan
National Bank of Cambodia aims to have the bureau – which it says will manage the Kingdom’s microfinance institutions and establish a national financial database – up and running by 2011
Cambodia's central bank will establish a credit bureau to manage microfinance lending and avoid loan duplication by 2011, a senior official said last week.
National Bank of Cambodia Director General Tal Nay Im said the bureau would allow the country's microfinance institutions (MFIs) to submit lending details into a national financial database accessible across the sector.
It would prevent clients' using one piece of collateral, usually soft title on property, to apply for loans at more than one lender, a practice which has been linked to a rising incidence of non-performing loans in the sector.
Many rural borrowers do not have [hard] land titles, so they use papers recognising their possession of land as collateral to borrow money from a financial institution," she said. "Later, they ask the local authority to issue two or three more papers for the same land or house and use them to borrow from other microfinance institutions."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Credit agents do not ask me what i will use the loan for, but … if i have collateral.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The credit bureau would stamp out the practice, she said.
Figures released earlier this month by the Cambodian Microfinance Association show non-performing loans rising from 1.75 percent at the end of the first quarter to 3.39 percent at the end of the second quarter.
Borrowers spoken to by the Post Friday confirmed the practice.
Pen Huch, 35, from Sdech Kong Khang Cheong commune in Kampot province's Banteay Meas district, said she had borrowed a total of $5,000 from three institutions - ACLEDA bank, MFI Amret and CHC Limited - with the intention of lending the money on at a higher rate of interest.
"Credit agents do not ask me what I will use the loan for, but they asked me if I have collateral," Pen Huch said.
A certificate recognising ownership of land could be bought from local authorities for 5,000 riels ($1.21), she said.
However, Pen Huch said she was cheated by the villagers she lent to and was now unable to repay the loan.
Monday, 24 August 2009
Nguon Sovan
National Bank of Cambodia aims to have the bureau – which it says will manage the Kingdom’s microfinance institutions and establish a national financial database – up and running by 2011
Cambodia's central bank will establish a credit bureau to manage microfinance lending and avoid loan duplication by 2011, a senior official said last week.
National Bank of Cambodia Director General Tal Nay Im said the bureau would allow the country's microfinance institutions (MFIs) to submit lending details into a national financial database accessible across the sector.
It would prevent clients' using one piece of collateral, usually soft title on property, to apply for loans at more than one lender, a practice which has been linked to a rising incidence of non-performing loans in the sector.
Many rural borrowers do not have [hard] land titles, so they use papers recognising their possession of land as collateral to borrow money from a financial institution," she said. "Later, they ask the local authority to issue two or three more papers for the same land or house and use them to borrow from other microfinance institutions."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Credit agents do not ask me what i will use the loan for, but … if i have collateral.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The credit bureau would stamp out the practice, she said.
Figures released earlier this month by the Cambodian Microfinance Association show non-performing loans rising from 1.75 percent at the end of the first quarter to 3.39 percent at the end of the second quarter.
Borrowers spoken to by the Post Friday confirmed the practice.
Pen Huch, 35, from Sdech Kong Khang Cheong commune in Kampot province's Banteay Meas district, said she had borrowed a total of $5,000 from three institutions - ACLEDA bank, MFI Amret and CHC Limited - with the intention of lending the money on at a higher rate of interest.
"Credit agents do not ask me what I will use the loan for, but they asked me if I have collateral," Pen Huch said.
A certificate recognising ownership of land could be bought from local authorities for 5,000 riels ($1.21), she said.
However, Pen Huch said she was cheated by the villagers she lent to and was now unable to repay the loan.
"Now I am completely in debt. I have sold my rice field to repay the debts, but it is still not enough."
She said she still owed $1,000 and alleged that the lenders were forcing her to sell her house to repay the debts or face court action.
Uk Chaim, 50, from the same commune, said she received six land ownership papers from the local authorities for her single piece of land and used them to borrow $4,000 from six creditors last year.
"I have sold my rice field to repay the debts, but now I still owe them about $1,000 and they are forcing me to sell my last property - the land where my house is - to repay the debts," she said.
"The future credit bureau will be definitely significant to prevent rates of NPL from going up," said Peter Sheerin, a credit bureau and risk management adviser at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector financing arm of the World Bank.
The IFC has been providing technical support for 18 months but hopes the bureau could be established before 2011, he said. "Now, the major challenge is around having to change the law to provide a legislative framework to allow for the establishment of the credit bureau," Sheerin said, adding it would cost between $2 million and $3 million.
A priority on the legislative front is the creation of laws around handling confidential information, which Tal Nay Im said was critical to allow the bureau to keep track of the credit histories of borrowers.
Police Blotter: 24 Aug 2009
The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 24 August 2009
Post Staff
GIRL NEARLY CROAKS DURING FROG HUNT
Ten-year-old Hing Srey Leak was pierced in the neck with an arrow on Friday morning while she was hunting for frogs with her 15-year-old aunt, Roth Chhaily. Luckily, the victim was saved by an operation at Svay Rieng provincial hospital. The incident occurred near the family home in Rumdul district, Svay Rieng province. Roth Chhaily was aiming her arrow at a frog, but missed and ended up hitting her niece, who was standing nearby.
KOH SANTEPHEAP
'JUST FOR FUN': BRIDGE JUMPER
A drunken man jumped off Chroy Changvar bridge on Tuesday afternoon, but was, fortunately, rescued by police who were patrolling the river. Police identified the man as 26-year-old Hok Moung Rith of Phnom Penh's Meanchey district. After his rescue, the man seemed to be too drunk to answer questions, so his reason for jumping was not clear. He told police only that he had drunk too much and wanted to jump for fun.
KOH SANTEPHEAP
TWO MEN INJURED WHEN DUST SETTLES
Two men were injured in a conflict that happened on Thursday night in Phnom Penh's Tuol Sangke commune, Russey Keo district. A government official was wounded in the left ear by a moto-taxi driver whom he had punched in the face. The driver was then arrested by the police. The dispute was caused when, while cleaning his motorbike, the driver inadvertently sprayed dust on the official's wife.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA
WIFE TRAFFICKER GETS NINE YEARS
A man from Phnom Penh's Choam Chao commune, Dangkor district, was sentenced on Friday to nine years in prison after being convicted of human trafficking. The charges stemmed from an incident in June 2007, when the man forced his wife to have sex with another man to settle a US$15 debt. The perpetrator was then arrested after his wife reported the incident to local police.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA
Monday, 24 August 2009
Post Staff
GIRL NEARLY CROAKS DURING FROG HUNT
Ten-year-old Hing Srey Leak was pierced in the neck with an arrow on Friday morning while she was hunting for frogs with her 15-year-old aunt, Roth Chhaily. Luckily, the victim was saved by an operation at Svay Rieng provincial hospital. The incident occurred near the family home in Rumdul district, Svay Rieng province. Roth Chhaily was aiming her arrow at a frog, but missed and ended up hitting her niece, who was standing nearby.
