By Pou Sovachana
“When people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the
government fears the people, there is liberty,” said former U.S.
President Thomas Jefferson.
For almost a decade, Cambodia has achieved remarkable economic growth
of almost 10 percent per year. After the global economic crisis in 2008
to 2009, Cambodia’s gross domestic product reached a four-year high of
7.2 percent in 2012, driven mainly by strong consumption, tourism,
agriculture and higher inflows of direct investment according to the
Asian Development Bank.
The outlook for 2013 is forecast at 7.2 percent and picking up to 7.5
percent next year as recovery in Europe and the U.S. takes hold. In
light of this commendable growth and development, poverty persists,
inequality widens, corruption remains pervasive and the rule of law is
rather an empty content.
The ultimate objective of any meaningful development is to raise the
standard of living of the people and end poverty and inequality. For
ordinary Cambodians, this high growth has brought hope and a sense of
optimism. While the government promises inclusive growth, the benefits
have not been evenly distributed and widening inequalities of wealth
distribution are sweeping which has resulted in sizeable disparities
between the rich and the poor, and between urban and rural areas.
According to a report from the U.N. Capital Development Fund in 2010
on local development, 3.7 million people were estimated to live below
the poverty threshold in Cambodia, including 92 percent of the poor
residing in the countryside of which only 10 percent own a title to
their land.
The controversial enactment of a land-titling program initiated by
Prime Minister Hun Sen from June 2012 through May 2013 claims to have
distributed more than 125,000 land titles to people in the countryside
according to an article in The Cambodia Daily on June 14, 2013.
Turning Cambodia’s sense of hope and optimism into better tangible
results, like establishing clear policies on local rural development
programs with a more equal model of growth that aim to broaden access to
quality education, health care services, land rights, infrastructure
and irrigation, are among the most significant challenges facing
Cambodia today.
In Cambodia, too many leaders and most influential government
officials remain unaccountable to the people. The love of power, extreme
corruption at all levels, money, and selfish deeds are the root of all
evils. Top leaders are overly obsessed with how they look and undervalue
how poor people live and feel. They solve one problem only to create
countless others for example by giving land concessions to potential
investors for the sake of development, though local people suffer. They
live their life based on what they want as opposed to what they can do
to help the vulnerable.
Freedom is often a misnamed permission: the license of a wealthy
figure to pursue his own interests regardless of the consequences. They
put an overemphasis on getting an immediate remedy, instant
gratification, while they ignore the problems that got them there in the
first place.
The fact that the Cambodian people have courts doesn’t necessarily
mean they have justice and egalitarian law. The fact that Cambodia has a
functioning government doesn’t automatically mean people have real
democracy, especially in regards to freedom of expression and the
freedom to gather. The fact that in Cambodia “what powerful people say
will be typically right, and what small people say will be typically
wrong” is real.
In Cambodia, it is typical for the high-ranking government officials
to use their power to punish political opponents and secure impunity for
political allies. For instance, Mam Sonando, owner of independent radio
station Beehive, was arrested on July 15, 2012, for alleged
insurrection, a so-called a secessionist movement in Broma village,
Kratie province. He was charged and accused of aiding a separatist
movement by the prime minister in his speech on June 26, 2012. According
to Amnesty International and right groups and media watchdogs, his
arrest was politically motivated and fabricated by the government for a
violent eviction of hundreds of families from Broma village, during
which a 14-year-old was shot to death.
People can see that when the powerful leader decides that he wants to
punish someone, it can be done so quickly. This illustrates a double
standard that we see and witness. It is also common practice that
military and police officers, and other well connected government
officials, who are involved in human rights crimes, such as shooting
innocent people, walk free without charges or ever appearing in court.
For example, Chhouk Bundith, the former governor of Bavet City,
remains free even though he was found guilty of shooting three female
victims on February 20, 2012, in front of Koaway Sport Factory,
according to The Cambodia Daily on December 19, 2012. This outcome is a
good illustration of how a strong patronage system works in Cambodia.
The tragedy of life here is what dies in the hearts and souls of the
victims while they live.
The “money is everything” philosophy can be seen and felt everywhere
in Cambodia and corruption remains a way of life. For years, it has
greased the wheels of the economy and the political landscape in
Cambodia.
“Money politics” is the “mother of all corruption.”
Cambodia faces a daunting task in challenging a deeply embedded culture of “money politics.”
Cambodia’s system of political patronage, in which well-connected
tycoons are favored for state contracts, has long been viewed as a
breeding ground for corruption. Everyone knows that relationships and
connections are very important.
According to investors and foreign business leaders, 55 percent of
businesses felt that the Anti-Corruption Law, which was implemented in
2010, had no effect in stamping out bribery.
