When Will Crisis End?
… Up to now no one, including most learned economists of International Monetary Fund (IMF) or World Bank (WB), has the courage to affirm as to when the current economic crisis will end. Some came up with a promising date of 2010, while others believe it will be 2011. It is therefore important to foresee what impact might there be on the Cambodian economy. The Asian financial crisis in 1997 some way affected some parts of the world economy but countries like the People’s Republic of China did not suffer the impact while on the other hand reaching out to help those countries in crisis … Countries like the United States of America and Japan had played very important roles in solving the situation …
As this time, the crisis came from a larger part of the world economy and rendered its greater effects in all continents … As far as Cambodia is concerned we have tried to lower the rate of poverty from over 40% to over 30% in 2007. The question here is when the world economy is suffering slowdown, our national economy is also one of them, will we be able to reach our target of 1% per annum poverty reduction or not? In fact the impact has brought its weight for the poor to bear … In this situation if we could not increase the rate of poverty reduction, it is utmost important to keep those who have come out poverty from going back in to the cycle again … That is why I would say the forum on food security, food safety and nutrition is indeed the right thing to do and that is the point here … Our aim here has come to the fact that we have to try our best to keep the Cambodian people survive and not die of hunger …
The world has become a dangerous living place … We have facing what is termed climate changes and various other challenges, and the most recent one is A/H1N1 virus threat … Can anyone imagine, what else will happen in the world? It is good that we have thought of this matter quite sometime before it really happened – as a policy makers and implementation monitors … It was quite unusual to see surplus in the US current account … It gave us concern as the US economy is indeed the locomotive of growth, whose negative development would result in unfortunate condition for others …
We have taken a bunch of measures for banking system in Cambodia … At the time those bankers were not happy with our measures to increase reserve obligation from 8% to 16% while placing a ceiling for those who borrow money for assets development … The measures have indeed kept Banks in Cambodia healthy and able to reduce reserve obligation at a gradual pace to 12%. In some countries banks gave out loans 100% to customers for purchasing assets like houses, etc. As the situation has evolved, Banks now asked for 100% repayment … Some people I know coming from the United States told me s/he had to give her/his house which he bought on loan from the Bank because s/he could not repay them …
As I said earlier it seems that no economists could do any evaluation … Some economists have confused themselves that they ranked Cambodia number 6 countries after Chad in terms of being facing high risk … They have classified Zimbabwe, Sudan, Angola, Congo, Chad, and Cambodia … as the high risk countries in face of the current financial crisis and economic downturn …
A Culture of Wealth Sharing
After the fall of the genocide, no country in the world had more orphans and widows than Cambodia – take the percentage rate into consideration … We had also more disabled and elderly people who could not survive on their own … It was thanks to the culture of wealth or resources sharing – a good tradition and custom of the Cambodian people, the country had been able to save those in need – orphans, widows and dependent elderly people …
In one of the hearings in the Extraordinary Chamber in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) on the genocide which was broadcast live, there is a young witness, who back in 1979 was a small child, talking about what he saw and heard in Tuol Sleng genocidal camp …
However what is the most important topic I wanted to talk about is the fact that we had so many mouths to feed and a major number of them lived in what we called the state orphanages … Also some were saved by the pagodas … Many elderly people took shelters in pagodas too … It is a good thing that Cambodia has this resources sharing practice which could do a lot of good to needy people … Feeding and caring for them was and will be the country’s morale …
World Economic Impacts on Cambodia
… We acknowledge that the impacts have firstly noted in trade of garments as we had less order and some garments workshops have closed down … We have immediately set up a package of fund for re-training of workers, who lost their jobs, so as to transfer them to new jobs … We also noted impact on tourism industry when there were less number of guests booking to hotels in Siemreap but to my surprise tourists surged in the first five months of this year in Phnom Penh …
Another area that is facing problem is construction … of course some have had their foundations built and construction continues but in a smaller and slower scale … no new construction is shaping up … We also noticed downfall in incoming flow of investment capital as there has been a need for rearrangement of investment capital flow back in their countries as well.