KOH SANTEPHEAP
'JUST FOR FUN': BRIDGE JUMPER
A drunken man jumped off Chroy Changvar bridge on Tuesday afternoon, but was, fortunately, rescued by police who were patrolling the river. Police identified the man as 26-year-old Hok Moung Rith of Phnom Penh's Meanchey district. After his rescue, the man seemed to be too drunk to answer questions, so his reason for jumping was not clear. He told police only that he had drunk too much and wanted to jump for fun.
KOH SANTEPHEAP
TWO MEN INJURED WHEN DUST SETTLES
Two men were injured in a conflict that happened on Thursday night in Phnom Penh's Tuol Sangke commune, Russey Keo district. A government official was wounded in the left ear by a moto-taxi driver whom he had punched in the face. The driver was then arrested by the police. The dispute was caused when, while cleaning his motorbike, the driver inadvertently sprayed dust on the official's wife.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA
WIFE TRAFFICKER GETS NINE YEARS
A man from Phnom Penh's Choam Chao commune, Dangkor district, was sentenced on Friday to nine years in prison after being convicted of human trafficking. The charges stemmed from an incident in June 2007, when the man forced his wife to have sex with another man to settle a US$15 debt. The perpetrator was then arrested after his wife reported the incident to local police.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA
Annual bank report states bad loans minimal in 2008
Photo by: SOVAN PHILONGA banking customer withdraws money at an ATM in Phnom Penh this month. Most of the Kingdom’s banks recorded an increase in non-performing loans in 2008, the National Bank of Cambodia said in a report.
Bad loans Rising
ANZ Royal saw NPLs increase from 0.4pc in 2007 to 2.6pc last year
FTB also experienced a rise in NPLs over the same period – from 30.7pc to 32pc
Canadia Bank saw NPLs climb from 6.8pc to 11.1pc
Source: National Bank of Cambodia
The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 24 August 2009 15:01
Nguon Sovan
Central Bank notes, however, that NPLs increased at a number of major lenders, including Canadia Bank, ANZ Royal and FTB
NON-PERFORMING loans (NPLs) were kept to a "considerably low" level in 2008 despite rapid credit growth, but several large banks performed significantly worse than the sector average, according to a central bank report released Friday.
The National Bank of Cambodia's (NBC) 2008 annual banking supervision report, published on its Web site, showed that non-performing loans rose from 3.4 percent of total loans at the end of 2007 to 3.7 percent as of the end of last year. The absolute value of NPLs climbed from US$52.95 million to $87.44 million over the period as the total value of loans soared 54.7 percent from $1.51 billion to $2.35 billion.
In the report, the NBC described the level as "considerably low" given that the banking system "experienced rapid credit growth" in 2008.
NBC Director General Tal Nay Im said the rise in NPLs was concentrated among a few banks - the report shows these are Canadia Bank, the Foreign Trade Bank of Cambodia (FTB) and ANZ Royal - but said the sector performed strongly.
"It's customary for NPLs to rise when the economy slows down," she said. "[But] it is not serious. The repayments were just late, it does not mean they are in default."
Around 32 percent of the FTB's $86.1 million loan book was non-performing at the end of last year, slightly up from 30.7 percent a year earlier when it had $64.1 million in outstanding loans, according to the report.
Canadia Bank, which owns 46 percent of FTB, reported 11.1 percent of its $409.5 million in loans as non-performing, up from 6.8 percent of a $338.1 million loan book at the end of 2007.
Advanced Bank of Asia was the other poor performer in terms of NPLs, but its NPL ratio of 12.8 percent was an improvement on the 26 percent recorded a year earlier as its loan book doubled to $24.45 million.
Bad loans at Singapore Banking Corp dropped from 12.3 percent to 3.9 percent.
ANZ Royal also suffered, with NPLs rising from 0.4 percent to 2.6 percent over the course of 2008.
FTB General Manager Gui Anvanith said the NBC based its report on unaudited figures. The bank's 2008 financial statement, which he said was audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, put the bank's NPLs at 28 percent, up from 13 percent a year earlier, he said.
Anvanith said the increase in NPLs was mostly attributable to six large companies that were each three months in arrears on loan repayments. He refused to name the customers but said they were in the agricultural, construction, hotel and power sectors.
"We are not concerned that we will lose money because all the loans we offered have been secured by collateral, and the collateral value is always 100 percent higher than the amount of the loan."
He said NPLs had dropped to about 17 percent by July and anticipated the level to fall further to between 7 percent and 10 percent by the end of the year.
ANZ Royal CEO Stephen Higgins said it was natural NPLs would rise as a result of the financial crisis, as they have in almost every country.
"In that context, a 2.6 percent NPL ratio is fairly modest, and as much as anything, reflects ANZ's conservative approach to provisioning," he wrote in an email Friday. "For these NPLs, we don't actually expect to lose any money on them."
He said they involved a small number of loans written several years ago with a high level of security. A common characteristic was that they were property-related clients experiencing cash-flow issues, he said.
Canadia Bank financial controller Ou Sophanarith said Friday that he expected that NPLs would drop to 7 or 8 percent this year.
"We are quite stable and have no concern because all loans have been secured by collateral," he added.
The report said most credit was channelled to the wholesale and retail trading sectors, followed by the services sector - mainly hotels and restaurants - telecoms and media, and other non-financial services.
Manufacturing also obtained significant bank financing, as did the commercial real estate, residential real estate and construction sectors.
However, while growing credit to the real estate sector was seen as a "major concern for supervisors" as the bursting of the real estate bubble presented a "genuine risk" to the banking system, the annual report added that central bank guidelines limiting bank lending to the real estate sector to 15 percent of lending portfolios, and the doubling of reserve requirements last year to 16 percent, had limited the sector's exposure.
Tal Nay Im said the bad loans were due to producers and manufacturers struggling with cash flow as a result of decreased trading activity, and said the real estate sector was not a major problem.
Despite the rise in NPLs, the report showed 2008 was still a profitable year for the sector. Net profits at Canadia were $34.5 million, making it the country's most profitable bank ahead of Cambodian Public Bank.
Afghan Diary
Photo by: Michael HayesSecret ballot: Afghan women display their ink-stained fingers after voting at the Sultan Raiza High School for Girls in Mazar-i-Sharif on Thursday.
The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 24 August 2009
Michael Hayes
For several reasons, I decided to go to the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Thursday to watch Afghans vote.
It seemed like a good idea to get out of the capital and avoid the almost 300-strong international press pack that would be racing around the dusty city following President Karzai and his main opponent, Abdullah Abdullah.
