News

Coverage of Cambodia’s political scene within international press - opinion piece by Ou Virak, president of the Future Forum in Phnom Penh, published in the New York Times. Written for those unfamiliar with Cambodian politics, describes major political events since the 2013 election (CPP’s narrow victory, subsequent CNRP boycott and demonstrations, January 2014 protester deaths, summer 2014 deal and ‘culture of dialogue’, October 26 beating of CNRP parliamentarians and arrest warrant against Sam Rainsy).

Ou Virak claims that the CPP’s actions demonstrate anxiety about their prospects for the 2018 general election. Sees demographic shifts as favorable to the CNRP - the Cambodians who mobilized in 2013 still want change, especially the young. In 2013, approximately 3.5 million young Cambodians were eligible to vote, out of a total of 9.5 million eligible voters, and the proportion is predicted to be higher in 2018.

Raises major policy issues – reeling in vested interests, penalizing corruption, encouraging small businesses, substantive electoral reform, depoliticizing the judiciary, the police and the military. Whilst critical of the government, is also critical of the opposition: “the political elite seems increasingly out of touch with the electorate, and serious policy thinking is falling by the wayside. Hun Sen is too busy inventing various bogeymen to divert the Cambodian public’s attention from the corruption, corporate pillaging and human rights abuses occurring on his watch. Sam Rainsy still seems to prefer playing at activist-in-exile than work at becoming a leader-in-waiting.”

A report in the Diplomat highlights two recent surveys on emerging media trends within Cambodia.

A study by the Asia Foundation monitored Cambodia’s leading Facebook pages which, as in other countries, are used predominantly by young people. The study tracked pages of seven media groups, three government agencies, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), the Cambodian National People’s Party (CNRP), Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy. VOA Khmer service was by far the most popular page with 2.2 million likes, shares and comments. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy was second with 1.67 million hits followed by the newspaper Post Khmer – which has a heavy emphasis on crime reporting – with 1.45 million. The study found Sam Rainsy to have 37% more likers than Prime Minister Hun Sen but saw the PM’s likes growing at a faster pace that would see him overtake the opposition leader by 2017 if current growth rates were sustained. Both parties ranked significantly behind their respective leaders, indicating that the elections are being fought more along the personality lines of Hun Sen and Sam Rainsy as opposed to party policies.

Another part of the Asia Foundation’s report focused on the most common topics that Cambodians would post about, with incidents of crime being the most common concern followed by the Khmer Rouge tribunal, corruption, illegal logging, education, and health.

A Reporters Without Borders study with the Cambodia Center for Independent Media found nine out of 10 Khmers have never read a newspaper and that television still retained its massive influence over Cambodian life through TV stations owned and controlled by Hun Sen’s family and CPP interests. 96% regularly watch television whilst 39% are connected to the internet. However, social media is becoming an increasingly important source of news for Cambodian people. 

The release of the anticipated draft petroleum law – expected by the end of this year – has been postponed until several technical issues are clarified, according to the Ministry of Mines and Energy. Whilst 80% complete, certain areas need further legal and technical research including whether or not to establish a national petroleum company (which would require a large amount of funding from the national budget) and how revenues from the industry should be allocated to maximize benefit to the nation.

Cambodia has 25 offshore and oil exploration blocks: 19 are onshore and six are offshore. Two are currently being explored. In August 2014, Singapore-based KrisEnergy acquired Chevron Cambodia’s 30 per cent stake in Block A, a 709-square-kilometre site in the Gulf of Thailand. Chevron had spent more than 10 years studying the feasiblity of extracting oil from the block. KrisEnergy has said that it can produce 10,000 barrels of oil per day from the block.

Khmer Times coverage of EuroCham’s breakfast briefing with His Excellency Dr. Om Yentieng, senior minister and president of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU). His Excellency highlighted three main ‘weapons’ that the ACU is using the fight corruption – education, prevention and investigation. He also called upon the private sector to make their contribution to the battle, being steadfast in their own compliance, refusing to pay bribes, educating staff and keeping proper documentation.

Blaise Killian, advocacy manager Euro Cham, highlighted how such gatherings are important to help the private sector understand how to engage with the ACU, with whom EuroCham signed a Memorandum of Understanding in July 2015. “The results after the MoU need to be clearly understood by Eurocham members to appreciate the advantages of such anMoU with the ACU. In the first phase we disseminate the information with our members, and encourage them to cooperate with ACU,”.

Phreap Kol, executive director of Transparency International Cambodia, highlighted the potential that direct collaboration between ACU and businesses can have upon the Cambodian investment environment: “The ACU’s willingness to work directly with the private sector is an important step forward. We hope that this interaction will lead to more efficient measures towards private sector corruption as well as to improve the ease of doing business in Cambodia.”

• Tourism to see labour shortfall 07-12-15
  http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/tourism-see-labour-shortfall

• Firm registry moves online 08-12-15
  http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/firm-registry-moves-online

• Cambodian mangoes could soon roll to Seoul 09-12-15
  http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/cambodian-mangoes-could-soon-roll-seoul

• Toll expressway route unveiled 10-12-15
  http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/toll-expressway-route-unveiled

A route going through Prey Veng and SvayRieng provinces has been settled upon for a planned $2.5 billion high-speed toll road from Phnom Penh to the Vietnamese border in Bavet. With support from JICA ( the Japanese development agency) and an adjoining road to be built by Vietnam from Bavet to Ho Chi Minh City, the project is intended to lower trucking fees by up to 50% and cut travel time between the two cities to just 2.5 hours. This is a long term project with projected completion in 2033.

• Construction investment increases to $3 billion this year 10-12-15
  http://www.phnompenhpost.com/real-estate/construction-investment-increases-3-billion-year

• Cambodia’s Rice Exports Miss Target 10-12-15
  http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/18559/cambodia---s-rice-exports-miss-target/