Most businesses are threatened with corruption in all manner of ways,
from the custom office to the court system. Only firms with connections
to the government get favorable business conditions when paying tax and
following regulations.
In Cambodia, the winning party, in terms of media, military, police
and economy, systematically controls everything. Crony corruption and
political patronage is deeply embedded in Cambodia, largely because of
its system of special privileges to politician, especially government
contracts that tend to go to well-connected tycoons. While
under-the-table payments are a relatively common thing, what
multinational companies object to most is the crony corruption that
gives special privileges to selected groups with senior government
connections, who win plum government projects.
Administrative work, commercial trading and negotiations of social
life are settled not based on current laws or rules but often through
individual orders or instructions by those in power, mostly high
ranking government officials.
This is what I call the rule of one man. With this type of
leadership, there is a moral deterioration because the well-connected
“oknha” (business tycoons) pursue material gains as freely as they
desire.
In Cambodia, there is certainly no evidence of any significant
improvement in governance, and if anything the evidence suggests a
deterioration, at the very least, in key dimensions such as regulatory
quality, rule of law and control of corruption. For years, Transparency
International has placed Cambodia as one of the most corrupt nations in
the world. In 2012, Cambodia was ranked 157 out 176 countries for
corruption.
Corruption costs and erodes revenues. It creates a culture that
allows government officials to rationalize stealing from the
administration and can lead to financial crisis.
We have to have a moral environment where laws are clean and
enforceable so people are afraid to break them. Furthermore, Cambodia’s
judicial system is generally recognized to lack legal know-how and
political independence.
According to a report issued in September 2010 by U.N. human rights
envoy Surya Subedi: “Corruption seems to be widespread at all level of
the judiciary.”
Nothing has changed much. I wish we could stand here today and say
everything is moving forward. It is not. Our present government doesn’t
provide equal treatment and basic needs to the people.
There comes a point where we have to accept that the system is not
working. Cambodia needs more than wealth to be prosperous. It needs a
change in direction. It needs political reform, an end to corruption and
the culture of impunity. It needs to provide better public services
ranging from hospitals to schools to roads and governmental forces. It
needs to empower its citizens with human rights and freedom of
expression. It needs to hold all politicians accountable for people’s
wellbeing and security. It needs decent health care for all the people.
It needs better schools to educate all its children. It needs to develop
a society in which people trust one another. It needs to foster a
climate of know how entrepreneurship. It needs business opportunities
not only for the wealthier but also for the majority. It needs
meaningful development that will benefit the masses instead of the few.
Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu expounded: “If you do not change direction,
you end up where you are heading.”
None of these elements are achievable without the rule of law and an
effective democratic government that put its people first. The laws are
there. They are quite detailed and good. And there are significant
penalties for breaking the provisions. But there is little
implementation and poor enforcement.
The Constitution of Cambodia states everyone is subject to the law
and no one, no matter how powerful and important, is above the law.
However, Prime Minister Hun Sen is exceptional.
On June 13, he admitted publicly to breaking the law and he said that
it was perfectly acceptable to save Khem Sokha, the opposition leader,
when he ordered police not to arrest him for an alleged sexual
relationship with a 15-year-old girl according to The Cambodia Daily
article: “Hun Sen Defends His Decision to Break The Law” on June 20,
2013.
The government must pay more attention to the needs and welfare of
its citizens. The current emphasis on economic development shouldn’t
override democratization and human rights.
According to data from rights group Licadho, local and foreign firms
now control 3.9 million hectares of land concessions, or more than 22
percent of Cambodia’s total surface area. Almost everyday in the local
media, we see reports of clashes between communities and concession
holders. The land grabbing issue is the latest example of the state
struggling to meet the needs of its citizens, needs as basic as
providing clean water, decent housing, health care, social justice and
education. One Cambodian woman described good governance as: “A good
government is a government that does not abuse the people, that gives
the people the land back and that allows people to earn a living.”
I believe if there is any real progress and prosperity, it will come
through being, not having. Real change may only come when people get
more and better educated and learn to speak their own mind openly
without fear of oppression.
Real development and prosperity will flourish, as musician Jimi
Hendrix put it, “When the power of love overcomes the love of power.”
Then Cambodia will know real peace and harmony.
Finally, if today all the children of Cambodia are provided with
primary health care, good nutrition, quality basic education, access to
safe drinking water and sanitation, and the protection from neglect,
abuse, and violence, 10 years down the road, Cambodian society will be
completely different from the direction it is heading today.
Pou Sovachana is a Phnom Penh-based lecturer.
1 comment:
I agree that you agreed for Change.
Justin
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