Since domestic air travel is all too often a hit-or-miss endeavor, with flights delayed, cancelled or just never showing up, we took the road to Mazar - one of the few relatively safe highways in the whole country. Only complete fools or those with a death wish take the road to Kandahar. The road to Jalalabad in the east is an equally risky proposition.
As well, all reports indicated that the polling in Mazar would go off relatively smoothly. I had no desire to get attacked with rockets or, even worse, have my throat slit by the Taliban.
I hooked up with two American photographers, and we left Kabul at 6am on election eve, taking the 428-kilometre paved road north. Just outside the city our fixer handed me an Afghan shawl. "Here, put this on," he said. Apparently, I looked too American. What a surprise.
The road up to and through the 3-kilometre-long Salang tunnel, sitting at 3,360 metres, is one of the most majestic in the world. If peace ever breaks out, tourists will no doubt flock here for the views. After a nine-hour haul we arrived in Mazar without incident.
On voting day - the first time in the country's ancient history the government has organised national elections on their own - we showed up at Wazir Akhbar Khan High School promptly at 7am when the polls opened.
Election officials, smartly dressed with finely wrapped turbans and well-groomed beards, sat out front of the school's mud walls exuding a seriousness fit for the occasion. They checked our Election Commission passes and welcomed us into the yard. Male and burqa-clad female voters started to enter the compound in a trickle that soon turned into a steady stream.
Inside the school building, voters - men through one end of the building and women through the other - followed a simple set of procedures: IDs checked, fingers dipped in purple ink, ballots issued, candidates ticked behind basic cardboard stands, and then ballots deposited in boxes. All smooth as Mazari silk.
Leaving the polling station, voters seemed proud to hold up their ink-stained fingers and pose for us photographers. Surprisingly, we were even allowed to go to the women's side to do the same. The men really didn't like it, but the women did not hesitate to display from behind their sparkling white burqas the purple digit.
Those of us from the West have the luxury of being cynical about democracy, but there is something rather moving about seeing a war-weary people participate in a process that they hope may lead to a better, less violent, more equitable future. Needless to say, they deserve it.
We moved on to Balkh University, where voter turnout was larger. Mr Hafiz, one of the school's administrators, was happy to exclaim: "See, no problem. Anyone can vote for anybody they want. No problem. I didn't even tell my children who to vote for."
A young student clung by my side as I strolled through the halls, happy to practise his English. "The election is very peaceful here," he said. "Only problems in the south, not in Mazar."
I asked him how old he was, and when he said 17, I asked how he could vote, thinking that the age requirement for voting was 18.
Mr Hafiz explained. "No, no, he says 17 but actually he's 20. He wants to avoid the military." I told him we were quite familiar in Cambodia with flexible birth dates to avoid conscription. He smiled.
At the Sultan Raiza High School for Girls, the women came out in droves. Once inside the main gate, burqas were pulled back, revealing made-up, excited faces rarely seen by foreign men - or locals, for that matter. An almost festive atmosphere reigned, as if this was one of the few times women could crowd together and chat up a storm in a semi-public environment.
At 5pm we went back to Wazir Akhbar Khan High School to watch the vote-counting. Election observers and party officials remained attentive as each ballot was called out.
After an hour the count was 480 for Abdullah, 56 for Karzai, with single votes for two other candidates - a veritable small sweep for the former Northern Alliance foreign minister who railed against corruption in the Karzai administration during the campaign.
So polling went smoothly in Afghanistan's major northern city. The only low point was when an Associated Press reporter asked me if I'd heard of any violence. When I said no, she replied: "Oh, that stinks. Now I don't have a story." Leave it to the Western press to wish more suffering on the Afghan people.
Initial results won't be announced until September 3. The government says there were 267 attacks by the Taliban throughout the country, and 26 people were killed. Two voters in Kandahar had their ink-stained fingers cut off.
Cries of foul play are widespread, registration cards were readily for sale, and allegations of ballot box stuffing are ubiquitous.
What's that old saw? Democracy is a terrible form of government. But everything else is worse.
King Father compares CPP to his own rule
Photo by: AFPKing Father Norodom Sihanouk arrives at Phnom Penh International Airport in this file photo.
The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 24 August 2009
Sam Rith
Former monarch says the ruling party is the "younger sibling" to his own Sangkum Reastr Niyum party of the 1950s
KING Father Norodom Sihanouk on Thursday compared the modern-day Cambodian People's Party to his own Sangkum Reastr Niyum party, founded in 1955, framing both groups as capable stewards of national sovereignty and national progress.
"Now, under the smart leadership of Samdech Hun Sen, Chea Sim, Samdech Heng Samrin ... [the] Cambodian People's Party is following from the legacy of Sangkum Reastr Niyum, during the time that I was president," the King Father said during a meeting with nuns and laymen at his royal residence in Siem Reap province. The event was televised on TVK on Friday and Saturday.
"I have announced publicly to the people that the Cambodian People's Party is the younger sibling of Sangkum Reastr Niyum, especially in its guidance of the people and the nation to happiness and progress in all fields, and in its successful preservation of our sovereignty and independence for generations to come," he said.
In addition to praising the CPP, the monarch also recounted his own political achievements, noting the central role he played in securing independence from France.
"In history, from 1951 to 1953, I was honoured to work towards demanding independence [from France] and completed the pursuit of independence in November 1953," he said.
Cheam Yeap, a CPP lawmaker, said Sunday that he wanted to express gratitude to the King Father for his remarks on behalf of all CPP members. He said that the King Father considered the CPP as the "younger sibling" of Sangkum Reastr Niyum because he recognised the successful polices implemented by the CPP.
King Father Norodom Sihanouk, 87, returned to Cambodia on July 9 after receiving medical treatment in China. He is scheduled to go back to China on September 3 for further medical attention.
National exam scores improve
Photo by: Sovan PhilongStudents celebrate Friday after receiving their exam results at Chba Om Pav High School.
The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 24 August 2009
Chhay Channyda
NEARLY 80 percent of the 86,610 high school students who took the national exam last month earned passing scores, according to data from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, marking a 6 percent increase over last year.
Chroeng Lim Sry, the director of the ministry's high schools department, said on Friday that 67,377 students - roughly 78 percent of those who sat for the exam - had passed.
Results were made public in Phnom Penh and Kandal province on Friday, and results for all other provinces were posted Saturday.
Chroeng Lim Sry said the results indicated that the quality of instruction in the Kingdom's schools might have improved over last year, when only 70.7 percent of the 77,178 students who took the national exam passed.
Cheating concerns
But Cambodian Independent Teachers Association President Rong Chhun cautioned against reading too much into the scores.
"The high percentage of students passing the exam has not shown their real capacity," he said. "There have been irregularities, like bribing officials for answers and leaking the contents of the math section before the exam."