One country that keeps its investment capital intact, at least in Cambodia, is the People’s Republic of China … PRC is bold to uphold and implement all approved projects and is also working on new projects as well …
PRC has been active and continued to be active in broadening their investments, especially big projects like hydropower station, which is Cambodia’s need … PRC has been working on stations of Komjai, Kirirom, and Atai and is on the process of working at Russei Jum and Kheng Areng as well …
Agriculture for Broad Based Economic Growth
Here I wanted to say a few things about agriculture … because I see it as an opportunity for Cambodia in time of energy and food crisis … because Cambodia still has a potential in agriculture … We by no means wanted the price of rice to go high so that we take advantage from those in need … That is definitely not our intention …
Within the framework of ACMECS, Cambodia together with other members, especially Vietnam and Thailand, have got potential for cultivation and export of rice … Again agriculture in Cambodia is a prioritized sector … Whether being hit or given opportunity by crisis, rice cultivation, production and export is indeed our priority as it has a good strong potential for a broad based economic growth for the country …
You all may have heard and remembered that I and other dignitary leaders of Cambodia have spoken in one voice for over five years and now preparing for development in agriculture so that we will achieve a broad based economic growth leading to a state that Cambodia no longer depends almost entirely on garments and tourism which are usually associated with high risks from external factors … We have talked about this five years ago … It is not a new thing …
In the last years numerous rural irrigations have gone into function because the Royal Government has made continuous investments in countless of irrigation projects – building new ones and/or repairing economic efficiency ones … I would say we have to go on with the targets that we have already set out and urge our people to gradually change their cultivation practice from extensive to intensive farming … aimed at keeping rice cultivation within manageable and environmentally harm free size of land but to increase rice yield … This means people will not be encroaching upon reserve forest and national parks …
Indeed we have land that is left in drought and not irrigated … they are the land that can be used for more cultivation … Land in Thailand and Vietnam has been to some extent overused and their export seemed to have reached their peak already … Cambodia has just cultivated land where water can be managed and irrigated while more land that can be cultivated are waiting for water canals … Once that is solved we will be able to grow more rice and therefore export more as well …
US$ 600 Million on Northern Infrastructure
I have a report of HE Kiet Chhon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economy and Finance, HE Aun Poan Munirath, Head of the Supreme National Economic Council (SNEC) and his colleagues, have visited our soldiers along the border … I agreed with the reported that construction of roads and infrastructure along the border recently has cost the country some 600 million US dollars … We will from there move to set up housing complex and agricultural development … We will have to set up “Nature Villages” for families of our soldiers …
A committee will be established to look into this matter of housing construction and I think HE Chea Sophara, Minister for Rural Development will be given the task to head this committee … I wanted him to be successful in project along the border though it has not been so at the project of Tonle Cham with the World Bank at Memot of Kompong Cham … Each families could be give two or three hectares as land with concession, owners of which do not have the rights to sell it … We have invested hundred millions of dollars to transform the area into economic development zone … People who are landless will have land and who are jobless will have land to work on …
A Nation of Dictatorship Falls Off Democratic Standard!
Some people have come to us telling that Cambodia is slipping through from being a democratic country. When did they rank us a democratic nation? How could the country which has not been, according to what has been defined by a certain group a democratic country to be falling from the democratic standard?
First they labeled us a nation under dictatorship and now they say the country is falling back from democracy. Would this not literally mean that the country has indeed been a democratic nation? They said freedom of expression has been restricted. How come you can talk and blame anyone you wish …
… The Plaintiff lawyer – Mr. Kong Sam On, was being sued by the Government lawyers. Yesterday I had a letter from him making his written apology, proposing a withdrawal from the case, and seeking a membership of the Cambodian People’s Party. As it is not my wish to seek anything else but justice, and as the person committing guilt seeks for my forgiveness, and I should be reciprocate with an approval … I have asked my lawyer to consider a case separation … So my legal action on the case of Mr. Kong Sam On has been withdrawn …
Public Park Abuse … Human Rights Issue?
Which country in this world would let a public park to be a place for residence whereas action taken to prevent illegal land grabbing has been branded a violation of human rights? Some have resorted to set up living spaces on open drainage system, while actions taken for them to move out has given reason to some people to lambaste the Government of human rights abuse. I wonder if they have looked into the issue before making any baseless comments. Some foreigners have turned themselves to be spokespersons of the opposition parties, because of which misunderstandings between governments …
Mr. Peter Lepretch once accused the Royal Government of sending the Cambodian people to reside in minefield in Poi Pet … How could a person like him make such a comment? Some people have even raised issue of land revolution but I would seek their understanding that I have defended successfully a thesis on people’s democracy and it has now become a major part of the Cambodian People’s Party political platform on the relevant topic.
We have started based on this concept a policy of imposing no cultivation land tax on our people, while about 56% of total fishing lots from the Government’s accountability has been given out for people’s use … Peasant revolution in this case would not be a subject for you to preach … It was indeed I who warned about this … I warned against the abuse of people’s rights of their land or there could be a peasant revolution … The absolute majority of farmers have had their accesses and titles to lands on which they cultivate … Note that land grabbing and abuse are indeed the issues found to have happened in former war zones …
Some of our dignitaries may still remember when I had to travel around Ton Le Sap Lake on my way to the border with Thailand at Poi Pet, under the Khmer Rouge’s threat from either side of the road … Funnily enough, some claimed to have occupied the land since 1987 or 1979. How could so and so resorted to such lies … I am no stranger to these areas … where war, not normal human beings, reigned …■
