Selected Off-the-Cuff Speech to the Graduation of Education Inspectors, Teachers Trainers and Pedagogical Students [Unofficial Translation]

1 […] The Royal Government refocused (human resource) to the first angle (of the four priorities) two terms already. The fifth term RGC from 2013 through to 2018, we have rearranged order of priorities from “water/irrigation, roads, electricity, human resource” to “human resource, water/irrigation roads and electricity” […] budget allocation according to policies (means) we are preparing budget in accordance with focused priorities […] to have better human resource, training of teachers is the fundamental factor […]

2 […] we will continue to invest in education […] both in school construction and livelihood of teachers […] to look back briefly, we have made a rather fast step from where we were […] this is an era of technology economy, digital age, it requires us to make further efforts in human resource training […]

3 […] after the liberation from Pol Pot’s regime […] those who taught and those who were taught had had a knowledge gap between one or two classes […] we did everything we could to retrain our teachers […] as of now, the standard (of teachers’ training) is 12+2 (12 years of general education plus two years of pedagogical training). We will go for 12+4 in the near future […] almost every teachers recruited after the fall of Pol Pot’s regime went into retirement […]

4 […] I thank the government of the People’s Republic of China for taking care of the Cambodian students who are living there, including the 23 students in Wuhan. They are in good health. It is quite unimaginable that some bad people spread fake news that one of the students died. It was so unfortunate. Let me ask those who did this, what would they get in return from their fake news? They even fake news that I am sick (from) CoVid-19 […]

5 […] get back to MS Westerdam cruise ship […] I continue to pose this question that if Cambodia were to turn them away, what would be the fate of the over 2,000 passengers aboard the ship? I call that a humanitarian crisis on the Westerdam […] the majority of the Cambodian population supported this decision (to allow them in). Our partners and friends abroad and in international organization supported our humanitarian gestures. However, a group of people blamed us for bringing diseases into the country. Let me ask if anyone Cambodian infected (by this CoVid-19) […]

6 […] has anyone passenger/tourist staying in Cambodia been sick? None. We take high responsibility for wellbeing of our people and of passengers that we allowed to get off board. We have certified inspection of their health with the expertise of the Pasteur Institute, plus that of the World Health Organization (WHO) that was with us. As for what happened in Malaysia […] I think the WHO and the ship owner, as well as the Ministry of Health (of Cambodia) must find out with Malaysia […]

7 […] I have taken my responsibility as an implementer of humanitarian principle for citizens of other states/countries because we are member of the United Nations, of the World Health Organization […] it is a job that we should do, must do, and we have done it […]. It is a humanitarian obligation, a moral responsibility and solidarity to resolve regional and world challenges from CoVid-19 […]

Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Diploma Presenting Ceremony for Graduated Teachers and Teachers Trainers, 18 February 2020

Selected Impromptu Comments at the Ground-breaking Ceremony to Rebuild National Roads 2 & 22 [Unofficial Translation]

• … in 1987 or 33 years ago, I proclaimed four priorities for investment – water/irrigation, road, electricity/power, and human resource […] in 1993, up to the present, we have changed its order to focus as number one on human resource training […] the four priorities have been fundamentally correct for the past 33 years, and, I think, will be so for the next 33 or even 100 years […]

• … according to the study, the (Jroy Jangva-Svay Jrum) bridge would cost anywhere between 40 to 50 million USD […] in between 2019 through to 2023, (Republic of) Korea has package of 700 million USD for Cambodia […]

• … governor of Preah Sihanouk province Kuoch Chamroeun filed a report about a Dutch tourist, on a visiting cruise ship, being quarantined for high temperature […] we are waiting for results from the lab to certify if he is or is not infected with novel coronavirus. If he is, he would have to stay for treatment in Cambodia until he fully recovered […]

• As in weeks to come, some factories may close down because supplies from China would not be coming on time, please do not link this matter to economic sanction from the European Commission. Whether the sanction happens or not […] it will be in August […]

• … on the forthcoming 14 March 2020, there will be the ASEAN-US Summit in Las Vegas. Let me inform Cambodians in America that I will be arriving in Las Vegas on 12 March. I may have time for golf on 13 March […] on 14 March, it will be the Summit. On 15 March, I will meet with Cambodians before I will be leaving on 16 March. I think I will meet with the US President Donald Trump […]

Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Groundbreaking Ceremony for Improvement Project of the NR 2 and NR 22, 11 February 2020

Press Briefing on Novel Coronavirus related Pneumonia in Cambodia [Unofficial Translation]

[…] Let me take this opportune moment to appeal on a number of points as followed:
• […] firstly, do not overreact the truth because it would waste your time in fulfilling your works. We could evade any infectious viruses by exercising hygiene and sanitation in our way of living, eating, traveling and working, etc. […],
• […] secondly, we must provide people with true information […] let me affirm once again that the credible source of information must be the Ministry of Health, which is the leading institution in charge of providing information on this matter. It is not the quick reaction unit (of the Council of Ministers) or the Ministry of Information, or other institutions […],
• […] thirdly, state institutions, private companies, factories, enterprises, markets, Buddhist pagodas, mosques, and churches, etc. must continue their normal functioning […],
• […] fourthly, schools must focus attention in providing confidence for pupils. Parents and/or supervisors continue to send their children to schools. Schools of every levels must make sure they are on strict hygiene and sanitation […],
• […] fifthly, (people) must have their masks on wherever necessary […],
• […] sixthly, masks sellers should not take this chance to increase prices […] I am calling on factories to produce masks and sell to the state or to help people in need (of masks) […],
• […] seventhly, must ensure normal functioning without discrimination against tourists and/or transportation services of every kinds – air and water that are in direct connections with the airport, hotel and other transportation sector […],
• […] eighthly, Cambodian diplomats, consular officers, and students who are working and/or studying in China, those in Wuhan also included, must continue to stay there and join with the people of China to fight the disease […] as is said in our ancestors’ slogan “a friend in deed is a friend in need” […],
• There have been some requests and one of them has been for Cambodia to shut out flights from China to Cambodia. That was a measure requested to kill national economy and to place Cambodia-China relations in dismay […] actually, there is no need to even do so, China has already declared closing flights from their end already – not only from Wuhan to outside destinations but also in China […], and
• […] the second request has been to evacuate Cambodian students studying in China to Cambodia […] I said “no.” Should we do that, it is nothing different from sharing only happy time with them and leaving them in bad time […] there is no need to evacuate Cambodian students, diplomats, and/or consular officers (in China) to Cambodia […]
Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Press Conference on the new coronavirus Situation in Cambodia, 30 Januray 2020