But Chroeng Lim Sry said the heightened security presence while the exam was being administered had cut down on cheating.
Chan Kham Kheour, director of the education department in Ratanakkiri province, said Friday that she believed fewer students had resorted to cheating this year on account of the security.
"We wanted to see the real capacity of the students," she said.
Border troops to stand down as Preah Vihear conflict cools
Photo by: Tracey SheltonA Cambodian soldier sits metres away from Thai counterparts (background) at Sambok Khmum, near the Preah Vihear temple complex in July.
Photo by: AFP
Thai troops were out in force days after the standoff began at Preah Vihear temple on July 19, 2008.
Preah vihear: Timeline of Tensions
11th century: Construction begins on the Preah Vihear temple complex.
1904, 1907: Franco-Siamese treaties create an ambiguous border area, leaving the ownership of Preah Vihear in doubt.
1954: Thai troops occupy Preah Vihear.
June 15, 1962: The International Court of Justice rules, by a 9-3 vote, that the Preah Vihear temple complex belongs to Cambodia and not to Thailand, though the surrounding territory remains in doubt.
July 7, 2009: UNESCO lists the Preah Vihear temple complex as a World Heritage site.
July 17, 2008: Around 400 Thai troops and 800 Cambodian troops are massed at the border near the temple.
October 2008: A series of skirmishes at the border leaves two Cambodian soldiers dead and several others from both sides wounded.
April 2009: Three Thai soldiers are killed in renewed hostilities.
June 24, 2009: UNESCO ignores a complaint filed by Thailand in protest of Preah Vihear's World Heritage status.
August 22, 2009: Prime Minister Hun Sen announces a partial withdrawal of troops stationed around the temple.
The Phnom Penh Post
Monday, 24 August 2009
Thet Sambath
A 13-MONTH military standoff that has claimed more than seven lives and left hundreds homeless at an ancient border temple is at last giving way to peace, Prime Minister Hun Sen declared.
In a sign of thawing relations with Thailand, he announced plans to reduce the number of troops stationed around the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple in a gesture of political good will. The disputed frontier has been the scene of violent clashes with Thai soldiers since 2008.
Hun Sen said Thailand had reduced the number of its soldiers stationed on the border to just 30, effectively ushering in a cease-fire. At the height of the fighting, Thai troops massed in their hundreds. Cambodia now intends to send a number of troops away from the area and back to their bases in nearby provinces, Hun Sen said, although he declined to give precise figures.
"Having too many troops up there is not really good," said Hun Sen during a trip to an outlying province on Saturday. "We have a plan to change the deployment a little. If anything happened, it wouldn't take long to send our troops up again, but I hope there won't be any fighting there."
Cambodia and Thailand have been at loggerheads over the land around the Preah Vihear temple for decades.
Although the World Court ruled in 1962 that it belonged to Cambodia, the most accessible entrance to the ancient Khmer temple, with its crumbling stone staircases and elegant carvings, is in northeastern Thailand. The ruins were granted UN World Heritage status in July 2008, throwing Cambodian-Thai relations into a downward spiral.
Srey Doek, commander of Military Division 3 stationed at Preah Vihear temple, described the move as "a good signal of peace". He confirmed Sunday that several Cambodian units were poised to return home as relations between the nations stabilised, but stressed the withdrawal would not jeopardise efforts to safeguard the site.
"We are working to reduce some of our armed forces at Preah Vihear temple in line with the prime minister's orders," he told the Post. "Some are turning back today to their bases in other provinces. The reduction won't affect our ability to defend the temple because the situation there is returning to normal. If the situation changes and we need them to come back, it will only take them 20 minutes to get here."
Senior military officials from both sides are scheduled to meet this week to discuss further cooperation. Songkitti Jaggabatra, supreme commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, will visit Royal Cambodian Armed Force's Commander in Chief Pol Saroeun and other senior officials, according to Nem Sowath, Cabinet chief for the Ministry of Defence.
In a further gesture of solidarity, Thai and Cambodian soldiers are due to take part in a joint religious festival at Ta Thav tomorrow. Ten Navun, an RCAF first lieutenant stationed at the border, said: "Our ceremony's purpose is to develop understanding and ease tensions."
The border has never been fully demarcated, in part because it is littered with land mines left over from decades of war in Cambodia.
Civil society and opposition groups could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Taiwan begins 3-day mourning period after typhoon
Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou hugs the relative, dressed in a traditional funeral gown, of a victim of Typhoon Morakot during a visit to the destroyed village of Shiao Lin, in southern Taiwan, Wednesday Aug. 19, 2009. During his visit, victims on Wednesday berated Taiwan's president over his slow response to Typhoon Morakot, while two more senior officials offered to resign as anger against the government mounted. (AP Photo)
Soldiers carry the body of a victim near the site of a major landslide caused by Typhoon Morakot which destroyed the mountain village of Hsiao Lin in Kaohsiung county, southern Taiwan August 19, 2009. REUTERS/Stringer
Taiwan soldiers carry an injured person to a typhoon rescue centre in the town of Chiashien in Kaohsiung county, southern Taiwan. A political storm surrounding Taiwan's Typhoon Morakot gained force as the defence minister and cabinet secretary offered to resign over the government's slow response. (AFP/Peter Parks)
Taiwan soldiers clean up a damaged road following Typhoon Morakot in Chuchi, Chiayi County, southern Taiwan August 20, 2009. REUTERS/Taiwan Military News Agency/Handout
A soldier smells the ground while looking for the bodies of flood victims in the mudslide-affected village of Sinkai, following Typhoon Morakot in Kaohsiung County, southern Taiwan August 17, 2009. REUTERS/Stringer
Taiwan soldiers rest inbetween assisting with a cleanup operation following Typhoon Morakot, in the town of Chiashien in southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung county. More than 460 people were missing nearly two weeks after Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan, unleashing floods and mudslides that left more than 150 confirmed dead, emergency officials said Friday. (AFP/Peter Parks)
Taiwan soldiers help to clean up a street covered with mud following Typhoon Morakot in Linbian, Pingtung County, southern Taiwan August 20, 2009. REUTERS/Taiwan Military News Agency/Handout
Soldiers search for bodies on a street covered with mud, following Typhoon Morakot in Liugui, Pingtung County, southern Taiwan August 21, 2009. More than 600 people were listed dead or missing in Taiwan on Friday after one of the island's worst typhoons as the military began digging up bodies buried deep under rocks and mud. REUTERS/Taiwan Military News Agency/Handout
By PETER ENAV, Associated Press WriterTAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan began a three-day mourning period to remember the victims of Typhoon Morakot on Saturday, two weeks after the island's worst weather disaster in 50 years devastated its mountainous south.
The storm took at least 500 lives and caused more than $2 billion in property damage. It triggered landslides and widespread flooding that trapped thousands of people in remote villages for days.
