… I am glad to return to Takeo once again and it is my tenth visit to Takeo in just 2003. Just now one of our people outside said to me this is my tenth trip to Takeo and I said yes it is true. Today is my fortieth inauguration of Buddhist temple and there will be few more to inaugurate. This year I have inaugurated so many Buddhist temples in my planned 83 working field visits and I have so far conducted 66 of them already. Among them, ten field trips are in Takeo, and nine of the ten are relating to inaugurations of Buddhist achievements. I wish to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to the leadership of venerable head monk as well as our Buddhist followers for the efforts they made in different phases to finally get the Buddhist temple built and inaugurated today. The pagoda used to abandoned because this place was a hot battle making our people and monks moving out to find safe shelters since 1972. On January 07, 1979, the pagoda was back on its reconstruction and as we can see with our own eyes that the temple is built with beautiful structures and features.
… May I take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to the efforts and contributions made by HE Senior Minister Sok An for the achievements in the district of Kirivong. HE Sok An has built more schools than I do in the area and the reason is because HE Senior Minister Sok An has been placed to be in charge in the area. The former governor of Kirivong district used to have an opinion that handing out one Sarong and ten thousand Riel to our people would make them support us and we should not build roads or bridges at all. He seemed to have thought that using that strategy is more effective. I was so annoyed by his view. Now that HE Sok An is in charge, we could see that there are many schools by his names and the number of schools I have built here is 217 in the whole province of Takeo and only two in the district. This figure is lower that that of Anlong Veng, Pailin, Kamrieng, Phnom Proeuk, Sampeo Loun, Samloat, Tasanh, etc. But I will build more today.
… In 1986, I had come and spent a night in Kiri Chongkoh and that is not a bizarre thing to see Hun Sen is making trip here and there everyday. As Prime Minister I used to spend my night at the commune level in a purpose to study the people’s need. HE Pol Saroeun in those days was Governor of Takeo and I remember spending the night in Angkor Borei as well. Maybe I should talk a bit about dry season rice. The techniques of growing dry season rice of our people in Kirivong, sowing rice seed rather than transplanting, is now being replicated to other places. Kirivong has maintained its record as the high-yield dry season rice production area and the district has therefore maintained a good rice yield record. The people in the area have cultivated rice 7946 hectares of rice over the planned 7000 hectares or 976 hectares more than it is planned. The yield averages at 3600 kg per hectare. Two factors that help boost our people’s production are the technology and seed from Vietnam and the fact that there is a good water management policy.
… To the east of our country Vietnam has got a qualified knowledge and know-how in agriculture, whereas to the west we have Thailand, from where new technology and seeds could be supplied into the country. We have sent our students to Vietnam and Thailand for training in agriculture. As for this area which is close to Vietnam we are seeking financial resources for buying electricity from Vietnam as their electricity could be provided at a low price, and we will do the same with Thailand and Laos for the western and northern areas of Cambodia. Takeo could be considered a production area along the border, as we have considered industrialising areas along the border with Thailand aimed at creating jobs and promoting export industry. Vietnam has got capital and technology and we have market.
… It is true that our people here would like to know what happen with the renovation of the national road 2. I have followed this matter with Senior Minister Sok An and he told me that today the letter will go from the Ministry of Finance and Economy to the Ministry of Public Work and Transport. I think we have to speed this matter up as Japan has agreed to finance it already and it is from our part that the project implementation is slow. I give you all one week and those of us waiting for the road would definitely be saying it is been a long procedure. We have to find a fast track to resolve the hot problem and we have to expedite the procedure so as to satisfy our people’s expectation. This road has to be paved from the area of Phnom Den at the border between Cambodia and Vietnam to the provincial town of Takeo. Let me take this chance to apologize for keeping our people waiting and hence I pressurized the concerned institutions to finalize an agreement by the evening of June 6, 2003.
Samdech Hun Sen on that occasion offered 20 million Riel, a generator, a set of amplifier to the Porthivong Loeu pagoda, ten million Riel to the Kirichong Koh pagoda, a school building of five classrooms to the Primary School of Preah Baad Chuon Chum, a school building of six classrooms each to the Primary School of Bun Rany-Hun Sen-Ta Mong, to the Primary School of Tumloap, to the Primary School of Sereivong, to the Primary School and College of Soben, to the Primary School of Chiev Pdei Lech, 12 tons of rice for labour, and 41 tons of rice for labour to the commune of Preah Baad Chuon Chum…
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