(1) The statutes must be approved by the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Cambodian Veterans Association
(Let me warmly welcome Samdech, Excellencies, Lok Chumteavs, Oknha, ladies and gentlemen – 430 members of the grand assembly, which embodies truly historical significance and is a reminder of the Cambodian veterans who have made sacrifices in every way, even their lives for the cause of the country and the people, as well as the peace and security …) I would like to remind the General Assembly that we originally planned to hold a nationwide general assembly of up to 3,500 people at the People’s Party headquarters. Unfortunately, the border situation occurred. So, we postponed it until now.
At that time, Secretary General and Vice President Kun Kim presented two options – one was to organize a nationwide representative assembly on a small scale, and the second was to sign the charter after consulting with the leadership. But I instructed in writing that a General Assembly must be held.
The approval of any statute must be by the highest organization, which is the (Extraordinary) General Assembly (of the Representative of the Cambodian Veterans Association) throughout the country. So today, the number of participants is approximately 10% (of the number) planned to be held at the 7 Makara Palace […] Today, we thank His Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior for providing a place for us to hold this General Assembly […]
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(2) Veterans and retirees in the same association signifies attention and continued journey together
(Expanding the scope of the Cambodian Veterans Association by including retired civil servants as members of the association, transforming the Cambodian Veterans Association into the Cambodian Veterans and Retirees Association, and submitting to the General Assembly the draft statutes of the Cambodian Veterans and Retirees Association) […] is the main purpose for which we must organize an extraordinary general assembly representing all over the country.
In the past, under my initiative, we have a veterans’ association that has been in existence for 18 years. But where do the retired civil servants go? This situation seems to be unclear for civil servants at both national and sub-national levels after retirement. Therefore, the arrangement to bring together the framework of veterans and retirees under one roof is a good thing, showing the continued attention and participation of veterans and retirees to journey together.
(3) Retired civil servants will become members of the Veterans and Retirees Association
Let me give you an example. In some places, on occasions of events and festivals, veterans are invited to participate, but civil servants (who already retired) were not invited to participate. Fortunately, in the past, each ministry and institution always invited former civil servants to participate (their events). Later, under this roof, with the right conditions, we will gather more and more forces, both veterans and retirees, under the roof of this association.
(In) the future, I will make a closing recommendation that […] we will organize veterans and retirees’ associations in all institutions so that they will not be sidelined since they they had worked hard for almost their entire lives […] This is to send a specific message to all retirees, civil servants in all departments and at all levels, including doctors and teachers, the prospect that they will become members of the Veterans and Retirees Association in the future […]
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I would also like to point out that due to the (constraint of) time and busy schedule as mentioned above, we cannot hold a large Assembly by inviting regional commanders and division commanders in busy locations to come together. We also cannot extend the time beyond this morning. So, our discussion is limited, but at least we have passed the draft regulations to the members of the participants. I thank you for your participation and declare the conference open from now on./.