Early Saturday flags around Taiwan were lowered to half staff, and government officials attended religious events paying homage to the storm victims.
Since the full dimensions of the Morakot disaster became clear about 12 days ago, President Ma-Ying-jeou has struggled to assuage widespread anger over the government's slow response.
His approval rating has now dropped to below 20 percent — a 30 percent decline in only three months — amid an almost daily battering in Taiwan's hypercritical media — including in outlets normally friendly to the administration.
The Liberty Times — which normally supports the opposition — published details on Saturday of the $110 Japanese meal enjoyed by Ma's economic minister on the first day of a massive rescue operation aimed at saving the lives of thousands of flood-stranded villagers.
Three other senior officials — the vice-foreign minister, the defense minister and the Cabinet secretary-general — have already offered to resign, their reputations pummeled by a growing perception that the government was either indifferent to the fate of Morakot's victims or incapable of offering them succor.
Ma has been visiting hard-hit areas in the south over the past two days, bowing before the families of the dead and promising that a planned $3 billion reconstruction program will be carried out with exemplary efficiency.
A major question now facing Ma is how quickly he will be able to reverse the considerable political damage he has sustained and get back to dealing with the signature enterprise of his presidency — improving relations with rival China, from which Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949.
In his 15 months in office, Ma has reversed the pro-independence policies of his predecessor, moving rapidly to link Taiwan's economy with that of the mainland, and even speaking of a peace treaty between the sides.
So far the pro-independence opposition has been cautious about raising the issue of whether someone whose leadership has been so badly wounded can be counted on to effectively manage the complex and politically sensitive China opening.
Ma himself appeared to address the issue at a press conference on Tuesday, saying management of China ties is unrelated to Morakot and the difficult questions it raises.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Police Blotter: 21 Aug 2009
The Phnom Penh Post
Friday, 21 August 2009
Lim Phalla
RECKLESS GUNPLAY KO'S LOCAL BOXER
A 24-year-old boxer, Chey Vannak, was pierced in the knee by a bullet that was accidentally discharged from a shotgun with which the victim and his friend had been playing. The boxer's friend, who owns the gun, is known as Rambo. The event happened on Tuesday night at Khlang Moeung boxing club, located in Phnom Penh's Chroy Changvar commune, Russey Keo district. The victim was subsequently taken to Calmette Hospital.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA
HUSBAND GOES THROUGH THE ROOF
Keng Phat, a 32-year-old Thai national, was arrested for chopping down the roof of his Cambodian wife's house in Banteay Meanchey province's Serei Sophorn district. The incident occurred on Monday afternoon, when the perpetrator was heavily drunk. The victim, 36-year-old Reoung Tel, said her husband treats her very cruelly and always destroys her household possessions.
KOH SANTEPHEAP
GUEST ACCUSED OF RAPING 15-YEAR-OLD
A 39-year-old recycled-item collector, was arrested by Snuol district police in Kratie province for allegedly raping a 15-year-old disabled girl on Saturday night. The incident took place after the suspect was allowed to take shelter at the victim's house by her parents, who then left the victim at home alone and went out to their farm because they believed the suspect was trustworthy. The arrest was made after the victim's parents returned home and called the police.
KOH SANTEPHEAP
RESORT SERIOUS ON KEEPING OFF GRASS
Yun Chanthea, 14, of Battambang province was attacked and severely wounded in the head by three security guards for walking on the lawn at Wat Phnom resort in Wat Phnom commune, in the capital's Daun Penh district, on Tuesday night. The victim fainted and was taken to a local hospital by his family, who had been touring the area with him.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA
UNSAVOURY SIBLINGS TOSSED IN CLINK
Two brothers were arrested last Thursday by police in Phnom Penh's Chroy Changvar commune, Russey Keo district, for stealing spare car parts. The arrested were Loh Sakirin, 22, and Loh Hanafi, 26, both of Chhroy Changvar commune. They were also charged with stealing a machine from 55-year-old Ry Borin's boat, and with breaking into the home of 52-year-old Hy Channy to steal two cell phones and US$410. Victims said that the brothers had been a menace to villagers for quite some time.
KOH SANTEPHEAP
Friday, 21 August 2009
Lim Phalla
RECKLESS GUNPLAY KO'S LOCAL BOXER
A 24-year-old boxer, Chey Vannak, was pierced in the knee by a bullet that was accidentally discharged from a shotgun with which the victim and his friend had been playing. The boxer's friend, who owns the gun, is known as Rambo. The event happened on Tuesday night at Khlang Moeung boxing club, located in Phnom Penh's Chroy Changvar commune, Russey Keo district. The victim was subsequently taken to Calmette Hospital.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA
HUSBAND GOES THROUGH THE ROOF
Keng Phat, a 32-year-old Thai national, was arrested for chopping down the roof of his Cambodian wife's house in Banteay Meanchey province's Serei Sophorn district. The incident occurred on Monday afternoon, when the perpetrator was heavily drunk. The victim, 36-year-old Reoung Tel, said her husband treats her very cruelly and always destroys her household possessions.
KOH SANTEPHEAP
GUEST ACCUSED OF RAPING 15-YEAR-OLD
A 39-year-old recycled-item collector, was arrested by Snuol district police in Kratie province for allegedly raping a 15-year-old disabled girl on Saturday night. The incident took place after the suspect was allowed to take shelter at the victim's house by her parents, who then left the victim at home alone and went out to their farm because they believed the suspect was trustworthy. The arrest was made after the victim's parents returned home and called the police.
KOH SANTEPHEAP
RESORT SERIOUS ON KEEPING OFF GRASS
Yun Chanthea, 14, of Battambang province was attacked and severely wounded in the head by three security guards for walking on the lawn at Wat Phnom resort in Wat Phnom commune, in the capital's Daun Penh district, on Tuesday night. The victim fainted and was taken to a local hospital by his family, who had been touring the area with him.
RASMEY KAMPUCHEA
UNSAVOURY SIBLINGS TOSSED IN CLINK
Two brothers were arrested last Thursday by police in Phnom Penh's Chroy Changvar commune, Russey Keo district, for stealing spare car parts. The arrested were Loh Sakirin, 22, and Loh Hanafi, 26, both of Chhroy Changvar commune. They were also charged with stealing a machine from 55-year-old Ry Borin's boat, and with breaking into the home of 52-year-old Hy Channy to steal two cell phones and US$410. Victims said that the brothers had been a menace to villagers for quite some time.
KOH SANTEPHEAP
Pumped-up Polo takes fourth in bodybuilding competition
Photo by: SOVAN PHILONGSok "Polo" Sopheak shows off the physique that won him fourth in the 2009 Asia Bodybuilding and Fitness Championship.
