What does the future hold?
The Phnom Penh Post -
3 October 2013
Officials,
business professionals and political analysts have mixed opinions on the
leadership of the single-party Cambodian government and what the future hold
for the next five years.
Sok
Touch, a professor of political science at Khemarak University, said the political
deadlock won’t help the nation become prosperous within the next five years and
beyond.
He
said he can’t predict the future of Cambodia while the political situation
remains unclear and nothing seems to be going smoothly, with one party overly
arrogant and the other rather impotent.
“You
see, the government is like a mushroom with a big head, and in the meantime the
opposition has no influence at all,” Touch said.
He
said the new government has not been recognised by many democratic bodies like
the US, the EU and others, and that is “serious challenge” for the new
government.
Prime
Minister Hun Sen was appointed by the National Assembly on September 24. The
premier spent six hours on September 25 reading the government’s third-phase
strategy and promised to bring in reforms, while the CNRP members of parliament
led by Sam Rainsy and deputy president Kem Sokha attended a Buddhist ceremony
in Siem Reap province.
Son
Chhay, a CNRP lawmaker, echoed Sok Touch’s views. He said a single-party
government is unacceptable for citizens, and the nepotism and favouritism that
had been used to control the system won’t work any more. Cambodian society
today is not like Cambodia in 1989.
He
warned that if the governing system is weak, then the country will be weak, but
when that system is strong, the country will be strong.
“I
think the way people see if a country can move forward or backward does not
depend on a person [leader], but it depend on a leading system,” Chhay said.
“I
understand that for the next five years and beyond, there will be many problems
happening,” Chhay said. He added that “our farmers will owe a lot of money to
banks and be heavily in debt. Secondly, good investors will not come to invest
beside illegal land grabbers”.
Newly
appointed Minister of Education, Youth and Sport Hang Choun Naron told the Post
that as a new minister he is sure Cambodia will shine under the leadership of
Prime Minister Hun Sen.
He
said the education system will be fixed and more youth will get jobs, and a
better education system will help improve the economy.
“We
are going to hold discussions among our ministerial officials to come up with a
plan to tackle problems like corruption during exams and even salaries for
teachers,” Choun Naron said.
Tourism
Minister Thong Khon said that over the next five years he will make Cambodia a
green and clean attractive tourist destination, as well as promoting cultural
and eco-tourism.
“We
have to educate our people in new concepts … to build more public toilets and
clean up all the plastic bags on the street,” Thong Khon said. “We will
encourage people to use eco-bags instead,” he said.
He
said the tourism sector remains an important pillar for economic growth even
before and beyond 2015, when ASEAN becomes one single market.
“What
I want to happen within the next five years is tourism schools. We are looking
for partners to establish tourism schools, and we would provide loans to
students from banks for this professional skill,” Khon said.
He
said by 2020, the tourism sector could create 800,000 jobs. By 2030, there will
115 million travellers within ASEAN, a region with a population of 600 million.
Visa
exemptions will be in place and improved airport facilities will help carry
about 7.5 million passengers by 2025.
Nguon
Meng Tech, the director-general of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, said from
the private investor perspective the future is not as bleak as some political
analyst say. He has confidence in newly appointed Minister of Commerce Sun
Chanthol, who is known as a clean man with a Harvard degree and uniquely
qualified to handle the pressure of the position.
“We
can see a more positive future. I saw that he is a clean man and has a high
capacity, he has talent, he has a wide vision,” Meng Tech said.
He
added that the deadlock won’t stop new investors coming into Cambodia – they
are merely on the sidelines with plenty of investment capital as they wait to
see how the dust settles. He said that in order to make the situation
favourable for investors, the CNRP should be ready to speak out on anything
they want to change at the National Assembly.
“I
believe that opposition MPs should be at the National Assembly. If they don’t
join, then citizens will pass judgment on them and voters will be asking,
'Where are my voices?'”
Ho
Vandy, the co-chair of a private tourism sector group, said the political
environment is a major obstacle in the tourism sector right now.
“This
is a matter that everyone has to raise questions about. What do we all actually
want? Politicians have to come together to forge a deal that is a win-win
solution” he said.
He
said in case politicians are not able to reach any solutions, then the economic
situation as well as development plans will be blocked.
“We
are not talking about predictions, we are talking about the truth,” he said.
Kay
Kimsong is the Editor-in-Chief of Post Khmer, The Phnom Penh Post’s
sister paper.
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