I am so glad today to have returned and joined with you all again after my presence on 5 January last year to launch the construction of the administrative buildings of the province of Tbong Khmom to put into official use the Heng Samrin-Tbong Khmom University. HE Hang Chuon Naron, Minister of Education, Youth, and Sports has already shared with all of us a report about a vision for development (of education) in this area. It is a pleasant surprise that we have been able to finish the construction of the university and the construction of the provincial headquarters of Tbong Khmom is underway in a speedy manner. There is no need for us to follow what HE Sar Kheng and I had thought about sharing some of the University’s unused offices with the provincial headquarters.
I am here today, together with Samdech, Excellencies, Lok Chumteavs, to put into official use buildings we have achieved but also to start construction of some additional buildings. HE Hang Chuon Naron already mentioned in his report that the need for a university is much more and we have plans for speedy construction of the residences for professors and hostels for students.
“One Province, One University” Policy
I would like to take this opportune moment to express my sincere appreciation for the efforts made and visions in getting this up of Samdech Punhea Chakrey Heng Samrin as well as of Samdech Krolahaom Sar Kheng with supports rendered from the Royal Government of Cambodia. We have had our vision to list this policy in the CPP political platform and the elections in 2013 to work towards a “one province, one university” or at least a University’s branch policy, after we had put into success the policy of “one commune, one junior secondary school at least.”
While we decided to set up the province of Tbong Khmom, we have the opportunity to get this Heng Sarim-Tbong Khmom University project going. It will serve students in this educational geography – Tbong Khmom, Prey Veng, Kratie, Mondulkiri and even some from Ratanakiri provinces. However, the Kratie University is under construction under the financial assistance partly from the Government of the People’s Republic of China and some from our national resource […]
History of American and Thieu-Ky Invasion
I must apologize to people from the local area among who some have known me since when I was a young man. I heard over here somewhere that they have something that need to discuss with me. It is impossible for me to do that as we have about ten thousand people here today […] This place is in the area where I and some of us here would call it “a place of pleasure, blood and tear.” Why do I say that? Here, the American invasion started along the National Road 7 from Snuol district through further downer parts in 1970. The road from Tropeang Chhlous via Protheat to Chhlong was what the Theiu-Ky forces called “a Complete Victory” military campaign. They planned for the prong to Tonle Bet and the prong from National Road 7 through Chhlong to meet one another. However, their campaign had become “a Complete Failure.” There were many dead tanks along the National Road 7 […]
Not far from here, in the Jrab village – about 7 or 8 Kilometers from here, my wife and I were getting married here in a wedding ceremony of 13 couples. We had our first son in the village of Khnar and he died in the district of Mehmot, where we build him a tomb in the secondary school of Mehmot. I was wounded five times (in battles) from Snuol through to Tonle Bet and my last wound was at the foothill of the present Kizuna bridge. I have so many memories but please forgive me for being unable to meet some of you personally because we have this schedule to follow.
Reducing Knowledge Gap, Human Resource – Priority One
Where do we start to reduce the gap between urban and rural, rich and poor? The objective of the Royal Government led by the Cambodian People’s Party is to reduce development gap starting with the development of infrastructure and human resource training. There is no country in the world that achieves the aim of closing the property gap. Only the regime of Pol Pot did so. They abolish the gap through setting up groups of people to work and eat collectively. Other than that, there is no country in this world succeeds in doing so. There are always those who are rich and poor. Closing the wealth gap is difficult to achieve. We cannot abolish the rich as was suggested by policy of some (politicians) or Pol Pot.
However, I believe that reducing a knowledge gap is possible to achieve and the state will invest in it. Everyone may be born to different places, families, and titles. There is no one who is born along with wealth or clever brain right away. Everyone starts by studying from childhood. We are born naked. No one is born with knowledge (without studying) though […] Since 1987, I talked about four priority works – irrigation, roads, electricity and human resource, for which resource must be gathered for them. We need irrigation for our people to cultivate as our country depends on agriculture. We need roads to connect places in our country after a long war, the regime of genocide and continued civil war. We need electricity because it is a requirement of the time. In the past, Phnom Penh consumed some 30 to 40 kWh but it now uses hundreds of kWh. More importantly, there is a need for human resource. The Royal Government has now alternated human resource to priority number one among the four – from roads, irrigation, electricity and human resource to human resource, irrigation, roads and electricity.