The Phnom Penh Post
Friday, 21 August 2009
EM MEAK
28-year-old Cambodian Sok Sopheak, aka Polo, claimed his best-ever placing of fourth in the 2009 Asia Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships in Thailand
CAMBODIAN body builder Sok Sopheak, also known as Polo, has finally seen all his hard work payoff, claiming fourth in the 2009 Asia Bodybuilding and Fitness Championship held August 11-17 in Pattaya, Thailand.
Despite failing to make the podium, he was delighted with his best-ever placing in an international event.
Training out of Phnom Penh's Rama Fitness Club, Sok Sopheak entered the competition at the 1.65-metre division of the Men's Classic Body category. Iran's Seyed Roohollah Mirnoorollahi took the gold medal, with Daljit Singh of India coming second and Thailand's Kittipong Jansuwan taking third.
Polo, who has adjusted his weight between 60 and 75 kilograms to suit his competitions, has never gained such a good placing in overseas competition. In the same tournament last year, he ranked ninth in Men's Body Building category, while at the 2007 South East Asia Championships, he took eighth in the same classification.
Polo explained that experience from previous events has helped him significantly to improve his placings.
"I didn't know clearly what food was necessary for bodybuilding," he said. "But experiences from several competitions, and through acquaintance with foreign bodybuilders, I got to know how to eat properly."
Polo remembered meeting a Thai athlete in Hong Kong last year, who set him straight on the correct way to balance his diet. "He told me what food to eat and what not to eat."
The 28-year-old Cambodian expressed his pleasure at achieving at something that came out of his own effort, thanking the encouragement of Cambodian youngsters around him.
Rama Fitness club owner Ky Sao, who recommended Polo to travel to Pattaya to join the competition, applauded the bodybuilder's success, saying: "This is the pride of Cambodian sportsmen."
Polo said he had gone through various difficulties in building up his body and attending international competitions, initially without the support of sponsors. However, support from Paul Chua, secretary general of Asia Body Building and Fitness Federation, and Pakpong Kriangsa, director of the Thailand Fitness Federation, eventually allowed him to participate.
Moreover, Polo noted that his food requirement was extremely expensive, with six daily meals including eggs, fish, vegetables, fruit and chicken breast, costing between US$15 and $20 per day. "My mother always scolded me because she was not sure what my money was spent on when she gave it to me," Polo revealed.
Unfortunately, the Cambodian received no cash prize for his fourth rank, with just the prestige and a medal to reward his efforts.
Kong Phalla, secretary of the Cambodian Fitness Federation, acknowledged that the institution was lacking in funds to support the daily fees incurred by its registered athletes, stating there was not even enough to subsidise travel and accommodation costs. However, he praised Polo's achievement, saying: "The result of Sopheak makes me pleased."
Polo is now hoping to attend the World Body Building Championship in Dubai in November, although he has yet to confirm whether he will receive sufficient funding to go.
CEO Talk: Troubles loom, but AMK is golden
Photo by: Vinh DaoAMK Chairman Paul Luchtenburg.
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It is part of our social mission; we want to help, we don't want to become the problem.
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The Phnom Penh Post
Friday, 21 August 2009
Kay Kimsong
AMK Chairman Paul Luchtenburg talks about the microfinance lender's recent gold medal for transparency in reporting and what can be done to reduce interest rates in the sector
CEO Talk
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By Kay Kimsong
You won a gold award earlier this month from industry analyst the Microfinance Information Exchange. What was that for?
It was for transparency in reporting of social performance indicators. AMK has just been elected to head a steering committee looking at the issue of transparent reporting of a range of social performance indicators, which was quite an honour. So we are very active in social performance reporting, but we were surprised to get this award. We [were] one of only four institutions around the world, out of around 1,200 registered with the Microfinance Information Exchange, and the only one in Cambodia, so it is quite nice to have it. It shows that AMK is a world leader in social performance reporting.
Let's get back to more local issues such as the rising incidence of non-performing loans. How is AMK faring?
AMK's [non-performing loans] have gone up the same as everybody's. It's primarily a function of clients receiving too many loans from more than one institution and the industry growing too fast. Most organisations are now slowing down, like AMK, so that we can get our processes perfected to avoid problems in the future.
Has AMK confiscated collateral from any defaulters?
For us, our largest loan is only around $500, and individuals make up just 15 percent of our portfolio. Because our loan size is small, our organisation has never had any problems like that. But I think some organisations may be facing that challenge.
There are lots of stories about borrowers losing land, though the situation is complex and the stories can be hard to verify. What can be done about the problem?
Well, the problem started in Kampong Thom, where we had a few meetings to try and see how we could work together and resolve the issue. Our strategy is, we want to work with the clients as much as possible. If people don't have money, we won't take their land. It is part of our social mission; we want to help, we don't want to become the problem.
The other interesting and dynamic thing happening is that we are talking about financial transparency for things like interest rates, so that the industry is accountable for how much we charge. It costs money for us to go to Kampong Thom, to Ratanakkiri, to Stung Treng, to Preah Vihear, to all of these places, so we can justify the fact that rates are high. But we need to come together with each other and our clients to give them a better idea of how we set the rates.
Does anyone offer lower rates?
Not that I'm aware of. Last year, when inflation was very high, we should have put interest rates up to cover it, but no rates went up. With $25 million in loans out there, we lost a lot of money, but we didn't raise interest rates then. Now even with non-performing loans, I don't think there will be a raise. I think rates will come down slowly, but everything is now about 2009, about the world-wide financial crisis. It is not a good time for organisations to take risks with rates.
Has the financial crisis had an impact on rates?
Rates have gone up globally, which makes it harder for us. Our margins are already quite tight, so there is no way that we can reduce our rates now the cost of funds has increased. If the cost of funds come down, then we could lower rates more easily, but now we can't.
Also, we go to remote areas to meet clients, we go to the villages, and we don't expect them to come to us, which means our costs are high. The third problem is it's hard for us to get local currency, which we primarily lend in. No bank in Cambodia will lend to us in riel so we depend on external lenders.
Do any domestic commercial banks give loans to microfinance lenders?
The only one I am aware of is ANZ Royal, though ACLEDA may lend a small amount. Even in dollars we find it hard to borrow from commercial banks. It is no problem to borrow from international lenders in dollars, but we need to exchange those dollars to riel through the National Bank of Cambodia [NBC] or the Foreign Trade Bank, [and] that is quite expensive for us.
What measures can the NBC take to help the sector?
There are two things. First, when we borrow money from outside, we need to pay the NBC 15 percent tax on the interest. The other thing is that we don't have a savings licence yet. If we had that, it would help our communities, as people need places to save money, and it would give us a cheaper source of funds to lend to people. We applied to them quite a while ago, but we are still waiting for their approval.
