… Today I have a great pleasure to join with our monks and people in the inauguration of a Buddhist temple the pagoda of Prey Boeung, which is 429 years old – the second oldest pagoda that I have inaugurated so far after the one in the commune of Tropeang Chorng i n Pursat, which is between 750 and 800 years old. No different to other pagodas throughout the country, the pagoda of Prey Boeung was completely destroyed under the regime of Pol Pot genocide. Gradually after the fall of the regime we have rebuilt the pagoda to the present condition that we all are pleased with and I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciations for the efforts and contribution made by all contributors for the sake of rebuilding the holy Buddhist shrine. I have been inaugurating many Buddhist temples already and I will do more in days to come as by Buddhist principle we could not celebrate the inauguration of Buddhist temples anymore while the rainy season comes.
… I wish to express my sincere and wholehearted appreciation for the support and acceptance of the development project for the western section of the capital Phnom Penh by people in the districts of Chbar Morn, Konrng Pisey and Samraong Torng of Kompong Speu province and Angsnuol, Kandal Stoeung of Kandal province and Dangkao of Phnom Penh. As for the northern section of Phnom Penh, our development project would also include the districts of Udong of Kompong Speu and Ponnhealoeu of Kandal. The two districts have a vast coverage as well and as of today I learnt that over eleven kilometres of seven major canals have been constructed, over eight kilometres of eleven feeder canals have also been constructed, about 1,300 metres of embankment have been built, and five rural roads of a total length of 17 kilometres have been made. I wish to express my sincere appreciation and thanks for the contributions made by various organizations – World Food Program, World Vision, Social Fund, etc. – and various concerned offices under the provincial administration of Kompong Speu to the creation of various achievements in the area.
… I have mentioned about the three priorities – water, road and schools and they all are the core demands for a rural development project to give benefit to the people. Building pagoda is similar to investing in the training of human resources because pagodas never educate people to commit harm or bad actions but provide human beings with additional knowledge. As far as water in concerned, I remember one of my trips last year in between July and August to the district of Aoral for the construction of the national road 42 from the district of Chbar Morn to Aoral, I noticed down beneath there were red rice field and they were not ripe rice for harvest but burnt rice seedlings because of drought. This year we have a total different situation because we have early rain and also we have made some canals for the irrigation purpose in some places. Because of this situation, I have seen that in some field people have sowed their rice seeds already and some are under ploughing.
… What we have achieved so far has surpassed the condition we had in 1979 but if we were to compare these achievements to the need of our people, we have yet to make more efforts in meeting their needs. Because of a valuable peace that we have achieved completely, it is a favourable condition that provides us “gold and diamond opportunity” for the reconstruction of our country and I am sure that none of us would like to see no more discontents butreconciliation for the benefit of the country.
Samdech Hun Sen on that occasion offered twenty million Riel to the pagoda of Prey Boeung, two school buildings of ten classrooms plus a sewing class with fifty sewing machines, a director office with three rooms and a set of eight solar energized lights to the Junior College Bun Rany-Hun Sen_Chan Thnal, two school buildings of ten classrooms to the Primary School of Prey Boeung and a school building of six classrooms to the Primary School of Chhouk Saom.
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