Bringing Schools Closer to Local Students
We have seen educational reform under the leadership of our young Minister of Education, Youth, and Sports, who is now 54 years old. We are localizing schools to people and many junior and senior secondary schools had come to being. In the province of Tbong Khmom, we have recorded 396 primary schools, 53 junior secondary schools, and 23 senior secondary schools. Localizing schools at the communal level has cut down hardships for students to continue their studies through to nine years education. It also allows more girls to go to school as it has been our tradition that parents would not allow their daughters to be far away from home. We still need to have more Universities in provinces. We already have university in the provinces of Banteay Meanjei, Battambang, Siem Reap, Svay Rieng, Prey Veng and now Tbong Khmom. There is also a University of Agriculture in Kompong Cham provinces. On top of these, there are also some universities of private sectors. This has lessened concentration of students in Phnom Penh. This is also the best way to have human resource everywhere in the country. Ethnic students in northeastern areas could also benefit from this human resource policy and, in the future, we would not need to send people from plain area to become head provincial and/or district authorities anymore.
Human resource has become a key subject of development of Cambodia as it would reduce internal gap but also development gap with other countries. It is like connectivity. We are making our connections. I believe that this has to go along with the need for road. We could not afford to have only schools and no roads or roads without schools. All four priorities are subjects for resolution. I have the pleasure to work with everyone after the liberation in 1979 to the present. Nothing we achieved is given or come from empty promises. We did it […]
E-Government, Existing Administrative System
There was an analysis about Facebook cabinet … The point is even if we were to have no Facebook, people also send their complaints to me in Phnom Penh. They even went out and brought their petition to my house. What we did was to send those issues to relevant institutions and they would have to study and make me reports. I am leading e-government, which means it helps with speedy actions for people’s requests. We also use those systems listed by law and sub-decrees on organization and functioning of institutions. When people sounded out their problems on electronic system, certain matters need to have input from relevant institutions. Take for instance trade registration now is no longer a procedure to follow through only in Phnom Penh. People can do it on electronic system. Take for instance HE Mam Bun Heng of Health Ministry solved so many requests […]
Actually, the method has expedited working speed of our people everywhere. When I did all that for the people, you called me “Facebook Prime Minister.” (You claimed someone else) as Facebook Prime Minister before. I do not use Facebook to compete with anyone. I use Facebook for solving people’s problems … It was them who claimed themselves to be Facebook elites. I am using Facebook for effectiveness and efficiency of work. I do not want to have fake reports, either from people or from authority […]
As we are putting this University into operation, we need some more buildings and HE Aun Porn Moniroth already responded to the need of Riel 21.353 million broken into two years. I am so joyful to see that the University has prepared curriculum for technical and vocational training certificate where students can achieve it by finishing their nine years education + 1 year; + 2 years and + 3 years and other one week or three-month certificate courses. In universities that I assisted, in Phnom Penh, give priority to this need too.
Illegal Emigration; Oil and Rubber Prices Drop
(Vocational training) serves the need of not only the province of Tbong Khmom but also in other places, external labor market included. The Royal Government is working hard to prevent illegal emigration. To find our people legal jobs abroad is one way of solving our people’s need for work. Some people seemed to have bragged about creating jobs as magician. How could they do that when no power in hands yet they have made the rich their enemies already. The Philippines has over ten million people working in foreign countries. There are ten of thousands of them working in Cambodia. Finding jobs locally and externally is the Royal Government’s duty to find for the people.
It is true that we must make efforts to create jobs for our people locally. We see that as a better option than going to work in other countries since our country also is lacking of labor. However, owners of rubber and pepper should rework workers’ salary and their residences. However, according to recent news, situation in the world is not that good for every country. Rubber price fell. Oil price fell from over USD 100 per barrel to just USD 30.27 and there is a prospect that it would slip further. Which market could we uncover now? In Vietnam, the market saturated with rice and cassava. We continue to make efforts though as there would be a turn. In 2008, price of food surged and our farmers benefited from it. The world is busy facing with the world problem and we are meeting our own. Farmers these days sell their produces at a cost that would not pay their labor. In Thailand for instance some had stopped tapping of rubber latex because they could not afford the labor cost./.