Exports of garments to Japan rise 98.1pc
The Phnom Penh Post
Friday, 21 August 2009
Chun Sophal
Garment exports to Japan almost doubled in the first half of this year compared with the first six months of 2008, providing a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy year for the key sector, Ministry of Commerce figures show.
In the six months to the end of June, the country bought $9.62 million worth of garments, up 98.13 percent from the $4.73 million it sourced from Cambodia in the first half of 2008, according to the official numbers.
Exports of textiles climbed 39 percent to almost $450,000, while shoe exports edged down 10 percent from $8.76 million to $7.87 million.
Officials said the uptick came as Japan reduc
Friday, 21 August 2009
Chun Sophal
Garment exports to Japan almost doubled in the first half of this year compared with the first six months of 2008, providing a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy year for the key sector, Ministry of Commerce figures show.
In the six months to the end of June, the country bought $9.62 million worth of garments, up 98.13 percent from the $4.73 million it sourced from Cambodia in the first half of 2008, according to the official numbers.
Exports of textiles climbed 39 percent to almost $450,000, while shoe exports edged down 10 percent from $8.76 million to $7.87 million.
Officials said the uptick came as Japan reduc
ed its dependence on garments sourced from China.
"We hope that as it reduces its purchases from China further, Japan will eye up more purchases of garment products from Cambodia," Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia External Relations Manager Kaing Monika said.
Japan bought $20 billion worth of garments from China in 2008, or about 84 percent of its total global purchases, dwarfing the value of its purchases from Cambodia, he said.
While the combined exports to Japan represented just $18 million of the $1.27 billion worth of the garments, shoes and textiles exported over the period to all countries, it bucked a downward trend across the sector that saw exports fall 18 percent in the first half of the year.
Exports to the United States, Cambodia's key market, were down 30 percent. Canada took 13 percent less by value, while European purchases were down 5 percent over the period.
Ath Thorn, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers, said that Japan was still a small destination for Cambodian garment exports, but that it was an "attractive" market for the future
"I think that in the next two years, Japan can become the second-biggest market for Cambodia after the US because the Japanese government has good relations with Cambodia," he said.
Last year, Cambodia's exports of garment, footwear and textiles to the key US market were worth US$1.98 billion, or around 63 percent of the $3.15 billion total.
However, Kaing Monicka said Cambodia would be unlikely to overtake Bangladesh and Vietnam, the second- and third- biggest exporters of garments to Japan behind China.
A commerce ministry spokesperson who asked not to be named said a major Japanese buyer looked at investing between $45 million and $50 million in garment factories in Cambodia last year but instead decided to invest in Bangladesh.
The deal would have been worth more than $100 million annually in export orders, the official said.
"We hope that as it reduces its purchases from China further, Japan will eye up more purchases of garment products from Cambodia," Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia External Relations Manager Kaing Monika said.
Japan bought $20 billion worth of garments from China in 2008, or about 84 percent of its total global purchases, dwarfing the value of its purchases from Cambodia, he said.
While the combined exports to Japan represented just $18 million of the $1.27 billion worth of the garments, shoes and textiles exported over the period to all countries, it bucked a downward trend across the sector that saw exports fall 18 percent in the first half of the year.
Exports to the United States, Cambodia's key market, were down 30 percent. Canada took 13 percent less by value, while European purchases were down 5 percent over the period.
Ath Thorn, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers, said that Japan was still a small destination for Cambodian garment exports, but that it was an "attractive" market for the future
"I think that in the next two years, Japan can become the second-biggest market for Cambodia after the US because the Japanese government has good relations with Cambodia," he said.
Last year, Cambodia's exports of garment, footwear and textiles to the key US market were worth US$1.98 billion, or around 63 percent of the $3.15 billion total.
However, Kaing Monicka said Cambodia would be unlikely to overtake Bangladesh and Vietnam, the second- and third- biggest exporters of garments to Japan behind China.
A commerce ministry spokesperson who asked not to be named said a major Japanese buyer looked at investing between $45 million and $50 million in garment factories in Cambodia last year but instead decided to invest in Bangladesh.
The deal would have been worth more than $100 million annually in export orders, the official said.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Local academics to go to Europe
This year's group of Cambodian students and teachers will head to various educational institutions around Europe. PHOTO SUPPLIEDThe Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Joel Quenby
Thirty-six Cambodians are jetting off to study and teach abroad as a result of EU programme that makes it one of the Kingdom’s major scholarship donors
IT is a chance that thousands of Cambodian students surely dream about: the opportunity to study and teach at European universities in far-flung countries including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Turkey.
Sometimes dreams come true. And, according to a press release from the European Commission delegation last week, in the 2009-10 academic year, 36 Cambodians will study or teach in degree programmes from undergraduate to postdoctorate level in Europe, courtesy of the EC's Erasmus Mundus scholarship programme.
"I'm delighted to see that the number of Cambodian students and academic staff selected under this year's programme has been increased seven times compared to last year, which brings the EU to one of the biggest scholarship providers in Cambodia," said Rafael Dochao Moreno, charge d' affaires ad interim of the EC Delegation to Cambodia.
"Cambodian students and academic staff will have the opportunity to study and teach in Europe between three months and three years, which, I am sure, will be a very enriching experience, both from an academic and personal perspective."
"One of the most important subjects that we opened for this year programme is journalism.
"By completing their course in journalism, I hope our Cambodian students will bring back to their home country valuable experiences and insights on European approaches to freedom of the press as well as the best practices of how the media play an important role in contributing to the development of European social, economic and democratic values," added Dochao.
In addition to fields related to communication and information sciences, the fortunate Cambodian students and teaching staff will pursue degree programmes in numerous other fields.
As part of the educational exchange programme, 1,561 European students and academic staff will visit partner institutions in countries outside Europe while 6,063 of their respective counterparts from outside the EU will visit European establishments.
Police Blotter: 20 Aug 2009
The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Lim Phalla
GARMENT WORKER ACCUSED OF RAPE
Sing Chreung, 26, was arrested on Monday after his 22-year-old girlfriend, who had been living together with him five months, reported to police that he had raped her and demanded US$1,000 dollars compensation from him. They are both garment workers renting an apartment in Chaom Chao commune, in Phnom Penh's Dangkor district.
KAMPUCHEA THMEY
VILLAGERS TURN IN JEWELLERY THIEF
A young girl was caught and taken to the police by villagers when she stole two necklaces and two bracelets from 28-year-old Lim Davy's gold shop on Sunday morning. The crime took place at Veal Rinh market in the Veal Rinh commune of Preah Sihanouk province. The girl was identified as Sok Chantha, 19, from Kampot province.
KOH SANTEPHEAP
48-HOUR BENDER ENDS IN THE CLINK
Seven people were arrested by Poipet police after they had been reported to the police for not having money to pay Ponleu Neak Tip Karaoke, where they had been enjoying themselves with nonstop drinking, eating and singing for two days, from Sunday through Tuesday. Their bill at the end of the binge totaled US$750. The seven men, Pen Chetra, 25; Eng Sito, 26, Tim Piseth, 26; Ly Pros, 40; Cheng Sokkhoeun, 24; Ang Sok Eng, 29; and Son Ratha, 26, all live in Banteay Meanchey province's Poipet commune and told police they had been waiting for money to be transferred from Thailand.
KOH SANTEPHEAP
FRIENDLY DRINKING ENDS IN MURDER
The body of a man was found in a river on Sunday evening by villagers in Tuol Neang Sav village, in Kampong Thom province's Kampong Svay district. According to the police, the dead man was called Peng, 31, and was killed on Saturday night, cut to death with a machete by his friend Lim Ban, 22, who was helped by Chreung Chein, 29, and Chhot Suy, 20, when they had a conflict after they got drunk together. The three suspects, who were arrested by the police, were all from Siem Reap province.
KOH SANTEPHEAP
HAPPY ENDING TO BAG-SNATCHING
One of two thieves was arrested by Brampi Makara district police for snatching the handbag of 20-year-old Khiev Channy, a singer at Phnom Leu Phnom restaurant, on Sunday while she was riding a motorbike taxi along Monivong Boulevard. The bag, which contained US$80 and a cell phone, was retrieved and returned to the victim. Nothing was lost.
KAMPUCHEA THMEY
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Lim Phalla
GARMENT WORKER ACCUSED OF RAPE
Sing Chreung, 26, was arrested on Monday after his 22-year-old girlfriend, who had been living together with him five months, reported to police that he had raped her and demanded US$1,000 dollars compensation from him. They are both garment workers renting an apartment in Chaom Chao commune, in Phnom Penh's Dangkor district.
KAMPUCHEA THMEY
VILLAGERS TURN IN JEWELLERY THIEF
A young girl was caught and taken to the police by villagers when she stole two necklaces and two bracelets from 28-year-old Lim Davy's gold shop on Sunday morning. The crime took place at Veal Rinh market in the Veal Rinh commune of Preah Sihanouk province. The girl was identified as Sok Chantha, 19, from Kampot province.
KOH SANTEPHEAP
48-HOUR BENDER ENDS IN THE CLINK
Seven people were arrested by Poipet police after they had been reported to the police for not having money to pay Ponleu Neak Tip Karaoke, where they had been enjoying themselves with nonstop drinking, eating and singing for two days, from Sunday through Tuesday. Their bill at the end of the binge totaled US$750. The seven men, Pen Chetra, 25; Eng Sito, 26, Tim Piseth, 26; Ly Pros, 40; Cheng Sokkhoeun, 24; Ang Sok Eng, 29; and Son Ratha, 26, all live in Banteay Meanchey province's Poipet commune and told police they had been waiting for money to be transferred from Thailand.
KOH SANTEPHEAP
FRIENDLY DRINKING ENDS IN MURDER
The body of a man was found in a river on Sunday evening by villagers in Tuol Neang Sav village, in Kampong Thom province's Kampong Svay district. According to the police, the dead man was called Peng, 31, and was killed on Saturday night, cut to death with a machete by his friend Lim Ban, 22, who was helped by Chreung Chein, 29, and Chhot Suy, 20, when they had a conflict after they got drunk together. The three suspects, who were arrested by the police, were all from Siem Reap province.
KOH SANTEPHEAP
HAPPY ENDING TO BAG-SNATCHING
One of two thieves was arrested by Brampi Makara district police for snatching the handbag of 20-year-old Khiev Channy, a singer at Phnom Leu Phnom restaurant, on Sunday while she was riding a motorbike taxi along Monivong Boulevard. The bag, which contained US$80 and a cell phone, was retrieved and returned to the victim. Nothing was lost.
KAMPUCHEA THMEY
Malaysian chain to raise its presence in Cambodia by multiple boutique hotels
The Phnom Penh Post
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Nathan Green
LEADING Malaysia hotel chain Holiday Villa Hotels and Resorts expects to open two properties in Cambodia over the next eight months and is scouting locations for "four or five" boutique hotels, regional manager Charles Bain said.
The company will open a hotel in Kampot province in around six weeks, but a three-star hotel originally slated to open in Sihanoukville next month will now open next February, he said. He would not give the reason for the delay.
Construction on a second hotel in Kampot province will begin in "two to three months", he added.
The company. which currently operates one hotel in Cambodia on Phnom Penh's Monivong Boulevard, is looking to capture a growing market for boutique hotels in Cambodia.
The "four to five" boutique hotels would all be located "around coastal areas", Bain said.
Bain was speaking to the Post after an article in Malaysia's Business Times Monday said the chain plan to open a hotel in Sihanoukville and another in China's Henan province.
The company is owned by Malaysian-listed Advance Synergy Group. Bain refused to disclose further details on the company's Cambodia plans, citing disclosure requirements on the Malaysian bourse.
The company has 3,390 guest rooms and suites in 18 hotels and resorts worldwide, according to its Web site.
Its latest, the Holiday Villa Hotel and Residence City Centre in Doha Qatar, opened on July 20, and the company also opened properties in Halong Bay, Vietnam, and Shenzhen, China, this year.
The company's current Cambodia property, Holiday Villa Hotel and Suites Phnom Penh, has 74 rooms.
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Nathan Green
LEADING Malaysia hotel chain Holiday Villa Hotels and Resorts expects to open two properties in Cambodia over the next eight months and is scouting locations for "four or five" boutique hotels, regional manager Charles Bain said.
The company will open a hotel in Kampot province in around six weeks, but a three-star hotel originally slated to open in Sihanoukville next month will now open next February, he said. He would not give the reason for the delay.
Construction on a second hotel in Kampot province will begin in "two to three months", he added.
The company. which currently operates one hotel in Cambodia on Phnom Penh's Monivong Boulevard, is looking to capture a growing market for boutique hotels in Cambodia.
The "four to five" boutique hotels would all be located "around coastal areas", Bain said.
Bain was speaking to the Post after an article in Malaysia's Business Times Monday said the chain plan to open a hotel in Sihanoukville and another in China's Henan province.
The company is owned by Malaysian-listed Advance Synergy Group. Bain refused to disclose further details on the company's Cambodia plans, citing disclosure requirements on the Malaysian bourse.
The company has 3,390 guest rooms and suites in 18 hotels and resorts worldwide, according to its Web site.
Its latest, the Holiday Villa Hotel and Residence City Centre in Doha Qatar, opened on July 20, and the company also opened properties in Halong Bay, Vietnam, and Shenzhen, China, this year.
The company's current Cambodia property, Holiday Villa Hotel and Suites Phnom Penh, has 74 rooms.
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